Dunbar Wright Bostwick (January 10, 1908 – January 25, 2006) was an American businessman, hockey player, pilot and horseman.

Biography

Dunbar Bostwick was the fourth child of Albert Carlton Bostwick Sr. and Mary Lillian Stokes. His father was a prominent New York automobile and yacht racer. His grandfather,

Jabez A. Bostwick Jabez Abel Bostwick (September 23, 1830 – August 16, 1892) was an American businessman who was a founding partner of Standard Oil. Early life Bostwick was born in Delhi (town), New York, Delhi, New York on September 23, 1830. He was a son of A ...

, was a partner of

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

and a founder and treasurer of the

Standard Oil Trust Standard Oil Company was a corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. The ...

. He attended St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire) and Yale University. During his time at Yale, he served as co-captain of the famous 1932 hockey team and declined an invitation to play in the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 ...

in Lake Placid. In 1932, Bostwick married Electra Webb, a great-granddaughter of

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

, and daughter of James Watson Webb, Sr. and

Electra Havemeyer Webb Electra Havemeyer Webb (August 16, 1888 – November 19, 1960) was a collector of American antiques and founder of the Shelburne Museum. Early life Electra Havemeyer was born on August 16, 1888. She was the youngest child of Henry Osborne Hav ...

. The couple had four daughters and spent their time primarily between New York, NY, Old Westbury, NY, Shelburne, VT and Aiken, SC.

Military service

During World War II, Bostwick served in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

. He returned as a Lieutenant Colonel with a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and a Belgian

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

for his help in the organization of the

Normandy Invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

in 1944.

Polo career

Bostwick's siblings included Dorothy Stokes Bostwick, Albert C. Bostwick, Jr.,

Lillian Bostwick Phipps Lillian Stokes Bostwick Phipps (July 9, 1906 – November 27, 1987) was an American socialite and owner of Thoroughbred steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase horse racing, racehorses. Early life Lillian Stokes Bostwick was born in New Yor ...

and

Pete Bostwick George Herbert "Pete" Bostwick (August 14, 1909 – January 13, 1982) was an American court tennis player, a steeplechase jockey and horse trainer, and an eight-goal polo player. Biography He was born in Bisby Lake, New York to Marie L. Stokes ...

. Like his siblings, Bostwick was a competitive horseman, who competed in polo and

Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

events all over the country. He earned a 6-goal polo handicap and played for the Aiken Knights and the Bostwick Field polo teams during the 1930s. During this time, Bostwick created Bostwick Field with his siblings

and

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the Bostwicks believed that everyone should be able to watch polo without being overcharged, which inspired Bostwick Field. The slogan of the field was "Polo for the Populace."

Harness Racing career

After he gave up polo in the 1940s, Bostwick turned to harness racing. He bred, trained and raced many successful

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...

trotters from his Bostwick Stables in

Shelburne, Vermont Shelburne is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermon ...

. When his most famous horse, Chris Spencer, went lame, Bostwick swam the horse twice a day in

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

. Eventually, the horse was back in racing condition and went on to win important races including the 1949

American Trotting Championship American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and

Golden West Trot The Golden West Trot is a defunct three-race series in harness racing for Standardbred trotters aged three and older. It was first run in 1946 with a purse of $50,000 which at the time was the richest offered in the sport. The race final was hoste ...

and the 1950

Roosevelt Trot Roosevelt most often refers to two American presidents: * Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919, president 1901–1909), 26th president of the United States * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945, president 1933–death), 32nd president of the United State ...

. Chris Spencer was inducted into the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1979. Chris Spencer was also the first horse to fly on an airplane, from Vermont to California to win the Hollywood Stakes race in 1952. Bostwick was a member of the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame and founded the Saratoga Harness Racing Association and the Aiken Mile Track. Throughout his life, Bostwick was engaged in multiple business ventures. He invented the magnetic snap barrier, an early gate that preceded current moving gates used at modern horse racetracks. Additionally, he served on the boards of the Aviation Instrument Manufacturing Corporation and Helio Aircraft Corporation, among others. Dunbar Bostwick died in 2006 at age 98 at his home in Shelburne, Vermont.New York Times January 28, 2006 article titled "Dunbar W. Bostwick, Harness Racing Innovator, Dies at 98
Retrieved December 19, 2016

References

External links

- 'The Man Had Real Class'

- Dunbar Bostwick Obituary

- News Clippings

- Dunbar Bostwick Estate

- USTA: Champlain Chris {{DEFAULTSORT:Bostwick, Dunbar 1908 births 2006 deaths American men's ice hockey forwards Bostwick family Ice hockey people from New Hampshire Ice hockey players from New York (state) Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey players American racehorse owners and breeders United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees United States Army officers American recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Sportspeople from Concord, New Hampshire Sportspeople from Manhattan Ice hockey people from New York City