30 for 30 Podcasts

Episode 1: The Natural After Hobey Baker makes his triumphant Princeton hockey debut against Williams, we travel back to his early days attending St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire. He develops a reputation as both an athletic phenom and a kind, generous sportsman. After the economic crash of 1907, his father struggles to send him to college at Princeton where he becomes a two-sport star in football and hockey. After graduation, Hobey embarks on a summer motorcycle trip around Europe – a grand experience interrupted by the ominous clouds of conflict circling the continent.

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Episode 2: The Lost Generation His Princeton glory days behind him, Hobey moves to New York and begins a job at JP Morgan Bank. A member of what would be called the Lost Generation, Hobey misses the adrenaline rush of his college sports stardom and becomes despondent. But he soon finds himself in the social circles of the flamboyant and extremely wealthy Percy Rivington Pyne 2nd, who invites Hobey to live with him in his Gilded Age Manhattan mansion.

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Episode 3: Going West As WWI rages, Hobey arrives in France to prepare for aerial combat. He embraces being a fighter pilot, finding the adrenaline-fueled commonality between war and sports. While in Europe, Hobey exchanges dozens of affectionate and loving letters with Percy Pyne. And during his off-duty forays into Paris, Hobey experiences the city’s lively cultural scene – including a reignited friendship with famed songwriter Cole Porter. After proving his combat valor in the air, Hobey – now a captain – receives his orders to return home, but he insists on taking one last flight. It would turn out to be his last one.

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