Luis Duggan

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameLuis Jorge•Duggan Ham
Used nameLuis•Duggan
Born6 March 1906 in Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (ARG)
Died12 June 1987
NOC Argentina
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

With a name like Duggan, it is little surprise that Luis Duggan is of Irish descent. Four Duggan brothers arrived in Argentina from County Westmeath in 1849 to become sheep farmers. They eventually became wool brokers and the firm of Duggan Brothers were to be the biggest of its kind in Argentina. Luis was the grandson of one of the four brothers and he was one of seven polo-playing siblings. He was raised on one of the family ranches and at an early age became a keen and proficient horseman and first took an interest in polo in his teens and was soon up to a 3-handicap. He eventually obtained the maximum 10-handicap in a career that lasted more than 25 years..

The highlights of his career were in winning the Olympic gold medal in 1936, when he scored eight goals in Argentina’s two matches. He was then a member of the first Argentinian side to beat the United States to win the Cup of the Americas shortly afterwards. He won the Argentine Open seven times between 1939-51 with El Trébol, Venado Tuerto and Los Pinguinos, When he won it for the final time he was aged 45 and still a 7-handicap player. Duggan’s younger brother Heriberto was also a high handicap player.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1936 Summer Olympics Polo ARG Luis Duggan
Polo, Men (Olympic) Argentina 1 Gold