Joseph Magnani

Joseph Magnani
Personal information
Born	July 15, 1911; LaSalle, Illinois
Died	November 30, 1975 (aged 64); Oak Park, Illinois
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Amateur team
	Club Cyclo-Tourists
Professional teams
1935–1938	Urago
1939	Terrot–Hutchinson
1940	Individual
1941–1944	France-Sport–Dunlop
1944–1945	You have called {{Contentious topics}}. You probably meant to call one of these templates instead: Alerting users {{alert/first}} ({{Contentious topics/alert/first}}) is used, on a user's talk page, to "alert", or draw a user's attention, to the contentious topics system if they have never received such an alert before. In this case, this template must be used for the notification.; {{alert}} ({{Contentious topics/alert}}) is used, on a user's talk page, to "alert", or draw a user's attention, to the fact that a specific topic is a contentious topic. It may only be used if the user has previously received any contentious topic alert, and it can be replaced by a custom message that conveys the contentious topic designation.; {{alert/DS}} ({{Contentious topics/alert/DS}}) is used to inform editors that the old "discretionary sanctions" system has been replaced by the contentious topics system, and that a specific topic is a contentious topic.; {{Contentious topics/aware}} is used to register oneself as already aware that a specific topic is a contentious topic.; Editnotices {{Contentious topics/editnotice}} is used to inform editors that a page is covered by the contentious topics system using an editnotice. Use the one below if the page has restrictions placed on the page.; {{Contentious topics/page restriction editnotice}} is used to inform editors that the page they are editing is subject to contentious topics restrictions using an editnotice. Use the above if there are no restrictions placed on the page.; Talk page notices {{Contentious topics/talk notice}} is used to provide additional communication, using a talk page messagebox (tmbox), to editors that they are editing a page that is covered by the contentious topics system. The template standardises the format and wording of such notices. Use the below if there are restrictions placed on the page.; {{Contentious topics/page restriction talk notice}} is used to inform editors that page restrictions are active on the page using a talk page messagebox (tmbox). Use the above if there are no restrictions placed on the page.; If a user who has been alerted goes on to disruptively edit the affected topic area, they can be reported to the arbitration enforcement (AE) noticeboard, where an administrator will investigate their conduct and issue a sanction if appropriate. {{AE sanction}} is used by administrators to inform a user that they have been sanctioned.; Miscellaneous {{Contentious topics/list}} and {{Contentious topics/table}} show which topics are currently designated as contentious topics. They are used by a number of templates and pages on Wikipedia.;
1945–1946	Ray–Dunlop
1946	Olmo–Fulgor
1947	Urago–Dunlop
1948	Tebag

Joseph Magnani (July 15, 1911 – November 30, 1975) was an American road cyclist, who competed as a professional from 1935 to 1948.

Early life

Joseph Magnani was born in LaSalle, Illinois, to John and Gonda Magnani, who were Italian immigrants. His father was a coal miner. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Mount Clare, Illinois, where his father continued to work as a miner.

Career

In 1928 at the age of 16, he and his sister Angeline moved to France to live with relatives, where he began to take an interest in cycling competitions.^[1] Here he also met his wife Erminia (Mimi) Soria. There he joined a local amateur team.^[2] After winning the Grand Prix Urago in 1935, Magnani was offered a contract with a team sponsored by Urago Cycles. His first major win came the same year in the 1935 Marseille–Nice, when he attacked the peloton near the end of the race and held the chasers off to the line.^[3] Magnani continued to have success in the next few seasons, having finished 9th overall in the 1938 Paris–Nice, after moving into the top 10 overall due to finishing ahead of the peloton in a breakaway on the penultimate stage. He also gained additional attention in the press for being the only American professional cyclist in Europe, earning him the nickname "L'Américain".^[2] However, he never was able to compete in the Tour de France because the race was between national teams at the time.

For the 1939 season, Magnani moved to the Terrot–Hutchinson team, winning several more races including the first stage of the Tour du Sud-Est.^[2]

His career was cut short by World War II and his imprisonment in a concentration camp, where he was kept for 18 months, losing over 70 pounds in the process. After his release, he returned to competition and represented the United States at the 1947 UCI Road World Championships in Reims, where he finished seventh and yet was the final finisher due to extremely hot weather, forcing many top names including Fausto Coppi to abandon the race.^[2]

Magnani competed in his only Grand Tour at the 1946 Giro d'Italia with Olmo team owned by former professional cyclist Giuseppe Olmo. However, he was forced to abandon the race after suffering a crash. This also made him the first American to compete in the race.^[1]

In 1948, he returned to the United States for a family reunion, and decided to return to living there after receiving a contract with the Schwinn Bicycle Company to compete in six-day races.

He died from Parkinson's disease in Oak Park in the suburbs of Chicago on November 30, 1975. He was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1998.