News
2013 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10-21-2012
Contact: Brenda Lynn
Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame
(561) 969-3210: polomuseum@att.net
Website: www.polomuseum.com
The Board of Directors of the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that the Nominating Committee has made its selection of exceptional individuals to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2013.
Michael
V. Azzaro, a
former 10-goal player (a rating he held for 14 years) with six U.S. Open
Championships, three Silver Cups, Butler Handicap, Iglehart, and World
Cup to his credit, will be honored for his outstanding record as a player
for many years.
A
9-goaler who played for Myopia teams in the late 19th century and early
1900s, Robert Gould Shaw, II (1872 – 1930) was
the committee’s choice for the posthumous award. Shaw won all the
major tournaments of the era in his time as an active player.
For
the Hall of Fame Iglehart Award, Tim Gannon, well known
for his selfless generosity to polo and other charitable causes and a
three-time winner of the U.S. Open will be honored for his outstanding
lifetime contributions to the sport.
To
be recognized as the posthumous Hall of Fame inductee for the Iglehart
Award is Bill Gilmore, who is remembered as a powerful
force in the revival of the game in California after World War II.
In the Horses to Remember category the committee elected Fairy
Story a celebrated mare bred in England and later owned and played
by Stephen “Laddy” Sanford. Fairy Story was one of the top
polo ponies in the 1920s, sweeping an unprecedented number of the major
awards given at that time.
Ever
Ready, a chestnut
mare, trained and played by Ray Harrington (Hall of Fame 1993), was also
selected to be honored in this category. Ever Ready was Ray’s “war
horse” on whom he depended throughout his extraordinary four consecutive
wins in the U.S. Open, 1966 – 1969. She was awarded the Hartman
Award for Best Playing pony of the Open in 1969 and also that year played
with distinction in Argentina in the 1969 Cup of the Americas at Palermo.
Committee Chairman Horacio Laffaye states “The Class of 2013 represents the best of American polo. The Committee selected 10 and 9-goal players with outstanding records, a pair of supporters of the game which made lasting contributions to polo in this country, and two polo ponies which were at the top of their respective generations. I wish to express my gratitude to all the Committee members who worked hard and long in selecting these inductees from a large pool of highly qualified nominees.”
The Awards Gala and Induction Ceremony will take place at the Museum of Polo on Friday, February 15th, 2013. If you would like to join in the celebration to welcome these legendary individuals to the Polo Hall of Fame, you may purchase seats for the dinner up to a week in advance. Reservations are $200.00 each (tax deductible portion $100.00).
The Hall of Fame Awards Dinner and Silent Auction is the most important fundraising event for the Museum each year, so we hope you will help support your Museum – a 501 (c) 3, not-for-profit organization.
Contact Brenda Lynn at the Museum of Polo, (561) 969-3210 or (561) 969-7015, e-mail: polomuseum@att.net for further details, information, or to make your reservations.
| 0 |