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“The Dizzy Race to Nowhere:” The Business of Professional Cycling in North America, 1891-1940

de Wilde, Ari Creevey
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281498167

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Physical Activity and Educational Services.
Once called “The Dizzy Race to Nowhere,” American professional bicycle racing from 1891 to 1940 was a significant professional sport in America. My dissertation examines entrepreneurial and consumer aspects of a sport that is largely forgotten today. I argue that it was a significant, lower class-based industry and that its demise in the 1930s was a product of what economist Joseph Schumpeter termed “Creative Destruction.” In particular, the dissertation follows the life of promoters Patrick Powers, Floyd MacFarland, John M. Chapman and Harry Mendel. Through their life experiences, I scrutinize how working-class riders and promoters from all over the globe picked up the shattered pieces of the “bicycle boom” of the 1890s and created a popular industry.
Melvin Adelman, PhD (Advisor)
Sarah Fields, PhD (Committee Member)
William Childs, PhD (Committee Member)
Brian Turner, PhD (Committee Member)
320 p.
American History; Management; Marketing; Recreation
Sport History; Bicycle Racing; Sport Management; Sport Studies

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • de Wilde, A. C. (2010). “The Dizzy Race to Nowhere:” The Business of Professional Cycling in North America, 1891-1940 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281498167

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • de Wilde, Ari. “The Dizzy Race to Nowhere:” The Business of Professional Cycling in North America, 1891-1940. 2010. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281498167.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • de Wilde, Ari. "“The Dizzy Race to Nowhere:” The Business of Professional Cycling in North America, 1891-1940." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281498167

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1281498167
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© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.