Abstract

In the fall of 1888, Willie Windle was the fastest amateur bicyclist in the US, having won all the major tournaments that season, including the annual championship races of the League of American Wheelmen (LAW). He was also one of the most popular racers in the country. As soon as he reached the pinnacle of the racing world, however, he was forced to spend the next two years fighting simply to remain part of it, repeatedly having to defend himself against charges of violating LAW’s strict “amateur rule.” LAW’s enforcement of its amateur rule may have quashed the racing careers of many cyclists, but Windle, the biggest name to be caught up in a professionalism scandal at that time, refused to go away, nor would his fans allow it. LAW wrestled with variations of its amateur rule for years, ostensibly in an attempt to keep cycling free of the stigma of professionalism. This article examines the underlying issues of class and status at play in these debates, using Windle’s experiences as a case study for understanding social mobility, exclusion, and how the “leisure class” policed its boundaries in the late-nineteenth century.