L. W. Fox

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Lewis White Fox 31 August 1875 – 29 September 1957

Clubs

Riverside Wheelmen

Louis W. Fox of Los Angeles will represent Southern California at the Midwinter Fair races and is probably the fastest track rider in the south. He rode a wheel for the first time March 1, 1892. It was a forty-pound cushioned machine, but was quite a feather weight beside the majority of wheels at that time, so that when the Y. M. C. A. of Riverside gave a race meet he traded his wheel for a forty-pound pneumatic "racer" and entered his first race, a handicap, getting the limit, and winning easily.

"Since then," Fox writes, "my racing experience has been the same as the average, winning probably a few more races than I lost. On May 30th of last year," he adds, "I was in very good condition, but was unfortunate and won nothing, not even getting credit for breaking the three-mile record, which I lowered 37-1/2 seconds, for the judges lost count of the laps and we were obliged to ride a lap more than the distance. This was the only record that I really cared about.

"One month later with the Victor aggregation I went to Frisco, surprised myself by defeating the Coast champion, Walter Foster, and lowering the two mile record. At this meet Mr. Zeigler treated me to the process commonly known as 'rubbing it in.' I was able to win what was styled the 'Pacific Coast Championship.' but which, owing to the absence of Foster and Zeigler, was something of a farce."

Fox has made several trials against time, among which are: Two-mile (official) in 4:47-3/4, which is the Coast record; seven separate trials for the standing hundred, of which five were official, the time being 9 seconds flat each time; on two occasions he did 5 seconds flat for the flying hundred yards, and flying quarter in 30 seconds for straight away and 30 2-5 for quarter-mile track; aiso 32 1-5 standing quarter on one-fifth mile track; unpaced flying half (official), 1:04 4-5; standing, 1:07 1-5.

As the San Jose track, where Fox will do most of his training, is in perfect condition, this speedy southern rider will be able to cut these records of his considerably, I predict. He has done the mile in 2:19, and ought to cut ten seconds off that this year.

Louis Fox has had but two falls since he began racing, and in the first did not get a scratch. He has already won over $2,000 worth of prizes, and as he will be a class B rider this year he ought to end the season with better success than all former seasons combined.

The Riverside Wheelmen, under whose colors Fox always rides, is the oldest club in Riverside, has quite a large list of members, and is in quite a prosperous condition. The club is very enterprising and takes a great deal of interest in its team's work. On October 3d they won the first five positions in the Eastside Cup twenty-five-mile road race. Fox won second position in this race.

"The most pleasurable part of my racing experience," thinks the Southern champion, "was viewing the international meet from the grandstand with Wilbur J. Edwards, who is now Coast champion. Upon my return, on the 1st and 2d of October, I attended my most successful meet, and, though I only entered two races, those two included the big piano race, which, together with the half mile open, brought me in some $750 worth of prizes. On September 9th at Riverside I entered, but in vain. Rode on Thanksgiving at Los Angeles, and was disqualified in my heat of the open, in which I defeated Ulbrecht of Chicago, rode in the two remaining races, a mile lap, which I won, and two-mile handicap, in which I beat the scratch men. Have won a few races off and on since."

LOUIS W. FOX, LOS ANGELES. HENRY C. SMITH, GARDEN CITY CYCLERS.
A PAIR OF SPEEDY WHEELMEN.
[From photographs.]

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