John Elliot Cowdin


John Elliot Cowdin was an American polo player.

Biography

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.
He married Gertrude Cheever with whom he had a daughter and two sons.
Cowdin played for the Rockaway Polo Club. He won the 1902 International Polo Cup and the first U.S. Open Polo Championship 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 Paris, France.

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, was also a top level polo player.