On April 23, 1929, the second annual Transcontinental Foot Race Across America, known as the Bunion Derby, was in its twenty-fifth day.
Along with the signature outfit that earned him his nickname--a white towel tied around his head, white shorts, and a white shirt--Gardner wore an American flag, a reminder to all who saw him run through the Jim Crow S.
Eddie "the Sheik" Gardner, an African American runner from Seattle, was leading the Race Across the Free Bridge over the Mississippi River.
On April 23, 1929, the second annual Transcontinental Foot Race Across America, known as the Bunion Derby, was in its twenty-fifth day