John Elliot Cowdin (March 22, 1858 – January 7, 1941) was an American polo player.
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Early life and career

Cowdin was born on March 22, 1858, to Elliot Christopher Cowdin and Sarah Katharine Waldron. His father was a prominent New York businessman and a member of the

100th New York State Legislature The 100th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to May 24, 1877, during the first year of Lucius Robinson's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisi ...

. Cowdin played for the

Rockaway Rockaway may refer to: Places in the United States *Rockaway Beach (disambiguation) New Jersey * Rockaway, New Jersey, a borough in Morris County *Rockaway Township, New Jersey, a township in Morris County *Rockaway Creek (New Jersey), a tributar ...

Polo Club. He won the 1902

International Polo Cup The International Polo Cup, also called the Newport Cup and the Westchester Cup, is a trophy in polo that was created in 1876 and was played for by teams from the United States and United Kingdom. The match has varied in length over the years ...

and the first

U.S. Open Polo Championship The US Open Polo Championship is an annual polo championship in the United States. It is organized since 1904 by the United States Polo Association (USPA). History The tournament was first played on September 20, 1904 at Van Cortlandt Park in T ...

in 1904. He also won the Association and Added Cups, the Governor's Challenge Cup and the Senior Championship in 1896, 1899, 1902 and 1903. His wife died on May 3, 1908, after a short illness while in

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. He married Gertrude Cheever with whom he had a daughter and two sons. In 1912, his second marriage was to Madeleine Knowlton. He died on January 7, 1941.

Legacy

He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in 2007. One of his sons,

John Cheever Cowdin John Cheever Cowdin (March 17, 1889 – September 16, 1960) was an American financier and polo champion who was a head of Universal Pictures, Standard Capital Corporation of New York City, and was chairman of Ideal Chemicals. Biography Kno ...

, was also a top level polo player.

References

1858 births 1941 deaths Sportspeople from Manhattan Sportspeople from Boston Harvard University alumni Businesspeople from New York (state) American polo players International Polo Cup People from Gramercy Park {{US-polo-bio-stub