Louis Ezekiel Stoddard

Major Louis Ezekiel Stoddard (January 25, 1878 – March 9, 1948)[1] was an American 10-goal handicap polo player.[2] He participated in the 1913 and 1921 International Polo Cup.[3] He was the chairman of the United States Polo Association from 1921 to 1936.[4] He won the Junior Polo Championship, Senior Polo Championship, U.S. Open Polo Championship and the Monty Waterbury Cup twice each.[2]

Louis Ezekiel Stoddard
BornJanuary 25, 1878
DiedMarch 9, 1948(1948-03-09) (aged 70)
Resting placeGrove Street Cemetery
Education
Occupation(s)Businessman, polo player
Spouses
  • Rebecca McCullough Darlington
    (m. 1904; died 1913)
  • Mary Andrews
    (m. 1915)

Early life edit

He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on January 25, 1878, the son of Ezekiel Gilbert Stoddard, a merchant, banker and broker, and his wife Mary deForest (Burlock) Stoddard.[1] He was educated at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He was graduated with a B.A. from Yale University in 1899, where he had been a member of Scroll and Key.[1]

 
Louis Ezekiel Stoddard, Thomas Hitchcock Jr., James Watson Webb Sr. and Devereaux Milburn in 1921 at the Meadowbrook Polo Club for the International Polo Cup

Polo edit

He learned polo at the New Haven Polo Club around 1900.[2]

In 1909, was he was chosen as the substitute for the American polo team at the International Polo Cup.[2] He was a substitute in the 1913 International Polo Cup and played when James Montaudevert Waterbury Jr. was injured.[2][3] He participated in the 1921 International Polo Cup.[2][3]

He was elected chairman of the United States Polo Association in 1922 and served until 1936.[2]

Business ventures edit

He was treasurer and general manager of the Beatty Starch Company in New Haven from 1899 to 1902, and subsequently was involved with mining, banking, and manufacturing firms, including the Bingham-New Haven Mining Company, Alvarado Mining and Milling Company, the New Haven Hotel Company and Factory Products Export Company, the William P. Bonbright & Company banking firm; the Fowler and Union Horsenail Co., the Marlin Arms Co., the Red River Valley Company, and the Southwest Lumber Mills.[1]

 
Stoddard's residence in New Haven, designed by Peabody & Stearns

Personal life edit

He married Rebecca McCullough Darlington on November 9, 1904, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1] They had two daughters, Elizabeth ("Betty") Stoddard in 1907, eventual wife of Fraser M. Horn,[1] and Barbara Stoddard in 1912, eventual wife of William Reed Kirkland,[1][5] and a son, Louis Ezekiel Stoddard Jr., who like his father was also prominent as a horseman and polo player.[1][6] Rebecca died of complications from childbirth on December 13, 1913.[1][7]

On April 29, 1915, in New York City, he married Mary Andrews, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Cole) Andrews. They had no children. Mary (Andrews) Stoddard died on February 22, 1945.[1][8]

Death edit

He died on March 9, 1948, in Los Angeles of heart failure.[3][1] He was buried in Grove Street Cemetery.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Yale Obituary Record, vol. 1947/1948, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University, pp. 53–54
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Louis Ezekiel Stoddard". Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d "Died". Time magazine. 22 March 1948. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Milburn Believes That U.S. Four Will Win; Hurndall Says British Have Fighting Chance". New York Times. 31 August 1924. Retrieved 8 April 2011. The following statements were made, yesterday for The New York by Devereux Milburn, Captain of the American team; Louis E. Stoddard, Chairman of the United States Polo Association; Major F. B. Hurndall, Captain of the British team, and Captain the Hon. Frederick E. Guest, Chairman of the Hurlingham Committee, concerning the coming international polo matches at Meadow Brook. ...
  5. ^ Stoddards in the 1920 US census in New Haven, Connecticut
  6. ^ "Louis E. Stoddard, Noted Horseman". New York Times. 10 May 1951. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Louis E. Stoddard Seeks to be Administrator of $2,000,000 Property". New York Times. 9 January 1914. Retrieved 29 March 2011. Major Louis E. Stoddard, a member of the international polo team that defeated the English players last year, made application in the Probate Court to-day to be declared administrator of the estate of his wife, Rebecca Darlington Stoddard, who died last month leaving three children, including a son two days old. ...
  8. ^ "Mrs. Louis E. Stoddard. Polo Player's Wife a Director of Manhattan Music School". New York Times. 23 February 1945. Retrieved 13 April 2011.