This bicycle was used by George Hendee in his last year of championship racing competition. Hendee (1866–1943) was the leading American bicycle racer of the 1880s, winning 302 of 309 races entered. After he retired from racing he started his own bicycle manufacturing company in Springfield. His business acumen and leadership skills led to the founding of Indian Motocycle in 1901 as an outgrowth of his bicycle business.
