Representing the University of Maine, Favor won the hammer throw at the 1934 IC4A championships, throwing 170 ft 9 in (52.04 m) and narrowly defeating Rhode Island State's Henry Dreyer.[1][2] At the NCAA championships later that summer Favor placed third, losing to Dreyer and 1932 Olympic bronze medalist Peter Zaremba (who had been third in the IC4A meet),[3] but at the national (AAU) championships Favor again defeated both Zaremba and Dreyer, throwing 163 ft 5+3⁄4 in (49.82 m) for his first and only national title.[4]
After completing his studies Favor became a teacher at his former high school, Deering High in Portland, Maine, but he continued throwing.[5][6] He did not enter the 1936 Olympic season as a favorite to qualify for the American team,[7] but at the Eastern Tryouts, a semi-final qualifying meet, he threw 177 ft 4 in (54.05 m),[8] which was his personal best.[9] At the final Olympic Trials Favor threw 167 ft 6 in (51.05 m) and placed third behind Dreyer and another Rhode Islander, Bill Rowe; he qualified for the Olympics by less than eight inches, his margin over Chester Cruikshank, who placed fourth.[10]
At the Olympics in Berlin Favor qualified for the final, where he threw 51.01 m (167 ft 4+11⁄16 in) and placed sixth. He was the second-best American, behind Rowe but ahead of Dreyer.[11][12]
Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.