Ernest Payne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ernest Payne |
| Nickname | Ernie |
| Date of birth | December 23, 1884 |
| Date of death | 1961 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Track |
| Role | Rider |
| Major wins | |
| Olympic Team Pursuit (1908) | |
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| March 25, 2007 | |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Cycling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1908 London | Team Pursuit | |
Ernest 'Ernie' Payne (born 23 December 1884 in Worcester, England, died 1961) was a British track cycling racer. He won a gold medal in the team pursuit at the 1908 Summer Olmpics in London. He went on to play football, including two games as an amateur for Manchester United F.C.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Ernest Payne was born on in a cottage at 221 London Road, Worcester
Ernest Payne was an amateur cyclist. By trade he was a carpenter. As his cycling prowess grew his employer had to be persuaded to give him time off to compete. After his success Payne gave his employer a gold watch as a thank you.
[edit] Cycling career
Ernest Payne's cycling talent was first spotted at Boughton Park in Worcester. T W Badgery of the Worcester St Johns Cycling Club (speaking at a golden jubilee dinner in 1938) said that he borrowed his brother's bicycle "and it was seen at once that he was going to be a champion"[1]. Payne joined the St Johns club in 1903.
Payne was stockily built: five feet six and a half inches tall and weighing ten stone and seven pounds. He was trained by his brother Walter, himself a successful racing cyclist. Walter's assistant was Arthur Hale, brother of Worcester racing cyclist, Frederick Hale.
Ernie's first race was in the Summer of 1902, on 14th July at Stourbridge. He crashed and damaged his bicycle in his first race, but went on to win the half mile handicap (handicap 75 yards) on a borrowed bike. During his first season he won thirteen of his fourteen track races (coming second in the other one). He specialised in half and one mile races. Payne soon made a name for himself: by the end of June 1903 he was referred to as "the Worcester Wonder" in The Cyclist magazine. The majority of his racing would have been on grass tracks, but he proved to be equally at home on permanent velodromes.
One of his major trophies was the Challenge Cup. The cup contained 450oz of silver and stood four feet high. He won the cup outright at the 1904 Whitsun meeting in Bath, Somerset. His cycling career produced more than 150 wins including regional, national, British Empire and Olympic championships.
In his first season as a racer Payne used a locally-made machine, but in 1903 he rode an Imperial Rover, having also changed his tyres from Dunlop Road Racing to Dunlop Sprint tyres.
[edit] 1908 London Olympics
[edit] Team pursuit
The Team pursuit event took place over 3 laps of the enormous 660 yard track at the White City Stadium in London's Shepherd's Bush. Payne (then 23 years old) rode with Benjamin Jones, Clarence Kingsbury and Leonard Meredith in the British team.
The team had a walkover in the first round when the Belgian team did not start. In the semi-final they beat the Canadian team (eventual bronze medal winners) with a time of 2:19.6 to the Canadian's 2:29.2.
In the final Payne led the team to victory with superb pace-making over the last two laps of the 1980 yards (1810 m) event. They recorded a time of 2:18.6, beating the silver medal-winning German team by 10 seconds.
[edit] Other events
Payne competed in the 660 yards event, winning his heat, but getting knocked out in the semi-final.
In the 5000 metres Payne did not finish in his semi-final.
In the Sprint he won his heat but was defeated in the semi-final.
[edit] After cycling
Ernest Payne's cycle racing career seems to have finished in 1910.
He seems to have been playing football since at least 1908. In 1910 he played for Worcester Early Closers, and was then signed for Worcester City F.C., being in the team that won the Birmingham League back in 1912.
However, he also made two apperances as an amateur for Manchester United F.C.'s first team in the 1908-1909 season where he is recorded as having signed from Worcester City[2]. He made his debut against Nottingham Forest F.C. in a League Division One match on February 27 1909. He left Manchester United in June 1909. He is recorded as having scored one goal for the club.[3]
During World War I he was a motorcycle dispatch rider with the Guard's Division. His gold medal was lost while he was away in France during the war but a replica is held by Worcester City Museum.
Ernest Payne died in 1961
[edit] Memorial
After his death his widow presented Worcester St Johns Cycling Club with a sum of money to buy the Ernest Payne shield. The shield is awarded annually to the club's juvenile champion.
[edit] External links
- The Ernest Payne story at BBC Hereford and Worcester
- A brief history at Worcester St Johns CC's Web site
- A replica of Payne's Olympic gold medal at Worcester City Museum
- Payne's career at Manchester United F.C.
- A photograph of the 1908 Team Pursuit team (including Payne) at the BOA site
[edit] References
- ^ "Worcestershire Olympic Gold winners", BBC, 2004-08-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ "Ernest Payne", Encyclopaedia Manchester United. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ "Ernest Payne", Encyclopaedia Manchester United. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
