Fred Bacon

In modern-day track and field, athletes tend to specialise in just one or two events; Fred Bacon, however, was completely different at the end of the 19th century. Despite having a preference for the one mile, he was also very adept at all distances up to 10 miles. Bacon was also a keen cross-country runner, and even enjoyed the steeplechase.

Bacon started running in the Manchester area shortly after joining the Army and finished third in his first race at Macclesfield in 1890. The winner of several Army races, he went on to win the AAA one-mile title three years running 1893-95, and when he won it in the third of those years, he did so in a world amateur record 4:17.0, knocking 0.8 seconds off the Irish-American Tommy Conneff’s record. Conneff reclaimed the record, however, seven weeks later. Bacon also won the AAA 4 miles in 1894 and the 10 miles in 1895. That would be Bacon’s last chance of any further AAA glory because shortly before the 1896 Championships, Bacon, along with sprinters Charles Bradley and Alfred Downer, and two other distance runners George Crossland and Harry Watkins, were all banned for breaking the AAA code of amateur rules.

Having turned professional, Bacon put in some amazing performances and in October 1896 he beat Conneff over one, two, and three miles. In 1897 Bacon broke the Indigenous American Deerfoot’s 34-year-old record for the one hour run when he added 273 yards to Deerfoot’s record of 11 miles 970 yards. Bacon was scheduled to compete in two professional races at the 1900 Paris Olympics, but was a non-starter in both the 1,500 and 5,000 metres.

Bacon served 12 years with the 3rd Battalion Manchester Regiment until his discharge in November 1898, although he remained on the Reserve List. On 27 January 1903, Bacon was appointed trainer at Manchester United FC and with him he brought massage techniques never seen before in English football. He also brought the players up to the stamina levels required to be a top footballer. United were languishing in the second tier of English football and still awaiting their first major honour. Within five years of joining United, however, they had won the English League title for the first time, and by the time his contract was severed at the end of the 1911-12 season, they had won two League titles, and the FA Cup in 1909.

Being a reservist, Bacon was recalled to the Army during World War I and was sent to Lincolnshire as part of the defence of the River Humber. He settled on the east coast, at Cleethorpes, where he set up a masseur and chiropody business in the town.