|
Truxtun Hare
Thomas Truxtun Hare (October 12, 1878 – February 2, 1956) was an American Olympic medalist who competed in track and field and the hammer throw.[1][2] He also played football with the University of Pennsylvania and was selected first-team All-American all four years.[2] Sports Illustrated wrote, "Few early 20th Century players were as revered as Hare, who played every minute of every game."[3] He was selected as a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.[2] Early life and educationHare was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2][4] He was the son of Emily Power (née Beale) and Horace Binney Hare, a successful attorney.[5] He came from a long line of lawyers.[6] He attended St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1897.[2][4][5] There, he started in baseball, football, and track.[5] In the fall of 1897, Hare enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in 1901.[4] There, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall), the Ancient and Honorable Order of the Sons of Rest, and the Sphinx Senior Society.[2] He performed in plays with Mask and Wig, was vice president of the Cercle Francais and an assistant manager of the Musical Clubs.[2] He was freshman class president and was elected as the Spoon Man his senior year.[5][2] At the University of Pennsylvania, Hare played on the varsity cricket team and the varsity track team, competing in jumper, runner, and weight thrower.[2][5] The track team won their collegiate championships during his time.[5] He also played on the Penn Quakers football team from 1897 to 1900 and served as team captain in his junior and senior years.[2] He also played "every minute of every game for four years," helping his team win 32 consecutive games.[7][4] He is one of only a handful of men to earn first-team All-American honors during all four years of college.[2][7] While primarily a guard, he also called signals, kicked off, punted, ran, and drop-kicked extra points.[7] Walter Camp said he could have been an All-American in any position.[7][5] He then enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania Law School, graduating with a law degree in 1903.[2][4] OlympicsHe won the silver medal in the hammer throw in the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris, as well as placing eighth in the shot put and competing without making a legal mark in the discus throw.[2][1] He competed for the United States in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri, in the all-rounder which consisted of ten events: 100 yd run, shot put, high jump, 880 yd walk, hammer throw, pole vault, 120 yd hurdles, 56 lb weight throw, long jump, and 1-mile run, where he won the bronze medal.[1][5] CareerAfter graduating from law school, he practiced corporate law in Philadelphia.[2] In 1913, he became an assistant solicitor for the United Gas Improvement Company, retaining this position until 1943.[2][4][5] He became the managing director and board member of Bryn Mawr Hospital in 1943.[2][4][5] He replaced his brother, C. Willing Hare, who had died on December 6, 1942.[4] In 1946, he was named president of the hospital.[4] In this capacity, he oversaw the addition of a six-story wing, a $2.8 million project.[4] Hare also served as a director of the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance Houses from Loss.[4] Starting in 1908, he authored two series of books for boys.[2][5] His first series followed a journey from college football to coaching.[5] The second series, followed the same character through prep school.[8] He also published poetry books.[2] PublicationsPhilip Kent, The College Athlete series
Philip Kent of Malvern series
Awards and honors
Personal lifeHe married Katherine Sargent Smith, a Philadelphia socialite, in 1906.[4][6][5] They had four children: Truxtun Jr., Tristan, Robert, Martha and Mrs. Frederic McLaughlin.[4] They lived in Radnor, Pennsylvania, on a sixty-acre farm known as Limehouse.[4][18][5] During the 1930s, Hare chaired the University of Pennsylvania Athletic Advisory Board.[5] He was also a member of the University of Pennsylvania Scholarship Committee.[5] He was a vestryman and senior warden at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Radnor.[2][4] He was president of the United Bowmen of America and a member of the Merian Cricket Club, the Philadelphia Club, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, the St. Anthony Club of Philadelphia, and the University Barge Club.[2][4][6] He was also a member of the Authors' League of America and the Pegasus Club.[2] He was the founding president of the Business Men's Art Club in 1927, and his paintings and pottery was shown in exhibitions with the Art Club of Philadelphia.[2][6] In 1956, he died at his home on Weadley Road in Radnor at the age of 77 years.[4] References
External links |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
