12/08/2023
Pro Track cyclists at the 1935 San Francisco Deamland Auditorium six day race. My grandfather Eddie Seufert in the stripes at the center/right. "Eddie Seufert, Newark youngster was a rattling good amateur, runner up to the National Championship, and is giving a good account of himself as a professional. He is looked upon as one of the gamest riders in cycling and has probably suffered more hard knocks and bad spills than any other rider in the race except his frequent partner Reggie McNamara, the "Iron Man.
Oakland Sports Tribune - June 10, 1935
Schaller, McNamara Spurt Into Bike Lead
By ALAN WARD
Tony Schaller, stocky young six-day bike rider, knows what it means to be touched by inspiration.
Only inspiration conld have caused Tony to tear the Auditorium track apart in his mad rushes yesterday afternoon and last evening—rushes which brought him and Reggie McNamara, his team-mate, from a point two laps behind the leader into the forefront of the increasingly mad scramble.
And Reggie McNamara, the grand old man of bike racing, the Iron Duke, Old Ironsides himself, provided the inspiration, Schaller confessed today.
HAS CRACKED RIBS
Hold on a minute! There's another bit to the story of Tony Schaller. He has been riding with ribs that certainly are cracked, a victim of intermittent dizzy spells, visitations of which sent him into two spills last night. Saturday evening it was declared Schaller certainly would be forced from the race. But listen to Tony's story— "Why, I couldn't let McNamara down. Broken ribs or no ribs at all, I had to keep going. If I dropped out it would mean Reggie dropped out, too, and that would have been a bitter blow to the swellest guy ever to mount a bicycle.
"And say, have you watched the old warhorse go since my accident? He's trying to carry every bit of the burden, too, and when the going is the toughest you'll notice him edging into the rumpus. If this bandage holds out Mac and I will be in the race at the finish tomorrow night. In fact, we'll be right out in front."
Schaller is riding with a network of tape and bandage on his side big enough to cover the footprint of an elephant. He wouldn't stop for any protracted examination of his injuries, insisting only on application of the poultice in hurry-up time. He wanted to be off! Head Trainer Freddy Diver pleaded with Schaller to toss in the sponge. Maybe McNamara could have teamed up with someone else. Why, Mac wouldn't care so much. He wouldn't want to keep in the race, headed for top money, at the expense of a game partner. Tony wouldn't even listen. And how that boy rode all yesterday!
TWO DROP OUT
Along about midnight of last night Schaller and McNamara were out in front by a full lap and going strong. Jackie Sheehan ond Harold Nauwens were second, with the nearest additional contestants three rounds behind.
Ted Snavely, Oakland's only remaining representative in this city's first six-day bicycle race, was forced out yesterday. So was Geary May, German boy. Snavely's teamate, Eddie Triest, and Geary's side-kicker, Eddie Seifert, combined and were hitting it off nicely at last inspection.
Spills during the thick of traffic accounted for almost simultaneous retirement of the lads.
Snavely hurt his right ankle, and suffered excruciating pain with each pressure on the pedal.
The member was swollen almost twice its normal size, but even then he requested, almost tearfully, he be permitted to remain in the scramble, with pain, he went to the showers.
RACERS SET TO SPEED PACE
Ah, but the lads were riding last night, and tonight should be a more intensified duplicate of the performance just ended. And tomorrow afternoon find evening -- well, the race ends Tuesday at midnight, the outcome still is very much in doubt, almost any team could win and almost any team will.
There were five Jams between 8 and 11 o'clock last evening. Tonight there should be twice that number, while the final few hours of the race should be one continual jumble of bikes, riders, vehicles and sweaters.
We mentioned before in this story Tony Schaller cracked up twice last night, despite which set- Promoter Eddie Saunders reluctantly delivered the ultimatum.
May hurt his side when he and his machine were skidded from the top of the track to the bottom, and after a few minutes of riding, during which period he was doubled back he and McNamara—and Mac's stringy, solid legs were pumping with a precision and vigor belying his 50 years of age, his 30 years in competitive racing—hung on to their lead. In one of the spills Schaller and O'Brien tangled spokes high on the west turn, and for a few seconds after the impact and the subsequent slide over the splinters to the flat, "Cocky" was cold as an Eskimo's nose. They recover quickly, those bike riders. O'Brien was back in circulation a few laps later.
Frank Keating of New York was the next rider to run afoul of Schaller, but Frank escaped unscathed, while Tony merely gathered another bruise or two, a half dozen additional scratches and refused to reduce his speed tempo one iota.
These mad dervishes of bikedom are tensing themselves for the last big push, starting sometime today, and almost certain to be continued, with but scant interruption, through until midnight of tomorrow evening. If the early days of the contest are indicalive, the windup should be thrilling.
BIKE STANDINGS
at lO:30 a.m.
1460 miles— lllth hour—26 jams
Laps
No. behind Pts.
8—Wagner-Le Fentre O 277
9—Sheehan-Nanwens 1 365
1—McNamara-Schaller 1 268
4—Audy-Fielding 3 456
2—O'Brien-Rys 3 290
7—McCoy -Keating 5 294
10—Seufert-Triest 6 240
6-Echeverirria-Rush 7 351
3—Saeta-Turano 8 281
