Murray (bicycles)

Murray was an American company whose assets are now owned by Briggs & Stratton and Dorel Industries. The corporate brand is a descendant of the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company, which manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment.

Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was founded in 1919 to make fenders, fuel tanks, and other automobile parts. The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Cleveland factory was unionized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and AFL–CIO. In the mid-1930s, the company began production of bicycles, mostly for the youth market. Other products included pedal cars and electric fans. Until 1939, Murray manufactured all of its products for branding and sale by other manufacturers, especially Sears, Roebuck & Co. From 1939 through 1942, Murray made the body parts for the Crosley automobile.

In 1939, Murray introduced its Pacemaker Series Mercury bicycle at the 1939 New York World's Fair. 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. However, the Mercury was an expensive bicycle, and sales were few. It was produced only in limited numbers until 1942, when the war stopped consumer bicycle production.

After the war, Murray became known as a manufacturer of low-cost bicycles, and placed its own brand on some products. Since the 1930s, Murray had been producing bicycles that, while stylistically different, imitated designs by other U.S. manufacturers, including Schwinn and AMF. This occasionally brought Murray into legal conflict with competitors, as when Schwinn filed against Murray for duplicating a Schwinn knurling and machining process on its rims.

...
Wikipedia