The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-01-27
FAMOUS CYCLIST
VISITOR HERE
Tom Eek, Veteran Handler of
Speed Merchants, Reminds
One of PaImy Cycling Days.

Grizzled and gray. Tom Eek. the vet
eran bicycle trainer and handler of cham
pions. is a visitor in Salt Lake City. 1t
is ten years since the writer met Tom
Eek and the change in that time has
been scarcely noticeable
1t was at Buffalo. New York. when Eek
proved TO the world that a trainer had as
much 20 do with making champions as
the ability of the rider himself. Eek had
just taken hold of Earl KiseT. the Dayton
flyer. who had been lowering arouId the
top FOR two years, but still was not fast
enough to beat the best men of his day.
Eek succeeded in boosting kiser until
he was offered place in a four-cOrnered
match race between Tom Cooper. Eddie
Bald Fred Louhead- with Kiser as the
fourth man. One thousand dollars was
hung ND for the race. and one Of the
largest crowds, in the days of big crowds.
gathered at the track to see these four
top notchers in America fight it out.
Famous Race at Buffalo.
Buffalo was Bald's home town. which.
together with his known ability. made him
the popular favOrite. Tom Cooper was
close second and the Canadian. Louhead
was popular with his many cOuntrymen,
who crossed the border 10 see the race.
Eek dressed in a white cap and a snow
white coat appeared on the track and
showed kiser off. The first heat was a
battle royal and at the finish Kiser won
by inches In the second heat Git re-
qUired two heats TO VIM. Bald. Cooper
and LOuhead went into a combination TO
beat kiser. On the last lap Bald jumped
to the top OF the bank and came down
with a swOOp as he dashed past the
leaders. Cooper caught his wheel with
kiser on and as they rounded the turn
on the home stretch Bald swung Kiser
high on the bank after letting Cooper
through on the pole. I[iser came down
like a mailman and. peddling two feet 10
Coopers one. won the race in the last
sixteenth by two lengths. This race placed
IL,
him as one OF the greatest riders in the
world.
That John S. johnson Mile.
Perhaps Ecks most noted accomplish
ment. that is the one which stands out
more prominently than any others TO the
cycle fans of the early nineties. was the
remarkable mile in 10 60 made by J. s.
Johnson at Independence. Iowa, in the
late summer of 1892. Eek had Johnson
under his wing at the time. but the Min
neapOlis flyer was unknown. The record
stood at 2:01 for a mile and was held by
the mighty Zimmerman Eek took John
son TO Independence and. securing two
running horses for Dacemakers. sent
Johnson after the mile record The time
named was the result and il was not until
after Johnson duplicated the trick that
the world would believe il was possible
EclS's advent into the cycling game was
two years before this. With Jack Prince
as a partner the pair toured America in
the early eighties. meeting all corners and
the bicycle in many oomrnuni-
ties where IL had never been seen before.
Eek raced in Salt Lake In 1885 and with
Prince gave exhibitions. which. as far as
known. was the first bike racing ever seen
in this city.
In the paImy days Of cycling Eek had
had charge OF huge racing teams ana had
some of the best men i'm the world on
his strings. In the days OF multi-cycle
racing, Eek frequently carried a string of
thirty or forty riders as pacemakers for
his fast pace followers. This was before
the days of motors. such as are used at
the saucer track today.
Eek almost weeps when he talks of the
decadence Of the cycling game I'm Amer
lea and SAYS it makes him feel younger
to get into a town like Salt Lake, the
last spot In America where the game
thrives. He wifi remain in Salt Lake for
the coming week.