Wikipedia

Polly Palfrey Woodrow

Margaret Germaine "Polly" Palfrey Woodrow (October 7, 1906 – August 26, 1997) was an American tennis player from Boston, active in the 1920s and 1930s.

Polly Palfrey Woodrow
A smiling young white woman with short dark bobbed hair
Polly Palfrey (later Woodrow), from a 1924 newspaper
Born
Margaret Germaine Palfrey

October 7, 1906
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedAugust 26, 1997 (age 90)
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
OccupationTennis player
RelativesSarah Palfrey Cooke (sister)
Mianne Palfrey (sister)
John Palfrey (brother)
Jerome Alan Danzig (brother-in-law)
Francis Winthrop Palfrey (grandfather)
John G. Palfrey (great-grandfather)

Palfrey won the Massachusetts and national Junior Doubles championships in 1924, with Fanny Curtis as her partner.

Early life and education

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Palfrey was born in Boston, the eldest daughter of John Gorham Palfrey and Methyl Gertrude Oakes Paltrey.[1] Her father was a lawyer. She graduated from Smith College in 1929.[2] At Smith, she was president of the Student Government Association.[3]

Career

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"Five Sisters in Boston Who Know Their Tennis" The Messenger (April 6, 1927); a newspaper feature about Paltrey and her sisters

Palfrey and her siblings, including John Palfrey, Sarah Palfrey Cooke and Mianne Palfrey, all competed in tennis at the national level.[4][5] Polly Palfrey won the Massachusetts and national Junior Doubles championships in 1924, with Fanny Curtis as her partner.[6][7][8] She also played doubles with younger sister Elizabeth, also known as Lee, as her partner.[9][10][11] In 1929, she played in both singles and doubles games at a tournament in Cohasset,[12][13] and in a college tournament in 1929, partnered with Curtis again.[14] She played in doubles and mixed doubles games at a tournament in Swampscott in 1930,[15] and as a singles player at a 1931 tournament in Chestnut Hill.[16] She was seeded second at a 1935 tournament at Longwood Country Club, but lost in the second round.[17] In 1940, in her thirties, she lost to Helen Jacobs at Germantown Cricket Club near Philadelphia.[18]

Palfrey was also an avid golfer, and she was president of the Schenectady Junior League in the 1940s. She taught English at Bryn Mawr College[1] and at Skidmore College.[2]

Publications

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Personal life

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Palfrey married civil engineer Charles A. Woodrow in 1936.[1][20] They had a daughter, Joanna. Her husband died in 1981, and she died in 1997, at the age of 90, in Santa Clara, California.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Tennis Player Engaged; Miss Margaret Palfrey to Be Wed to Charles Woodrow". The New York Times. 1936-04-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  2. ^ a b "Class Notes: 1929". The Smith Alumnae Quarterlly. 32 (2): 132. February 1941.
  3. ^ "Gains Highest Honor at Smith". The Michigan Daily. November 18, 1928. p. 11 – via The Michigan Daily Digital Archives.
  4. ^ Johnston, Laurie (1979-10-29). "John Palfrey Dies; Ex-Columbia Dean". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  5. ^ Collins, Bud; Hollander, Zander (1994). Bud Collins' Modern Encyclopedia of Tennis. Gale Research. p. 476. ISBN 978-0-8103-8988-5.
  6. ^ "Mianne Palfrey, Aged 13, A Title Winner". The Boston Globe. 1924-06-26. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Women's Invitational Tennis Tournament to be Held This June". The Sportswoman. 6 (8): 10. April 1930.
  8. ^ "Another Berkeley Girl Tennis Champion". Humboldt Times. September 13, 1924. p. 5 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  9. ^ "Upset in Junior Girls' Tournament; Polly Palfrey and Fanny Curtis Defeated". The Boston Globe. 1924-10-04. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Favorites All Score Victories; Junior GIrls' Tennis on at Chestnut Hill". The Boston Globe. 1924-10-03. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Junior Girls' Tennis Tourney Under Way at Chestnut Hill". The Boston Globe. 1923-10-05. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Polly Palfrey Puts Out Miss Winthrop". The Boston Globe. 1929-08-01. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "South Shore Champion Loses". The Boston Globe. 1929-07-30. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Sweep for California Girls". The Boston Globe. 1929-06-29. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Palfrey Sisters, Mary Greef and Mrs Harper Eliminated in Day of Upsets at Essex County Club". The Boston Globe. 1930-07-24. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Polly Palfrey Put Out by Miss Ellis". The Boston Globe. 1931-10-07. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Polly Palfrey is Loser at Longwood". The Boston Globe. 1935-07-10. p. 21. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  18. ^ "Helen Jacobs Advances in Philadelphia Meet". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1940-06-18. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Woodrow, Margaret Palfrey (1948-09-01). "Read to Me". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  20. ^ "Palfrey Sister to Wed". Oakland Tribune. 1936-04-05. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Sports Log". The Boston Globe. 1997-10-15. p. 67. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via Newspapers.com.
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