Murray (bicycle company)

[1] Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was founded in 1919 to make fenders, fuel tanks, and other automobile parts.

Styled by the industrial artist and designer, Viktor Schreckengost, the streamlined machine, with an elaborate diecast metal headpiece, was finished in black, chrome, and polished aluminum, the deluxe version of the Mercury Pacemaker line.

Since the 1930s, Murray had been producing bicycles that, while stylistically different, imitated designs by other U.S. manufacturers, including Schwinn and AMF.

By modifying chain guards, luggage carriers, lighting, handlebars, and truss rods, Schrekengost gave each bicycle a distinctive look while retaining the same welded tube frame design.

Like its competitor, American Machine and Foundry (AMF), Murray left Cleveland in the 1950s and moved its factory and assembly plant to the American South, choosing a factory site in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, with corporate headquarters located in Brentwood, Tennessee.

The Teamsters charged unfair labor practices and proceeded to lead a 46-day strike that halted production.

The Wildcat was also styled by Schreckengost, who gave it his own interpretation of a chopper motorcycle, with high-rise handlebars, a tall sissy bar, and a flared rear fender.

During the 1980s, in an attempt to overcome declining sales, Murray began selling its bicycle line in lower-cost mass market stores and discount chains such as Target, K-Mart, Woolworth, and Wal-Mart.

While the practice enabled the company to increase sales of overall units, profits failed to meet expectations as a result of reduced margins imposed by mass retailers.

In June 1988, the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was acquired by the British investment group Tomkins plc.

In 2000, the Murray brand was acquired by Pacific Cycle, a U.S. distributor of bicycles produced in Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.

Murray licensed the Stanley brand and produced lawn and garden mowers and snow blowers sold at Wal-Mart and other retailers.