The Portland daily press., 1898-12-30
BACK FROM PHILADELPHIA.
MIR. Burnham's Experience With Polo
In Big Cities.

Philadelphia polo team. in the American
Polo association, that game is not great
success in the big cities. In fact New
York, Brooklyn, Jersey City, Newark and
Philadelphia are not polo crazy as some
of the New York papers would lead the
world to believe. The Philadelphia team
at any rate has ceased to exist, and judg-
ing from Mr.. Burnkam's experience In
the big cities there is o strong posslbiiity
that the game of polo will soon cease to
be played in all of these places.
The polo team of which Portland was
so proud and which was gathered by Mr..
Burnham after much hard work and con-
siderable expense to please the people of
Portland and Maine is no longer in ex-
istence 1t disbanded Wednesday on New
York and the players are now scattered
all over the eastern part of the country
John Allen who was Portland's goal
tender is now in Newark, but 1t is a
question how long he will remain there.
Murtaugh has gone to New Haven, Nc
Kay and Campbell have gone home to
Woburn, convinced that polo in the big
Clbl6S IL d UI6ttlUs 4uEAbul4 10 AAOr 49,
Somerville and Manager Burnham is now
in Portland. having arrived here last
night.
A PRESS reporter interviewed Mr..
Burnham last night on his return from
New York and from him learned the fol-
lowing story of his experience in Philn-
delphia and the big cities. He left Port
land with every assurance that the time
was ripe for polo in these cities. and took
| his team to Philadelphia. Here he hired
az magnificent hall with big seating
capacity, advertised his game in seven OF
Philadelphia papers and played his first
game at home with the Jersey City team
! in last Thursday night. He gave out over
three hundred complimentary tickets and
doomed the sport for all he was worth,
but on this night he took only "a and q
little over at the box office. The Portland
team wearing handsome uniform and
labelled the Philadelphia team, proved an
easy winner of this game and kept up
their reputation as fine players all the
time they performed In this sfbig league.
| On the following Friday night Mr.. Burn
barn played another game at home IN
Philadelphia. On this night his receipts
were little over s5, with three hundred
oompli mentary tickets out and only fifty
acceptances from them. His expenses on
these two games were very large.
Saturday night he played in Newa rk in
an old beer garden, fifteen minutes ride
out side of the city. The attendance was
only I50 and nearly all of these were dead
heads. The Portland team defeated the
Newark team by score of 10 to 0, and
had plenty of time for maps between
goals.
| On Monday (Christmas day afternoon)
| the Phila delphia team advertised as the
thigh priced aggregation from the Quaker
city," appeared in Brooklyn where they
played in an old church before a few
hundred people. the most of them dead
| heads. They neither understood nor ap-
preciated the game and theIonly thing
they saw to applaud was the rough play
ing of the Brooklyn players The Phila-
delphia team was to receive half the gate
receipts for this game. Their share of this
WIS &DOuu eos 4u bnO ONCA4Ae5 4AOh0HJ
they played in New York. and were to re-
oeive half the gate receipts. Mr.. Burn
hams share here was little over SIG.
The New York papers had been booming
the game for all they were worth with
cartoons, pictures and advertisements,
and with half column accounts of the
games. The attendance was about five
hundred and the greater part of them
were dead heads. Then Mr.. Btrnham ap-
peared at Jersey City where he played to
the biggest crowd that city had yet seen
at a polo game. He was to receive half of
the gate receipts and his share amounted
to little over $780, This pleased the
manager of the New Jersey team, but it
didn't please Mr.. BurIham who came to
the conclusion that polo was frost in
the big cities and thereupon he offered the
league his team, his interest in Phila-
delphia and everything. He decided to
quit right there and quit he did.
1t is Mr.. Burnham's S opinion that the
big cities are not yet ripe for polo The
people neither understand nor appreciate
the game He believes that with proper
education the psople of these big cities
may be able TO support a polo team, but
he does not think the time has yet come
for the game to succeed there.
Judging from Mr.. Burnham' S account
it seems that the big cities league SO called
is having hard time of it, The Brook
lyn team has disbanded and has been
transferred to Yonkers. None of the
teams are very strong and all of them are
losing money. # the people now backing
the teams have the courage and money to
spare they may educate the people up to
polo. but so far they do not appear to
have been very successful.
With the return of Mr.. Burnham to
Maine and the release of his players with
the possibility in the near future OF the
release of many other players OF national
repute there may be chance for revival
Of polo in Maine. Mr.. BurnhaIn. when
asked if he would attempt to organize an
other league in this state had nothing to
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