Well I am 6'3" or thereabouts. I have had many bikes from the 1800s to present day models. Big riders rode big bikes and small riders rode small bikes. Back to the hi-wheel days, you had to size the bike to the person or it would just not work. The mechanics of the bike would not allow a smaller rider to reach the pedals of a big bike and conversely, a larger person would have trouble on a small bike because the distance between his foot and knee is fixed as was the dimension between the pedal and handlebar. Being a Wheelman I can tell you that I have seen many old racing bikes and they came in all sizes. This does not mean that some riders did not prefer smaller or larger bikes than fit them. In more cases than not, amateur riders used what they had available to them. They were not so lucky to be able to afford or choose a custom made bike. Here are some links that show the varied sizes of bicycles of days past.
http://www.theracingbicycle.com/
http://www.thewheelmen.org/
Check out the pneumatics on that last link.
Having owned some smaller bikes myself I can tell you from experience that riding to small a bike is literally and figuratively a pain.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