Imagine this: it’s the early 1910s, the American Midwest is buzzing, and a new sport is crashing onto the scene, literally.
Called Auto Polo, it took the traditional game of polo and gave it a gutsy, gasoline-fueled upgrade.
Instead of horses, players mounted stripped-down Ford Model Ts, careening across fields in a thunderous chase after an oversized ball.
Played on dirt tracks with makeshift goalposts, the sport was chaotic, dangerous, and irresistibly thrilling for spectators.
The cars, often stripped down and reinforced, collided frequently, sending parts and players flying.
A rollover during a match at Hilltop Park, New York, in a photograph by the Bain News Service.
Players being thrown from cars as they overturn. The damage to the early automobiles during the matches was extensive.
A malletman balances on the side of a moving auto polo car during a match at Hilltop Park, New York
An auto polo match at Coney Island, where cars had simple metal hoops to shield drivers during rollovers.
It was said that injuries were so common, nurses and doctors were part of the team.
Internationally, auto polo was regarded with skepticism and caution. In 1912, the British motoring publication The Auto described the new sport as “very impressive” and a “lunatic game” that the writers hoped would not become popular in Britain.
-Wikipedia
At its peak around 1913, auto polo looked like it might become a national sensation. But the very chaos that made it exciting also led to its downfall.
Soaring insurance costs, mounting injuries, and mangled vehicles brought the sport to a screeching halt by the 1920s.
A tally of the damages encountered by Hankinson’s British and American auto polo teams in 1924 revealed 1564 broken wheels, 538 burst tires, 66 broken axles, 10 cracked engines and six cars completely destroyed during the course of the year.
Auto polo Crash of two cars during an auto polo match in Fort Myers, Florida – 1928 – Photographer: Sennecke – Vintage property of ullstein bild (Photo by Robert Sennecke/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Images via The Library of Congress and Bain News Service.
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