Oct. 16, 1963 - Mrs. Joan Whitney Payson (pictured center in June with Casey and Edna Stengel), owner of the New York Mets baseball team and co-owner of the Greentree racing stable with her brother, John Hay Whitney, became last night the first woman to be honored by the People-to-People Sports Committee. She received the President’s Citation, originated by former President Eisenhower, at the committee’s annual dinner at the Hotel Astor. About 400 persons paid $50 each to foster a program that includes financial assistance to teams and individuals for international sports competition and the paying for athletic equipment in undeveloped countries. Bernard Baruch, the 93-year-old financier and statesmen, made the presentation. Mrs. Payson described herself as “strictly a spectator,” and expressed the hope that some day Greentree would win the Kentucky Derby and the Mets would win the National League pennant.
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