by Everette Carr
Amateur National Road Racing Champion
Senior Men
1936
St. Louis, Missouri
Amateur Bicycle League of America
(United States Cycling Federation)
U S Bicycling Hall of Fame
Inductee
1999
He loved bicycle racing and he loved being at the track. But he was more than a dedicated, knowledgeable fan, he was a pioneer bicycle racer, a world champion who could beguile you with tales of how it used to be back in his day, the glory days of bicycle racing in America and the world.
Jack Simes Jr.. was a track and road racer who won his first race at the age of 15, in 1929. He won over forty amateur bicycle racing events in 1936-37. During his career he participated in track cycle races at a time when six-day bicycle races were in vogue. Six-day bicylcle races were indoor events that originated at Madison Square Garden in 1898. Although originally an indiviual sport, six-day bicycle races evolved into a two-man team race. Todays 'Madison', a two-man track cycle event is the outgrowth of these earlier events. Jack's promising career was cut short in his prime by a bad crash in his first professional six-day event in San Francisco. As a result of this accident, he retired from competitive bicycle racing at age 23.
Jack Simes Jr. was inducted into the U. S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1999. He passed away in early August, 2001. We will all miss his presence at the Friday night races. But all one has to do is to look at the wall along the home stretch and he will be remembered.
Jack's father was also a bicycle racer and Jack Simes Jr. is the father of Bicycle 'Hall of Fame' enductee, Jack Simes III and the grand-father of Ryan Oelkers, another track cycle racer that is well known to fans of track cycle racing and the spectators at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. Ryan is considered a "Madison" specialist. He is the 1999 LVV Madison Cup Champion and finished second in the 1999 LVV Rider of the Year competition. Also, keep your eyes on Jack Simes IV (10-13 age group),an up and coming young track cycle racer that is already beginning to establish himself on the Lehigh Valley Velodrome track.