Rye Sports History: The “Rye Derby” of 1908

We've got an evening full of Rye sports history coming up, so MyRye.com thought we'd give you a taste of the upcoming event.

Long before the Rye Derby, before the jogging craze of the 1970’s, Rye was the starting point of one the first marathons held in New York. It all started with the 1908 Olympics in London…

American Johnny Hayes won the gold medal in the Men’s Marathon at the IV Games of the Olympiad held in London in 1908. This win contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. New York City held five amateur marathons later that year, one of which was the Rye-to-Columbus Circle Marathon held on December 26th, 1908.

In the picture above, we see runners participating in this race. The race was won by Matthew Maloney of the Trinity Athletic Club, beating the “King of Marathons”, James Crowley, of the Irish American Athletic Club.

Read how The New York Times covered the event in 1908.