Bob Schwartz wrote:
> Hey Les, did Santa drop off one of these? http://tinyurl.com/yfgwpb
I don't think I'm especially cranky but will admit that I'm stubborn
when I think I am right. The syndicate that has taken over USA Cycling
learned that the hard way and paid for the lesson.
> You and I both know how things operated in the sport during the
> 1960s. This was an ABLA national championship race that awarded
> ABLA national championship jerseys and medals, just like the
> road champions got at races that were not organized by the ABLA
> either.
>
> The recent USCF Cyclocross National Championships were organized
> by the New England Cyclo-cross Association for the USCF, just how
> they used to work it back in the day. Since you have a special
> talent for not admitting the obvious I will leave it at that.
Recent USCF Cyclocrosss National Championships have been officially
organized by USCF and some administrative responsibilities have been
delegated to local organizations. These championships are also
specifically recognized in USCF Racing Rules. That was not the case for
the '60s cyclocross events.
Further evidence of the lack of official status for those
"championships" can be found in the *real* national championship
programs from that era. I have the official USCF National Championship
Programs from the 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967. While they list all
recognized USCF national champions from 1921 on and even show the top 25
finishers for some events as well as various midget, intermediate and
junior national champions, there is no mention any cyclocross events. In
other words, the latter "championships" were not recognized as such at
the time.
Digging further into my files just now I found a handwritten letter from
Theo Kron dated 30 May 1978 requesting that the 1963-67 "Cyclecross
Championships" be listed in the USCF Rule Book. I had just taken over as
editor of that publication and initiated the practice of listing
national champions there. Though I served on the USCF board with Theo
for several years before he left and thought he was a fine fellow, I
respectfully disagreed with his claim and decline to list them. There
probably was some discussion of this matter by the USCF board of
directors at that time but I don't remember it.
I stopped editing the rule book after 1965, when I temporarily lost my
seat on the board as a result of my advocacy of a strong helmet rule, an
unpopular position at that time. The USCF staff then took over the
editing and, as I mentioned earlier, once made the mistake of listing
those "national championships" without checking their legitimacy.
> I get the feeling that it was common for people to agree with
> you in order to make you go away.
>
> Bob Schwartz
Feel free.
-Les Earnest