Thomas Truxtun Hare (October 12, 1878 – February 2, 1956) was an American Olympic medalist who competed in track and field and the hammer throw.^[1][2] He also played football with the University of Pennsylvania and was selected first-team All-American all four years.^[2] Sports Illustrated wrote, "Few early 20th Century players were as revered as Hare, who played every minute of every game."^[3] He was selected as a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.^[2]

Quick Facts Medal record, Representing United States ...

Medal record
Representing United States
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
	1900 Paris	Hammer throw
	1904 St Louis	All-around

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Hare was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[2][4] He was the son of Emily Power (née Beale) and Horace Binney Hare, a successful attorney.^[5] He came from a long line of lawyers.^[6] He attended St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1897.^[2][4][5] There, he started in baseball, football, and track.^[5]

In the fall of 1897, Hare enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in 1901.^[4] There, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall), the Ancient and Honorable Order of the Sons of Rest, and the Sphinx Senior Society.^[2] He performed in plays with Mask and Wig, was vice president of the Cercle Francais and an assistant manager of the Musical Clubs.^[2] He was freshman class president and was elected as the Spoon Man his senior year.^[5][2]

At the University of Pennsylvania, Hare played on the varsity cricket team and the varsity track team, competing in jumper, runner, and weight thrower.^[2][5] The track team won their collegiate championships during his time.^[5] He also played on the Penn Quakers football team from 1897 to 1900 and served as team captain in his junior and senior years.^[2] He also played "every minute of every game for four years," helping his team win 32 consecutive games.^[7][4] He is one of only a handful of men to earn first-team All-American honors during all four years of college.^[2][7] While primarily a guard, he also called signals, kicked off, punted, ran, and drop-kicked extra points.^[7] Walter Camp said he could have been an All-American in any position.^[7][5]

He then enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania Law School, graduating with a law degree in 1903.^[2][4]

He won the silver medal in the hammer throw in the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris, as well as placing eighth in the shot put and competing without making a legal mark in the discus throw.^[2][1]

He competed for the United States in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri, in the all-rounder which consisted of ten events: 100 yd run, shot put, high jump, 880 yd walk, hammer throw, pole vault, 120 yd hurdles, 56 lb weight throw, long jump, and 1-mile run, where he won the bronze medal.^[1][5]

After graduating from law school, he practiced corporate law in Philadelphia.^[2] In 1913, he became an assistant solicitor for the United Gas Improvement Company, retaining this position until 1943.^[2][4][5]

He became the managing director and board member of Bryn Mawr Hospital in 1943.^[2][4][5] He replaced his brother, C. Willing Hare, who had died on December 6, 1942.^[4] In 1946, he was named president of the hospital.^[4] In this capacity, he oversaw the addition of a six-story wing, a $2.8 million project.^[4]

Hare also served as a director of the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance Houses from Loss.^[4]

Starting in 1908, he authored two series of books for boys.^[2][5] His first series followed a journey from college football to coaching.^[5] The second series, followed the same character through prep school.^[8] He also published poetry books.^[2]

• He was selected as a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was inducted in 1953.^[2][4]
• In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before the first one was awarded in 1935, Hare was awarded the mythical 1900 trophy.^[3]
• He was named to the Helms Athletic Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame.^[5]
• The Helms Athletic Foundation named Hare the player of the year for 1900.^[5]
• In 1969, in honor of the centennial of collegiate football, the Football Writers Association of America named two "College Football All-Time Teams" of eleven players — an "early" team consisting of players who played prior to 1920, and a "modern" team who played in 1920 and after.^[17] Hare was chosen as one of two guards on the pre-1920 squad.^[17]

He married Katherine Sargent Smith, a Philadelphia socialite, in 1906.^[4][6][5] They had four children: Truxtun Jr., Tristan, Robert, Martha and Mrs. Frederic McLaughlin.^[4] They lived in Radnor, Pennsylvania, on a sixty-acre farm known as Limehouse.^[4][18][5]

During the 1930s, Hare chaired the University of Pennsylvania Athletic Advisory Board.^[5] He was also a member of the University of Pennsylvania Scholarship Committee.^[5] He was a vestryman and senior warden at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Radnor.^[2][4]

He was president of the United Bowmen of America and a member of the Merian Cricket Club, the Philadelphia Club, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, the St. Anthony Club of Philadelphia, and the University Barge Club.^[2][4][6] He was also a member of the Authors' League of America and the Pegasus Club.^[2] He was the founding president of the Business Men's Art Club in 1927, and his paintings and pottery was shown in exhibitions with the Art Club of Philadelphia.^[2][6]

In 1956, he died at his home on Weadley Road in Radnor at the age of 77 years.^[4]