The Days When Auto Polo Came to Town

Since its first exhibition game in 1893, equestrian polo has been a part of the Sheridan – Big Horn area ever since. But who has heard about Auto Polo?

In The Sheridan Post, August 28, 1917, it had this story about the newest sport sweeping county fairs throughout the country and Wyoming.

Auto polo, the classiest outdoor attraction being offered to the public today, has been secured and the British and American teams will give a three-period exhibition of auto polo each afternoon in front of the grandstand. This is the only sport which is ‘Too fast for the movies,” and the spectator is promised every moment a thrill, every minute a sensation.

Auto polo was a motor sport invented around 1911 in the United States. Similar to equine polo, but using autos instead of horse, the sport was popular at fairs throughout the country, including in Sheridan, until at least 1925.

From The Sheridan Enterprise, a year earlier on September 29, 1916: Auto Polo Is Red Blooded Game: The Adams Motor Polo Co., featuring their famous American and Australian auto polo teams, arrived in Buffalo last Monday evening to play two games here, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. Auto polo came to us advertised as the most sensational sport known, a game of daring recklessness in auto driving, a continuous thrill.

As to their living up to what they advertised we will say that auto polo as played by the Adams Motor Polo Co., certainly delivers the goods as marked. We witnessed the game on Tuesday and saw more stunts pulled off with an automobile than we thought possible.

From beginning to end the game is one continuous dare devil handling of autos. The cars run on four wheels a good share of the time, part of the time on two, sometimes on three, acted like a bucking horse occasionally, dodged, squirmed, tipped over several times, broke wheels and finally one car, after throwing the players out, crashed through the fence and crossed the street into another fence, where the impact killed the engine.

The game, in addition to its sensational qualities is one of skill, brawn and endurance. Wednesday’s game, on account of the high wind, was postponed to Thursday. From Buffalo the team goes to Sheridan for two games, Saturday and Sunday, September 30th and October 1st.— Buffalo Bulletin.

The inventor of auto polo was Ralph Hankinson, a Ford dealer from Topeka, Kansas as a publicity stunt to sell Model T cars. Cars used included the Mobile Runabout, Model T’s, and others, including a 300 H. P. Blitzer Benz the 290 H. P. Fiat Submarine. They were stripped down and usually did not have tops, doors or windshields. Mallet-men, using a croquet-like mallet, would attempt to hit a regulation sized basketball from the car while often moving at 40 miles per hour.

In this article in the Douglas Enterprise, on April 17, 1917: Auto Polo Called “Motor Insanity” in connection with the “convention of speed” to be held at Douglas, Wyoming, under the auspices of the Wyoming State Fair on Sept. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, 1917, will be seen the original American and English teams of Auto Polo fame. The world, with it’s love for the spectacular, has placed her mark of approval on the new and most thrilling of all games, Auto Polo. The sensation loving public will at last have a chance to indulge to the limit in thrilling sensations excited by witnessing the Auto Polo teams in action.

If one comes to the Auto Polo games expecting to be mildly amused, they will receive to their intense satisfaction, the biggest surprise in the world. You will laugh, you will hold your breath, and the chills will creep up your spine. The very air at an Auto Polo contest seems to be surcharged with excitement, while waves of sympathetic feeling and enthusiasm rush from one end of the grand-stand to the other.

You are both pleased and delighted beyond your fondest expectations. It would seem almost certain that the rushing, racing cars, traveling at the rate of fifty miles an hour would dash their player occupants to certain death. Now and then a car is thrown in the air and turned completely over, hurling the driver and mallet-man to the earth.

It is the riotous madness of this game that has earned for “Auto-Polo” the strange title of “Motor Insanity.” The time worn adage of “seeing is believing” is true beyond a shadow of a doubt, and to really get the idea of the powerful fascination of Auto Polo one must see the game in action. Entries from some of the country’s best known speed drivers and high-powered cars have already been received by Mr. Ralph A. Hankinson, who has been officially designated by the International Motor Contest Association as referee.

This article was from the Thermopolis Independent, June 8, 1917: Auto Polo Players Coming: Savidge Brothers Auto Polo players are coming to Thermopolis on Tuesday, June 26th, and will play two games on the fairgrounds, one at 2:30 p m. and the other at 7:30 p. m. Auto polo is beyond a doubt the king of 20th century sensational games and the Savidge Bros, are family of real daredevils. Matt Savidge, the Nebraska aviator, who was killed last spring writing his name in the sky with an aeroplane, was a brother of these boys. During the polo games they smash one to six wheels and overturn the cars at least three times and guarantee to raise hair on a bald man’s head.

