July 1, 1893 – It was a beautiful day for a bike ride! At least in San Francisco where on this day they opened the first American wooden bicycle race track. Velodrome is the proper name of the venues that started popping up all over the world in the late 19th and early twentieth century as people racing bikes around a wooden oval track was all the rage.
According to Wikipedia, the first such cycling stadium was built in 1877, the Preston Park Velodrome in Brighton, United Kingdom, constructed by the British Army. Some of these sites after that were purpose-built just for cycling, and others were built as part of facilities for other sports; many were built around athletics tracks or other grounds and any banking was shallow.
We have talked about football fields being placed in the infield of these velodromes on many of football history podcasts on SHN.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
The Beards! Looking Back at the Red Sox 2013 Season
As the new MLB season gets underway, there will be plenty of interesting twists
The 1971 Atlanta Falcons: How a Gritty Underdog Season Made Franchise History
The season of 1971 might be considered to most casual observers as a mediocre
Wrestling With Andre: A Parody of My Dinner With Andre
I am a big fan of the 1981 film My Dinner with Andre. The
Kicking Cousins–Anglo and American Football Ties
You’re a freshman at Harvard in 1827. It’s Bloody Monday. You’re out on the
Inside the Record Makers Invitational: The Weightlifting Showdown of the 80s
I started Olympic Weightlifting in 1981, and up to that point, I didn’t know
Ric Flair’s Fake Heart Attack: The Shocking WCW Moment That Fooled Fans
A few weeks ago I found an Instagram video of Ric Flair having a
Victorian Football: From Mob Rule to Class Rule
In the early 1800s, British football begins to slowly take a more orderly form,
1963 New York Yankees: A Season of Dominance, A World Series To Forget
After winning the World Series in 1961 and 1962 under Manager Ralph Houk, the