Tommy Smeriglio

Tommy Smeriglio

Tommy Smeriglio

with Ernie Landis at a race start

Tommy Smeriglio was such an accomplished bike racer, we may need to get a bigger bike shop.  His trophies cover shelf after shelf in our museum, and we probably don’t even have them all.

A very active amatuer racer on the east coast, Tommy specialized in long distance timed events and road races.  He raced in pretty much every bike race the Unione Sportiva Italiana held between 1938 and 1952, and set numerous records while doing so.  He won the 1938 USI two-hour team time trial, the 1939 Cocce Memorial 25 mile time trial, a 1943 USI 200 mile time trial, the 1946 USI sprint series, and the 1950 Worcester road race.

In the 1940’s Tommy set records racing from New York to Pittsburg and from New York to Detroit: two records that probably still stand (because who, in the last 70 years, would have attempted to break them?).

Tommy's 1950 Dick Power track bike

USI and ABL of A medals

Smeriglio's vast haul of awards

Part of the fun of having our own hall of fame is that we get to document the sporting lives of some inspiring, but somewhat anonymous, individuals.  Cyclists whose racing careers may not have been world-class but were certainly worth celebrating.  Come check out Tommy’s old track bike (no snickering now, the builder’s name really was “Dick Power”).  Take a look at his collection of awards and photos.

If you take nothing else away from our little museum, remember this: listen up the next time your grandfather mentions that he “used to race a bit” when he was younger…