Tommy Hitchcock Jr.

Thomas Hitchcock Jr. (1900 to 1944) was an American polo player and aviator who was inducted posthumously into the Polo Hall of Fame. Born in Aiken, South Carolina, he learned the sport from his parents; his father, Thomas Hitchcock Sr., was a ten-goal player who helped found the Meadowbrook Polo Club. Tommy played his first tournament at thirteen and was part of the Meadowbrook team that won the 1916 national junior championship. From 1922 to 1940 he carried a ten-goal handicap, the highest rating in polo, led the United States to victory in the 1921 International Polo Cup, and led teams to U.S. National Open Championships in 1923, 1927, 1935 and 1936. In the First World War he flew with the Lafayette Flying Corps, was shot down and captured, and escaped by jumping from a train. He later became a partner at Lehman Brothers and was killed in an air crash during the Second World War.