Choppy Warburton
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James Edward Warburton or Choppy Warburton as he was known (13 November 1845[1][2] – 18 December 1897[3]) was an English record breaking runner and renowned cycling coach.[4] Warburton's potential as a runner was identified at 17 by his employer at the Hutch Bank cotton mill, John Duckworth. He competed as an amateur athlete between 1866 and 1879 before turning professional at 34. He won more than 500 first prizes, including 75 cups, visiting venues throughout the north of England, running races from one mile to more than 20, all while working full-time as a warehouseman. Warburton visited his brother George in the United States in 1880, entering several competitions and acquiring 80 cups and medals.[1]
Warburton coached three world cycling champions,[5] the sportsmen he coached included the record-breaking cyclists Jimmy Michael and brothers Thomas and Arthur Linton of Aberaman, Rhondda Cynon Taff. Warburton's success has been questioned, and it is suspected that he used drugs on his charges.[5] Michael is said to have accused Warburton of poisoning him, before he was taken to court for libel.[6] Warburton was banned for a period following rumours that he was pumping his athletes full of drugs. Arthur Linton was described by The Anti Doping Forum in Sydney 2004, as the first reported death of an athlete from a substance strychnine in 1886,[7] although other sources indicate he died of typhoid.[3] According to the Lancashire Family History Society "Choppy has been firmly identified as the instigator of drug taking in the sport (sic. of cycling) in the 19th century."[1]
Warburton also appeared in a drawing of Michael by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the French art nouveau artist, for a poster to advertise Michael's sponsor, the Simpson chain company.[8] The National Museum of Wales purchased one of the posters in the 1960s although it is not on display.[9]
He was born in Coal Hey, just off Lower Deardengate, in Haslingden, Lancashire, son of James Warburton and Harriet Birtwistle (a widow, her maiden name was Morris), the eldest of 12 children of which only six survived. Although the property in which he was born still stands, and boasts a blue plaque, it does not commemorate Warburton.[1] He was once landlord of the Fisher’s Arms in Blackburn’s Birley Street.[4] Warburton died in Wood Green, London.[4]
It is said that Warbuton gained the nickname Choppy from his father, a sailor, who always responded with 'choppy', when asked what the weather had been on a voyage,[4] although according to the United Kingdom census 1871, his father was a power-loom weaver in a cotton mill.[10]
[edit] Further reading
- Richard O. Watson (1 November 2006). Choppy Warburton Long Distance Runner and Trainer of Cycling Champions. E Wileybooks. ISBN 9780955364709.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Book Review: ‘Choppy’ Warburton. Lancashire Family History Society (October 2006).
- ^ BDM Indexes, Oct/Nov/Dec 1845 - James Edward Warbuton; Registration District: Haslingden; Volume: 21; Page: 459;. Ancestry (Registration required - free to view).
- ^ a b Speed freaks who raced to an early grave. The Times (5 August 2006).
- ^ a b c d Choppy Warburton. Cotton Town.
- ^ a b Cheating and drugs in sport. BBC (14 October 2003).
- ^ "Choppy" Warburton Dead. New York Times (19 December 1897).
- ^ Podofdonny (10 January 2005). Magnus Goes for Record - History of the Derny Paced Hour. Pro Cycling News.
- ^ Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
- ^ Anthony Brockway (14 May 2006). Toulouse-Lautrec and the Welsh Cyclist.
- ^ United Kingdom census 1871, Coal Hey, Haslingden Lancashire
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