Checkers, Game of

"Six years ago today, on Dec. 18, 1999, the last Checker to give a rider a Manhattan tumble was sold in an auction at Sotheby's. That final Checker cab, owned by Earl Johnson since 1978, had logged 994,050 New York miles, about 40 times around the world. The cab was auctioned for $134,500. Mr. Johnson, who remembered paying $9,000 for it new, retired to Montego Bay, Jamaica."
("King Cab" by Ted West, NYT)