Delmer W. Carroll (October 30, 1919 - May 9, 1982) was an American champion

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player,

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

owner/ trainer, and soldier during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Del Carroll had begun riding horses as a boy of ten which led to him serving in the US Army

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

during World War II. He rose to the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

. According to a 1945

Pennsylvania Military College Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

article, he "was a member of the mechanized cavalry group that did the dangerous advance scouting during the German campaign." Carroll's knowledge of horses led to his participation in the game of

. One of the top twenty-five players in the world during the 1950s and 1960s, he became an eight-goal handicap player. He remained active in the game throughout his life and at the time of his death at age sixty-two still had a four-goal handicap.Amdur, Neil & Mifflin, Lawrie (July 23, 1982)
"Scouting; Polo Tribute"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. His interest in horses also led to a career as a professional horse trainer, conditioning Thoroughbreds for friends and fellow polo players, William S. Farish III and

Michael Grace Phipps Michael Grace Phipps (January 10, 1910 – March 13, 1973) was an American businessman, champion polo player, owner/breeder of racehorses, and a philanthropist. Biography Michael Phipps was the son of John Shaffer Phipps and Margarita Celi ...

1972 Preakness Stakes

Del Carroll had four horses run in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

with his best result a fifth in 1966 with

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...

winner, Abe's Hope. He had had a sixth-place finish in the 1969

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

but on May 29, 1972, he earned the most important win of his career. In that year's Preakness Stakes, run on a sloppy

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

, Carroll's colt

Bee Bee Bee Bee Bee Bee (foaled 1969 in Maryland) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1972 Preakness Stakes. To date Bee Bee Bee is one of only eight Maryland-bred colts to win the Preakness, and one of only eleven from the sta ...

took victory in the prestigious U.S. Triple Crown race. During his career, Del Carroll won three training titles at

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its ...

, one at

Oaklawn Park Race Track Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, formerly Oaklawn Park Race Track, is an American thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to "The Racing Festival of the South", a four-day series of races that concludes with the A ...

, and was one of the top trainers at

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

where he won 262 races. Alone in the early morning of May 5, 1982, Del Carroll was galloping one of his horses on the Keeneland track when he was thrown by the horse and suffered severe head injuries. He underwent surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lexington but died four days later.

Legacy

His son, Del Carroll II, who was his assistant from 1970 through 1979, is now a trainer at tracks on the US East Coast. His daughter, Robin Ann Carroll, who grew up with her father on the race track, is now the owner of Magazin Farms and an established Thoroughbred breeder in the sport of polo. Her son, Del Carroll Walton is an established polo player and horseman. His youngest daughter, Larkspur Carroll, studied veterinary medicine at Ohio State University, became a doctor of veterinary medicine, is a practice owner/member at CORE Therapies - the Veterinary Acupuncture and Chiropractic Clinic. She is also the mother to Aurea, Del W. Carroll's granddaughter.

References

External links

"Give An A-plus To Bee Bee Bee"
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''. May 29, 1972.
Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame

''The New York Times''. May 11, 1982. (obituary).

''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''. May 24, 1982.
1945 Pennsylvania Military College article on First Lt. Del Carroll
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Del W. 1919 births 1982 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American polo players American horse trainers Place of birth missing Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States United States Army officers Sports deaths in Kentucky