The Douglas Enterprise, May 15, 1917, gives a good description of the sport. Will Stage An Auto Show At State Fair New feature of Annual Show to be Added— Local Dealers Will Exhibit. That there will be an automobile show at the Wyoming State Fair next fall, September 11 to 15, is practically certain as arrangements are now being completed to make this one of the many big features which will make the fair interesting to visitors. It is believed that the local automobile men as well as many agents from outside of the city will have cars on exhibition and in order that the exhibit shall be handled for the best interests to all concerned, a large tent is to be erected to house the cars.

Baxter Adams, as has been announced before, will be here again and do his novel stunts before the grandstand. He will gave an exhibition of up-side-down flying, loop the loop, double spiral, vertical drop and many others, besides racing with the automobiles and motorcycles. The auto races and auto polo contests promise excitement a-plenty for lovers of this sport and many notable speed kings will be present to take part.

The original American and English Auto Polo Teams will also stage a contest here. The promoters were not only obliged to guarantee the appearance of the 300 H. P. Blitzer Benz the 290 H. P. Fiat Submarine, and the entry of “Wild Bill” Endicott, in addition to the dozen other racing cars and noted drivers already enteredbut were asked to put forth every effort to secure the Auto Polo Teams for the biggest “Holiday of Sports” in the city’s sporting calendar. This they did. The Wyoming State Fair, under whose auspices the big events will be staged, have received definite confirmation by wire that the Auto Polo team will play here on this date.

The following excerpt from Harper’s weekly, written by the universally known commentator on sports, Mr. William Inglis, will, in a slight degree, convey to those who have never seen Auto Polo played, what this mild and docile form of out-door entertainment consists of. Mr. Inglis witnessed these same teams and players in action at the Polo grounds, New York City.

He writes:— “We looked down from our dizzy height and saw the racing automobiles stripped down to their grey steel frames; the drivers stood near them; wiry young athletes, of one hundred and sixty pounds or so, with smiling eyes, gentle voices, and lean hard jaws— the kind of fellows who run submarines or aeroplanes calmly enough, but get all tangled up when anyone tries to make heroes of them.

“Quite the opposite of the windy, egomaniac, ear-splitting — but be that as it may. The game started and the machines dashed to and fro over the green turf in astounding bursts of speed, their erratic, zig-zag flights accompanied by rattling volleys of barks, snaps, and explosions. The machines had no mufflers, and each bark and snap was accompanied by jets and bursts of flame. The skeleton, steel cars seemed to be living models of devilish ferocity and cunning of hornets seeking a victim.

“One car shot after the ball, slowed, the mallet-man swung and half missed, and as the ball flew askew it was neatly blocked and nipped aside by the fore wheel of the enemy’s car. Where had he come from? Memory produced the blurry picture of the car slowing with the jerk of a bronco under a Spanish bit, whirling around on two wheels, and flying back; into the fray.

“But all the movements in the wild game were no swift and dazzling, and the snorting of the exhausts and the barking of the explosions were so noisy, that the whole business seemed as blurred and yet fearsome as a nightmare rushed along at extraordinary speed. Game was finished. Only one man hurt. His machine had turned two somersaults and pinned him, but he wasn’t hurt much anyway — only one leg and three ribs broken. He’s in a hospital and doing fine.“

In the mid-1920s auto polo died out, in part because it was a dangerous sport, mallet men were thrown from the cars, resulting in severe cuts and even broken bones.

Also, as is seen in the following story, the sport wrecked and demolished many cars. In the year of 1924, Hankinson’s auto polo teams reveled that six cars were completely destroyed, and the cost of repairing and replacing them grew very high for the teams.

The Sheridan Post, July 10, 1917, Auto Polo Game: The Savidge Brothers gave an exhibition of auto polo playing Sunday at the baseball grounds with enough thrills In it to satisfy the most blasé. The men who did the driving were experts and the Jitneys cavorted like unbroken broncs. Machines were overturned half a dozen time and one was laid up for repairs with a broken wheel. For an exhibition game it was a spirited contest and was thoroughly enjoyed by the large crowd.

The Wyoming State Fair, and numerous county fairs across the state hosted the Auto Polo exhibitions. A dare devil sport that had it’s heyday over 100 years ago.

Thanks to Snippets of Sheridan County History by Cynde Georgen, published by the Sheridan County Historical Society in 2013.