Tommy Hitchcock Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Thomas Hitchcock Jr. (1900-02-11)February 11, 1900 Aiken, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | April 18, 1944(1944-04-18) (aged 44) |
| Cause of death | Military test aircraft crash |
| Resting place | Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Education | St. Paul's School,Harvard University,Oxford University |
| Known for | Lafayette Flying Corps Polo (10-goal handicap) P-51 Mustang development |
| Board member of | Lehman Brothers |
| Spouse | Margaret Lederle Mellon |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Hitchcock Sr. Louise Mary Eustis |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sPolo | ||
Representingthe United States | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 1924 Paris | Team competition |
Thomas Hitchcock Jr. (February 11, 1900 – April 18, 1944) was an Americanpolo player and aviator who was killed in an air crash duringWorld War II. He was inducted posthumously into thePolo Hall of Fame.[1]
Born inAiken,South Carolina, Hitchcock learned the sport of polo from his parents, Louise andThomas Hitchcock Sr. His father was aU.S. Racing Hall of Fame horse trainer who had been a 10-goal polo player and helped found theMeadowbrook Polo Club onLong Island,New York, and who captained the American team in the inaugural 1886International Polo Cup. Hitchcock played in his first tournament at age 13 and was part of the Meadowbrook Polo Club team that won the 1916 U.S. national junior championship.
Hitchcock attendedSt. Paul's School, where he played football, and hockey and was a crew team member. After being elected president of the Sixth Form, Hitchcock chose to leave school and join theLafayette Flying Corps in France duringWorld War I. He was shot down and captured by the Germans, but he escaped by jumping out of a train. He then hid in the woods during the daytime and walked more than one hundred miles over eight nights to the safety of Switzerland.[2] After the war, Hitchcock studied atHarvard University andOxford University.
Hitchcock led the U.S. team to victory in the 1921International Polo Cup. From 1922 to 1940, Hitchcock carried a 10-goal handicap, which is the highest ranking in polo, from theUnited States Polo Association. Playing with notable stars such asPete Bostwick,Jock Whitney andGerald Balding, he led teams to U.S. National Open Championships in 1923, 1927, 1935 and 1936.
On December 15, 1928, Hitchcock married Margaret Lederle "Peggy" Mellon (1901–1998), the younger daughter of businessmanWilliam Larimer Mellon, inNew York City.[3] They had four children together – daughters Louise Eustis Hitchcock and Margaret Mellon Hitchcock, andtwin sons Thomas Hitchcock III and William Mellon Hitchcock.
For several years, Hitchcock was employed in New York by venture capitalist and socialite George Gordon Moore. He also coached a notable polo team (includingW. Averell Harriman), known as the San Carlos Cardinals, at Moore's Rancho San Carlos (now theSanta Lucia Preserve) inCarmel, California.[4][5] In 1937, with fellow polo playerRobert Lehman, Hitchcock became a partner in theLehman Brothers investment firm.[6]
Serving as alieutenant colonel in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II, Hitchcock was assigned as an assistant air attaché to the U.S. Embassy inLondon, England. In that capacity, he was instrumental in the development of theP-51 Mustang fighter plane, particularly in replacing the original Allison engine with the Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin. Hitchcock was killed while piloting one such aircraft nearSalisbury inWiltshire, when he was unable to pull out of a dive while doing tests. His death was reported to his family by fellow St. Paul's alumnusJohn G. Winant, then serving asUnited States Ambassador to the United Kingdom.[7]
AuthorF. Scott Fitzgerald modeled two characters in his books on Hitchcock – Tom Buchanan inThe Great Gatsby (1925) and the Tommy Barban character inTender Is the Night (1934).[8]
Following its formation, Hitchcock was inducted posthumously into thePolo Hall of Fame in 1990. He had played on teams that won theInternational Polo Cup several times during the 1920s and 1930s (seeBig Four).
Three of Hitchcock's children – Margaret, Thomas and William – loaned theHitchcock Estate in Millbrook, New York, toTimothy Leary from 1963 to 1968, and it became a nexus of thepsychedelic movement of that decade.
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