HISTORY
20th CENTURY
By the turn of the century croquet had reached its zenith with hundreds of thousands of people playing basically the same version on both sides of the Atlantic. Croquet was introduced as an Olympic sport in the 1900 Paris games. Croquet is credited with being the first Olympic event in which women participated, but the game's tenure was limited to a one time only appearance.
In the first decade of this century, however, some American croquet leaders, disagreed with British rules and introduced a version of the 9-wicket sport in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. The event was won by an American and never played in the Olympics again.
The Americans and British rules differed in terms of the court layout and mallets. The American variation of croquet, later known as “roque” to distinguish it from the English version by removing the “C” and the “T” from the name sparked the manufacture of countless variations of croquet sets. There was a wide variation in rule interpretation by many American toy and game makers. This led to the dilution of the game as an organized sport in the USA.
Initially, World War I had no effect on the game in England and in August 1914, there were nine tournaments. However, by September, croquet would be suspended for the duration of the war.
An ocean away, croquet's revival began in the United States. In 1899, a small group of players from the United States met in Norwich, Connecticut to revise the old Routledge Rules and revitalize the game. The new rules provided for standardized court size, reduced hoop dimensions, and the use of only four balls instead of the cumbersome eight. Two balls were used by each player, or two per team for doubles.
Croquet's popularity in the United States has been increasing since the end of World War I. In the 1930's the WPA and the National Recreation Association added croquet sets to their inventory of standard playground equipment.
The sport became a status favorite of literary and entertainment people in the ‘30’s and ‘40’s. Early croquet in America was not the mild-mannered and courteous game the English played but was argumentative and vituperative. It became popular on the West Coast among movie moguls including Darryl Zanuck and Samuel Goldwyn. Notables, Harpo Marx, Louis Jourdan, Tyrone Power, Gig Young and others became passionate about croquet, often with high-staked gambling bets.
East Coast players, such as George S. Kaufman, Alexander Woollcott, and Dorothy Parker, developed a fierce and unsportsmanlike rivalry with the West Coast players.
In 1922, the Willis setting of six hoops and one peg was introduced in England. This layout is still the one most used today. During the mid-20's, the first test matches for the MacRobertson Shield, croquet's international trophy, were held when Australia sent a team to England in 1925.
The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier croquet team event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia, England, New Zealand and the United States and is known affectionately as the MacRob or just the Mac.
The series is now played in rotation between the competing countries every three or four years. The next series will be held in 2022 in Australia.
The majority of people, by the mid 1950’s played backyard croquet on suburban lawns with rubber-tipped mallets, thin wickets and undersized croquet balls.
Serious croquet came about in the early 1960’s with the creation of the Westhampton Mallet Club. Croquet was also played on pristine lawns at several Southampton estates. In 1967, thirty croquet enthusiasts whose home or business found them frequently in Manhattan founded the New York Croquet Club. Representation included players from Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey’s shore, Palm Beach, and the West Coast. In January of 1969, NYCC accepted a challenge by the Palm Beach Croquet Club and the first 6-wicket tournament was held at the Colony Hotel poolside lawn. The finals, however, were postponed for a day so the players could go to Miami to see Joe Namath and the New York Jets play the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl. New Yorkers were happy about the football game but went on to lose to Palm Beach the following day in croquet.
The United States Croquet Association (USCA) was formed in 1977 and the game reached a level poised to make a serious impact on the American sporting scene. With growth of clubs and staff, USCA headquarters were moved from New York to Florida. Palm Beach County, with 15 USCA clubs was the natural choice for their headquarters. The popularity and growth of croquet continues, with players having the opportunity to participate in tournaments, receive lessons from outstanding pros and enjoy this healthy and fun sport.
Excerpts from “Croquet The Sport by Jack R. Osborn Founder, U.S. Croquet Association with John C. Osborn
“Croquet: The Complete Guide to History, Strategy, Rules and Records" by James Charlton & William Thompson, Copyright © 1977 by Turtle Press, Inc, New York, New York. ISBN 0-916844-00-5 pbk.
New York Croquet Club
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