Keith Kingbay

Keith Kingbay was a successful racer, manufacturing professional, advocate, and author in the world of bicycling. Born on April 30, 1914 and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kingbay first made a name for himself as a successful road and track racing cyclist during the active racing scene of the 1940's before moving to Chicago to work for the Schwinn Bicycle Company.

chwinn

At Schwinn, Kingbay took charge of the Parts Department before being put in charge of the elite Paramount manufacturing program in 1959 by Frank Schwinn, who had become fed up with how it was being run by the Wastyns. During this time Kingbay became known as the father of the Varsity and Continental, Schwinn's first derailleur-geared road bicycles. He convinced Frank Schwinn to introduce the new bikes and was said to have gotten the Huret brothers drunk over a steak dinner in Chicago while trying to convince them to come down on their price for derailleurs.

Kingbay, who was becoming something of a public relations specialist, eventually became Schwinn's Cycling Activities Director. Described as the "Ambassador of Bicycling", Kingbay traveled to Schwinn dealers around the country to promote cycling and to lead group rides. He actively engaged reporters wherever he went and regularly generated pro-bike press. While Kingbay's PR duties at Schwinn were clearly in support of Schwinn's bottom-line, he naturally evolved into a general pro-bike advocate of national prominence.

Advocacy

In 1965, in cooperation with Phyllis Harmon and Joe Hart, Kingbay reorganized the venerable League of American Wheelmen and brought it back to national prominence as the League of American Bicyclists.

During his career as an advocate, Kingbay held the following positions:

*U.S. Cycling Federation (USCF) Treasurer
*member of the Board of USCF
*member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC)
*chairman of the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago
*member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness
*founder of the Illinois Cycling Association
*Cycling Activities Chairman of the League of American Wheelman

Authorship

Kingbay also authored several cycling related publications, starting modestly with the creation of a Schwinn Repair Manual in 1959. In 1972, he co-authored with George Fichter a "Bicycling" edition of the Golden Guide series of children's books. In 1976, he wrote the general technique and safety guide titled "Inside Bicycling" (ISBN 0-8092-8029-9), and in 1978, he and Fichter teamed up again to write, "Contemporary Bicycle Racing" (ISBN 0-8092-7558-9).

Honors

Kingbay's efforts did not go without recognition. In 1977, he became the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Paul Dudley White Award, which has been a top honor bestowed by League of American Wheelman (Bicyclists). In 1995, he was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame. In the fall of 2005, he was listed in the "Top 25 Change Agents for Cycling", a list published by the League of American Bicyclists of "25 people who indelibly changed the face of cycling in America." And on November 3, 2006, Kingbay was inducted as an inaugural member into the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation Hall of Fame for participating in that organization's founding in 1985.

Keith Kingbay remained a lifelong cyclist. He died on January 16, 1995 in Denver, Colorado.

References

*"1995 Hall of Fame Inductees." Welcome to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. 8 Jul 2006 .
*Harmon, Phyllis. "Keith Kingbay". "25 Change Agents for Cycling." American Bicyclist. Fall 2005: 16-17.
*Louv, Richard. "The bicycle as a learning machine." SignonSanDiego.com. 5 Jul 2005. Union-Tribune. 8 Jul 2006 .
*McCormick, Patrick J. "Phyllis W. Harmon: League MVP." Phyllis Harmon LAB Article. Summer 2003. Wheeling Wheelmen. 8 Jul 2006 .
*"Paramount's Golden Years 1959-1979." Waterford Precision Cycles. Waterford Precision Cycles. 8 Jul 2006 .
*"Keith Kingbay." Individual Record. 1 Jan 2006. U.S. Social Security Death Index. 8 Jul 2006 .

External links

* [http://www.schwinnbike.com/ Schwinn Bicycle]
* [http://www.bikeleague.org/ League of American Bicyclists]
* [http://www.illinoiscycling.com/ Illinois Cycling Association]
* [http://www.usbhof.com/ U.S. Bicycle Hall of Fame]
*PDF| [http://www.bikeleague.org/members/pdfs/fall05_magazine.pdf American Bicyclist - "25 Change Agents for Cycling"] |2.48 MiB