New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-07-25

linen IN 1918, when the other riders
at the Newark VeIedrome had come
to believe that Steve was about
through, the East Orange star regained
the American championship. Beaten
in 1919 and 1920, he again accomplished
the seemingly impossible when he was
crowned king for the eighteenth time
The story Of Kramer. has all the ear
marks of fiction, the kind that Horatio
Alger used to write, for Kramer, with
all his fame, set standard of living
of which any youth might be proud
Steve has never been known to use
either Intoxicating liquors or tobacco
IN any form and although he will soon
celebrate his forty birthday, he
bears no marks of his long campaign
on the wooden saucer. He is truly
model sportsman.
First Race in 1896
Born in Evansville, Ind, November
Fl, 1880. Kramer went to East Orange
with his parents when he was little
shaver. He rode his first race at the
old Waverly track in Newark May 80,
1895, winning handily from a good
field. The next year, at Clifton, N. j.,
the blond youngster finished we'll up
in the amateur ranks and in 1898 he
won the amateur championship Of the
League Of American Wheelmen. The
following year Kramer won the ma
tional amateur championship.
Kramer turned professional in 1900
and in the first year had the distinc-
ton. of being runnerup to Major
Taylor, the famous negro star, in the
championship race. 1t was Taylor who
induced Kramer to leave the ranks of
the amateurs, and the following sea-
son the East Orange star relieved the
negro of the national honors.
Year after year Kramer held out
against the hardest kind of eompeti-
ton. He beat them from in front or
from behind. He let them ride as they
would, but Kramer's finishing sprint
usually dominated For sixteen success
sive years he ruled the tracks and
toward the last has appeared as strong
and as speedy as when he first won
the title.
Although Kramer cannot rightly
claim the championship of the world
during all these years, he actually was
the best of all cyclists. European
Franks laurels, only to be disap-
pointed. There was no one in Europe
who could show his heels to Kramer
during his long reign as American
champion. There was one worlds
championship race, that in 1912, and
Kramer won this event easily.
Reasons for Retiring
Kramer rode his last race at Newark
on Wednesday night, when he was shut
out in the championship point race at
two-thirds of mile. Teamed with
Ray Eaton earlier in the afternoon he
had defeated the Spencer brothers in a
match team race, but when he at
tempted to come back in the sprint
affair for title points he was elmin-
ated as contender for this wears
honors
The result of this race probably had
much to do with Steve's sudden de-
cision to retire. Steve had this to say
at his home in East Orange last night:
II haven't the speed and endurance
of old and when I found recently that
one good race at meet was my limit,
| decided to rest on my laurels. One
can hardly win title with one race a
week. Of late it has taken me several
days to recover from the severe strain
of a hard race, and 1 do not feel that |
should chance running my health be-
cause Of my love for racing"
Kramer is an active member Of the
recently organized Newark Athletic
Club, and is also financially Interested
in the Newark Velodrome. He will
carry with him four worlds records, as
follows: Quarter mile, 272-5; one
third mile, SO 3-5; half mile, SO; three
quarters, 1:21.
Kramer has consented to ride an OK.
hibition race against time at the New
York Celodrome tonight and a similar
farewell race at the Newark track to-