Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-04-26
Fans Flock to The Vel0drOme and Wit
hess Last Great Bike Card Arranged
by the Late Floyd MacFarland.

Cycling is surely Newark's
favorite sport. Of that fact no
more evidence could be neces-
sary than the $4,000 crowd which
turned out yesterday afternoon
at the Velodrome to witness the
second meet of the season. The
fans came early and remained
until the last event was over and
everybody seemed to enjoy every
moment of the three hours or
more of sport. 1t was great
sport, too, and after the races
were all over the patrons left the
track in jubilant spirits. Cycling
has its own field and a tremen-
dous field, and the game will al
ways be big while there is SO
much excellent material to draw
upon and the meets are con-
Quoted in such a high-class man.
ner. A large crowd is one thing,
but to please and satisfy $4,000
persons Is not an easy task. Still
this was done at the Velodrome
yesterday afternoon and without
any especial effort on anybody's
part.
The meet itself furnished rare old
sport, and you could see the mag
niflcent handiwork of our late and
lamented Floyd Mcfarland sticking
out everywhere. 1t was "Dear Old
Mac" who arranged the card, the big
gest ever held at the Velodrome. 1t
was MacFarland who put two and
two together and then matched up
Alfred Goullet, the new villain in the
bike game, and Jackie Clark, the hero
OF other days. 1t was MacFarland
who figured out the Brassard, a
French product, and which Is a sort
Of continuous match race and worth.
incidentally, $50 a week to the win
ner. II was MacFarland who felt that
he must get something big to top off
his program Of twenty-five events
and thus he selected Oscar Egg,
Reggie Mcnamara and Alfred Gren-
da TO indulge In one of those gruelling
ten-mile tandem-paced races. II was
MacFarland who did everything, and
IL no one else in the whole wide
world ever missed the grand old gen.
eral the bike game certainly would.
@
The monster turnout was a beauti-
full tribute to the late manager of the
yelodrome, and IL there is any way
of knowing 1t will be pleasing news
to "old Mac" to know that his last
efforts on this peevish old earth Of
ours were so thoroughly appreciated
and enjoyed. And Mao was not for
gotten. His name was spoken Sweet
and low" thousands upon thousands
Of times. He was missed, and the fact
was mentioned ever so often. At
times you could almost imagine~see-
ing the great big bulk of humanity
fitting here and there, fixing this thing
and Strengthening out that thing IN
his own assertive way. Going into
the 'Drome you could hear the peo-
pie talk about "Old Mac" and COM
ing out of the 'Drome the conversa-
ton was as much about MacFarland
as It was about the races He man.
aged we'll and he made friends and
admirers galore, and no one would
have been better pleased to see the
vast crowd throng into the velo-
drome than the Big Fellow him.
self. He banked on a monster crowd
a week ago Sunday, for which day
the race meet had been arranged,
but fate decreed otherwise. Again,
I must add that the tribute to Mac
Farland's memory was the grandest
thing that the Newark bike fans
have ever done.
o
Order is almost invariably ths rule
at the Velodrome. 1t was in evidence
as usual yesterday. This is almost
entirely due to the efficient services
rendered by Captain CORDIALLY and his
staff Of bluecoats in charge Of affairs
at tho track. Captain CORDIALLY was
there himself and he did all the
directing, and there wasn't q sound
of complaint from the fans, either in
coming or going TO the races. The
Public Seryice-always much abused
seemed to be efficiency itself In
handling tho crowd, and the fans and
fannesses, always good-natured and
jolly. were on their best behavior
throughout the afternoon Of pleasure.
O.
The races were wonderfully inter-
esting in every way, and even the
absence of the great Kramer didn't
have any effect on the spirits of the
fans, who cheered and olapped their
hands and stamped their feet at the
least exciting happening. A Bis
crowd and a jolly crowd is mar
veIous asset to a race meet, and that
fact and other facts helped to make
the meet of yesterday one Of the best
ever held at the Velodrome. In one
way or another everybody who wished
to see the races was accommodated
but many a grand stander was com
PEELED to accept a seat in the bleach