Albert Buckman Wharton Jr. (a.k.a. Buster Wharton) (August 8, 1909 – May 28, 1963) was an American rancher and

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.

Early life

Albert Buckman Wharton Jr. was born on August 8, 1909, in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. His mother, Electra Waggoner, was a socialite and heiress to the Waggoner Ranch.Gary Cartwright
Showdown at Waggoner Ranch
'' Texas Monthly'', January 2004 His father, Albert Buckman Wharton, was a horsebreeder and a member of the

Wharton family Wharton may refer to: Academic institutions * Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania * Wharton County Junior College * Paul R. Wharton High School * Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University Places * Wharton, Che ...

from Philadelphia. His parents met while they were traveling separately in the Himalayas. His maternal grandfather was

William Thomas Waggoner William Thomas Waggoner (August 31, 1852 – December 11, 1934) was an American rancher, oilman, banker, horsebreeder and philanthropist from Texas. He was the owner of the Waggoner Ranch, where he found oil in 1903. He was the founding President o ...

and his maternal great-grandfather was Daniel Waggoner.

Polo

Wharton became a polo player. He built polo fields on the Waggoner Ranch. It was known as

El Ranchito Polo Club EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...

and ran polo tournaments.Horace A. Laffaye, ''Polo in the United States: A History'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011, p. 14

/ref> He played alongside polo champion Cecil Smith (polo), Cecil Smith at the ranch.

Personal life

Wharton was married several times. His last wife was Lula Waggoner.

Death

He died of cirrhosis of the liver on May 28, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. He was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas. He left his estate to his last wife. However, his son's mother sued her for four years, until the estate finally went to his son, who inherited it in 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Albert Buckman Jr. 1909 births 1963 deaths Sportspeople from Colorado Springs, Colorado People from Dallas People from Fort Worth, Texas Ranchers from Texas American polo players Deaths from cirrhosis