Nutley Historical Society Will Host a Program Honoring Hall of Fame Cyclist Tino Reboli on Nov. 19 at Museum
The Nutley Historical Society will host a special program to honor Tino Reboli, the award-winning golden age bicycle racer and a fan favorite at the legendary Nutley Velodrome, on Wednesday Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. The event will be held at the Nutley Museum, 65 Church Street. The program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
A former Nutley resident, Reboli was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, Davis, CA, on October 18. Born and bred in New Jersey, Reboli was one of the most popular and successful pro bike riders in the 1930s. He competed in Motorpace (riding in the slipstream of a motorcycle), grueling Six-Day races, and track and road races.
He was part of the world-class field of cyclists when the Nutley Velodrome held its inaugural races on Sunday, June 4, 1933, before a standing-room-old crowd of 12,000 fans. Reboli, during the 1930s, competed at cycling tracks in Chicago, Detroit, New York, Buffalo, Cleveland, Milwaukee and San Francisco.
Reboli won the 1938 national professional Motorpace championship, held at the Nutley Velodrome. High-speed motorpacing was a glamorous but dangerous part of the sport, as cyclists “drafted” behind motorcycles. As an amateur, he captured the Newark national junior road race championship in 1929, then went on to win the state senior road racing titles in 1931 and 1932.
Chester (Tino) Reboli was born in Newark in 1913 and died on November 18, 1985.