Bisbee daily review., 1914-07-05
ITS ORIGIN HISTORY AND PRESENT
 STATUS
Now That England Has Re-
 gained the Polo Trophy Many
 Throughout the Country Are
 Wondering What 1t Is About. The Following Is a Short History
 of the Game From it's Origin to its Introduction on Amer iCan Soil. Other Facts Told.

Now that the English polo team has carried off the international trophy, a whole lot of the uninitat- ed are asking, What is the blame game like, anyway and where did it have it's inception?"
 The game originated in Persia some where back in 900 A. D. It was called kan-sai-bazee. The game was played differently than it is today, its rules were far fferent. and the style of play entirely foreign to that of the present day, yet the principle of the game remains unchanged through the centuries.
 Is Expensive Sport. Many years ago some British army ! officers who had been in Persia and played the game there introduced it into England. Its popularity was in- stantaneous. England went wild over the game; that is, fashionable and wealthy England, for polo is a game that only the rich can play, because , it means the expenditure of thousands of dollars each year for ponies.
 In 1876 James Gordon Bennett in- l troduced the game into the United States. He had played the game in England, and had taught bis Amer ican friends the principles of play A game finally was staged in old Jer- ome Park, New York, and so enthusi- asuc were the Americans who partici- pated that they formed the Westchest- CT Polo Club, the first of its kind in the country.
 Admission to the playing field was | by invitation only until late in 1887. and then teh general public was ad- 1 mitted for a fee The public here. as in England enthused over the thrill ling game, and other clubs were start ed There are hundreds of them in America today and the players are legion.
 A goal counts one point To be counted a goal, the ball must pass between the goal points, and between the two posts.
 The goal posts are similar to those used in football games, with the eX- ceptiOn that they have no cross bar. The posts are 24 feet apart and 10 feet high and light enough to break if collided with.
 The ball is of wood with no other covering than white paint, and does not exceed Q ounces in weight, and is only 35s inches in diameter.
 The field is goo feet long and 45O feet wide. Wooden railings about two feet in height are run along the sides. and any ball batted over the railings sout of bounds The arilings are only lightly built, and give way when a horse crashes against them In or dinarly games the height of the ponies is limited to 14-2, but the height rule was waived in the international matches.
 Play Eight Chukkers
 A match game consists of eight periods, technically known as chuk kers. These chukkers are each 7ia minutes duration. A three-minute rest is permitted between each chuk ker except between the fourth and lllLni when seven minutes IS allow ca. The teams change goals after a score has been made.
 A safety shall count as minus one
 Careless or unnecessary dangerous , riding on the part of the players, un. necessary Jumping, roughness. fail. ure to give a player the right of way quarter and a foul counts as minus one-half in the scoring For instance if a team scores two goals and then commits two fouls and a safety it is penalized one and one-fourth goals leaving its net score at only three fourths of a goal
 crossing in his path when he has the right of way, the cruel use of spurs on horses, striking the pony of an ad yersary, and about two dozen othei } such stunts are barred by the polo { rules. Infraction of some of these gives the referee the power to fine the play CT order him out of the game, and also to penalize his team.