A standard — but usually unseen and unsung — piece of athletic gear in many sports is the common jock strap.
Although I doubt that any cyclists wrapped up in lycra and chamois these days would consider using one, the jock strap was created to support bicycle riders.
While visiting a museum on Orcas Island this past week, I stumbled across this antique box for a Jockey Strap Suspensory. It was in a collection of early 20th Century items found in a home's private dispensary.
Notice “The Bike” logo and the guy riding his bicycle in the lower left corner.
Russell Brands, which now owns the Bike Athletic brand, says that the Bike Web Company began making the jock strap
back in 1874 to provide support for bicycle jockeys riding the
ball-busting cobblestone streets of Boston. Those wood and steel bikes
were called boneshakers.
The garment later became known as the Bike jockey strap, then shortened to jock strap — and the rest is history.
By the time this package was made, boneshakers had given way to safety bikes, and baseball, football and golf shared the sports spotlight.
A few years ago, Russell Brands announced that the 350 millionth Bike jock strap had rolled off the assembly line. The milestone was reported in the Arizona Republic under the headline: “700 Million Served.”
If you're looking for support, here's a link to Bike's line of jock straps.
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