Douglas Fonda - Banker, Sportsman, Manufacturing Executive; born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York; moved to Orange, Essex County, New Jersey before 1910. In 1923, while driving his car in Brooklyn, Douglas was nearly killed by a two-car elevated train which fell on the hood of his car, just after he slammed on the brakes and jumped out. He helped pull a dozen people out of the train compartment to safety before police arrived.
He was a Polo Player with the New York Athletic Club, one of three horsemen who represented New York and Brooklyn at the first Intercity Indoor Polo Tournament in Chicago in 1924, having the maximum individual handicap of six points. He was winner of numerous amateur outboard Motor Boat Regattas in the 1930's on the Potomac River and Lake Geneva, attaining National Champion status in 1937. A notable member of high society, his second marriage to Verna Hoover ended in a highly-publicized divorce in 1951. Douglas founded the Fonda Gage Company, manufacturer of oil well equipment and was President of the Whaling and Marine Manuscripts Archive in Nantucket, Massachusetts in 1971. "New Jersey Banker Scores Double Win" by Dan Craig; Washington Post, Saturday, Sept. 25, 1937
Under sunny skies, America's outboard stars from East and West met yesterday in a brilliant contest of nerve and skill that saw Douglas Fonda, of Orange, N.J., and pretty Mrs. Mary Daller, of Chester, Pa., score spectacular victories to headline the first power events of the President's Cup Regatta.
Thrills and spills were the order of the day for 10,000 who lined the flag-bedecked Hains Point seawall and perched atop half a hundred yachts that flanked the course. Fonda, 42-year-old industrial banker, who for the last two years had spent his weekends on the water relaxing, while rolling up the greatest number of points in the history of the outboard racing game, paced the field in classes A and C. Piloting Miss Ricochet, Fonda made a runaway of the Class A amateur event, first start of the day, and later was tied up with Bob Watkins, of Hoquiam, Wash., each holding 700 points when the noise subsided in the Class C division. Fonda and Bob Watkins were tied in the Class C amateur, and Dick Neal, of Kansas City, cleaned up in the professional ranks, amassing 800 points to Harrison's 525. More than 100,000 persons are expected to jam Hains Point today and Sunday to see the big inboard boats take to the course off Hains Point in the President's Cup race, feature of the regatta, the American speedboat championships, the 225-cubic inch hydroplane free-for-all, the All-American Sweepstakes, and the mile trials.
Sources and references
- Bridgeport Telegram, reporting on Douglass Cadwallader Fonda (legacy newspaper lead; article title, date and subject-specific page need tracing).
- New York Times and Washington Post, biographical/news coverage identified in the existing Story reference list (specific articles and claims, including the 1923 train incident, not yet pinned down).
- Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, 1975, 1984, and 1987 editions (biographical and executive-career reference leads; specific entries/pages not yet checked).
- Who's Who in America, 38th–41st editions (1974–1981) (biographical reference leads; specific entries/pages not yet checked).
- Who's Who in Finance and Industry, 18th edition (1974–1975) (biographical reference lead; specific entry/page not yet checked).
- Fonda Family History, historical newspaper clippings index, including items concerning Douglass Cadwallader Fonda: https://www.fonda.org/collections/clippings.html (article-level references should be examined individually).