Cecil Smith (polo)
{{Short description|American rancher and polo player}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Cecil Smith
| image = Cecil Smith 1950.jpg
| image_size = 160px
| caption = Smith, circa 1950
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1904|2|14}}
| birth_place = Llano, Texas
| death_date = {{death date and age|January 21, 1999|February 14, 1904}}
| death_place = Boerne, Texas
| death_cause =
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| occupation = Rancher, polo player
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| spouse =Mary (Miller) Smith
| children = Charles Smith
Sidney Smith
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}}
Cecil Smith (February 14, 1904 – January 21, 1999) was an American rancher and polo player.{{Cite web |url=http://www.polomuseum.com/hof_inductees/smith_cecil.htm# |title=Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, Cecil Smith's biography |access-date=2012-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227190934/http://www.polomuseum.com/hof_inductees/smith_cecil.htm# |archive-date=2012-02-27 |url-status=dead }}[https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/14/sports/cecil-smith-considered-the-best-polo-player-ever-dies-at-94.html Cecil Smith, Considered the Best Polo Player Ever, Dies at 94], The New York Times, February 14, 1999
Biography
=Early life=
Cecil Smith was born on the Moss Ranch near Llano, Texas, on February 14, 1904. In his childhood, he won roping prizes in rodeos.
=Career=
In 1924, he started playing polo while working for George Miller, a horse trader in Austin, Texas. He also played alongside Albert Buckman Wharton Jr. at his El Ranchito Polo Club on his Waggoner Ranch.Gary Cartwright, [http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/showdown-waggoner-ranch Showdown at Waggoner Ranch], Texas Monthly, January 2004 He later played polo with Will Rogers, Darryl Zanuck, Walt Disney and Reginald Denny.
He was a ten-goal player from 1938 to 1962 -which makes him the American with the longest record to hold the ten-goal status.Alex Webbe, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1961&dat=19830102&id=baUyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MukFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2421,201611 Gentleman Tommy Wayman Keeps Keeps Earning 10-Goal Status], Palm Beach Daily News, January 2, 1983 He often competed at the Meadow Brook Polo Club in Westbury, New York. He won the Monty Waterbury Cup in 1930 and the U.S. Open Polo Championship five times. He played with the U.S.A. team against Mexico three times. (Quote from New York Times article dated Feb.14, 1999, "Then, starting in 1938, he began a string of 26 years, 25 consecutively (1938-62), in which he was a 10-goal player".)
He owned a 100-acre ranch in Boerne, Texas, where he rode and trained horses.
=Personal life=
=Death=
Legacy
He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Florida, on April 6, 1990.
References
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Category:People from Llano, Texas