Rollerskate Polo

This is a Roller Polo team in the 1890s. Roller skating was big in 1870s USA, and when polo was brought in by James Gordon Bennett in 1876, the two sports quickly blended. Roller polo was played with a ball. Roller rinks were converted to 40 by 80-foot courts with a chicken-wire goal cage at each end. The one-handed sticks were 1 inch in diameter and they played 3 15-minute periods. Players wore team uniforms and goalies wore more pads. Everybody wore Roller Skates.The man at right has a skate key hanging from his belt.

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Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 03, 2023
Category: Sports | Nineteenth Century

Comments

I'm sure we tried this as kids. One of our favorites was polo on our bicycles, in the street, with croquet mallets and balls. We probably only stopped when we got tired of repairing our bikes – or running home to get ourselves repaired.

Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 02/03/23 at 02:28 PM

Look! It's degenerating into roller derby! Soon it will become rollerball.

Posted by KDP on 02/03/23 at 07:03 PM