If you’ve skated at Princeton University, you skated at the Hobey Baker rink. I didn’t realize what an icon Hobey Baker was until today’s New York Times article about the New Hampshire prep school where Baker first made history.
Baker was said to be “one of the great natural athletes of American history,” akin to Ty Cobb and Jim Thorpe, he figured in various F. Scott Fitzgerald novels and was said to represent Allanby, the football captain, in “This Side of Paradise.” He died just after the World War II armistice when he piloted a badly repaired plane.
At that young age he was already a legend. “A national day of mourning marked his passing,” according to the Hobey Baker Award website. Voting is under way for the award to be announced on April 8. I’m eager to read more, starting with the links in this post, and then “The Legend of Hobie Baker” by John Davies.
Princeton Comment 