Parents Thomas Hitchcock, Sr. Spouse(s) Margaret Mellon Grandparents George Eustis, Jr. | Name Tommy Jr. Role Jr. | |
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Cause of death Military test aircraft crash Known for Lafayette Flying CorpsPolo (10-goal handicap)P-51 Mustang development Children Louise Eustis Hitchcock, Margaret Mellon Hitchcock, Thomas Hitchcock III, William Mellon Hitchcock Education Harvard University, St. Paul\'s School | ||
Great-grandparents George Eustis, Sr. | ||
Thomas Hitchcock Jr. (February 11, 1900 – April 18, 1944) was an American polo player who was killed in an air crash during World War II. He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame.
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Biography
Born in Aiken, South Carolina, he learned the sport from his parents, Louise and Thomas Hitchcock Sr.. His father was a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame horse trainer who had been a 10-goal player who helped found the Meadowbrook Polo Club on Long Island, New York, and who captained the American team in the inaugural 1886 International Polo Cup. Tommy Jr. played in his first tournament at age 13 and was part of the Meadowbrook Polo Club that won the 1916 U.S. national junior championship.
Hitchcock attended St. Paul's School, where he played football, hockey and was a member of the crew team. After being elected president of the Sixth Form, Hitchcock chose to leave school and join the Lafayette Flying Corps in France during World War I. He was shot down and captured by the Germans but escaped his captors by jumping out of the train. On foot, he hid in the woods during the daytime then walked more than one hundred miles for eight nights to the safety of Switzerland.
After the war, Hitchcock returned to study at Harvard University as well as at Oxford University. Playing polo, he led the U.S. team to victory in the 1921 International Polo Cup. From 1922 to 1940, Hitchcock carried a 10-goal handicap, which is the highest ranking in polo, from the United States of America Polo Association. Playing with notable stars such as Pete Bostwick, Jock Whitney, and Gerald Balding, he led four teams to U.S. National Open Championships in 1923, 1927, 1935 and 1936.
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald modeled two characters in his books on Tommy Hitchcock Jr.: Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925) and the Tommy Barban character in Tender Is the Night (1934).
Hitchcock married Margaret Mellon, daughter of William Larimer Mellon, in New York City on 15 December 1928. They had four children: daughters Louise Eustis Hitchcock, Margaret Mellon Hitchcock, and twins Thomas Hitchcock III, and William Mellon Hitchcock.
As a friend of fellow polo player, Robert Lehman, in 1937 he became a partner in the Lehman Brothers investment firm. [1]
Serving as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, Hitchcock was assigned as an assistant air attache to the US Embassy in London, England. In that capacity, he was instrumental in the development of the P-51 Mustang fighter plane, particularly in replacing the original Allison engine with the Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin. He was killed in a crash while piloting one such aircraft near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England 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 alum John G. Winant, then serving as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Legacy
Following its formation, in 1990 Tommy Hitchcock Jr. was inducted posthumously into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame.