New Britain herald., 1927-06-25

one joins the New York mounted po-
lice force on the day Of the gar
ment workers strike.
The uniform in polo = one of the
most important details of the game.
Riding boots and breeches should
always come first lest .ne forget
them. an item without which the
polo player 10 always labelled
rookie" and without which he Is
usually greeted with lifting Of the
eyebrow. After the toots and
breeches. short jacket IT leather or
oakum should 60 over the shirt
which has short sleeves. Then a large
cork cap which will fall of during
the first few minutes Of play Is
donned. A horse Is procured and
the polo player is ready for the
game.
Four men to a team u the rule al
though lately the premier polo
teams Of the country are running In
five and six extras disguised as pipe
filters, admirals and chairmen Of
boards Of public works who work
quietly on the sidelines, tripping q
horse here. hiding the bail there and
moving the goal posts when occa-
sion demands. Whether Or not this Is
In the best Of taste Is a much moot
ed point although 1t must be admit
ted that several OF the best teams
are accepting this as New ruling
and in perfectly good form.
The game IL divided up into eight
periods called "chukkers" or maybe
its five "chukkers" or even four
we're not sure. Whitcombs Polo.
Chess and Ivory Carving" PIP. LAT,
paragraph 4, states that The chuk-
kers should be all OF one size. fairly
smooth and made Of ash. hickory or
yew." We agree.
The umpire then throws the ball
into the midst Of the players and the
game begins. Number man for the
Blues hits Number ! man on the
"Reds" behind the temple with his
stick. Number I for the Reds
should then attempt to trip the
horse OF Number Of the Blues
and failing. should fall off his horse
to be trampled by the horse Of Num-
Der 2 OF his own team. H, will then
arise and shout several words at his
crstwhile teammate and shall limp
off the field.
Then the game proceeds. The mer-
nv sound of mallet hitting flesh
and the thud OF falling animals Is
mixed with the cheers of the crowd
as Number I for the Reds" dives
into the sidelines for = touchdown.
The ponies are changed Ut the end
Of each chukker. although they are
sometimes just whitewashed and run
in again.
The most important part Of polo
is the ability OF player to stick on
his horse while whacking the ball
down the field, not forgetting to give
the players on the opposite team a
good hard one now and then to keep
the game alive.
Now 80 to 1t. Remembac it's all In
fun and that polo stick cannot
raise anything more than a COM
pound fracture. Let your horse lead
YOU where he will-ho knows the
game fully as we'll as you or even
us-and after he has led you down
to the Water Works. turn him and
Jog happily home.
Next week: 1.-THE Dtrby-En8-
lands High Hat Horse Race"
We happened upon juvenile
baseball game that gave us much
bigger kick than any world series
ever could. The game was in the
fifth inning and the score. subject
to much argument, was 20 to ~.
favor OF the other guys.
The pitcher had form and speed
, but a shade less control than was
exactly desirable. His inshoots-at
least he called them inshoots-were
az liable to wrap around the neck
of an innocent bystander as they
were to venture near the plate
where a waiting Babe Ruth stood
with much bat waggling and looked
intent.
The umpire-he had been chang
ed four times and was still IN doubt
OF holding his position much longer
called them In accord with the
loudest portion of the yelling. A
ball or a strike brought forth a five
minute debate and for batter to
take his base on balls called for
declaration which would have made
a Senator's lame duck harangue
seem a mere after dinner speech.
The catcher was serious indi-
vidual, much protected by pads,
masks and a glove huge enough to
catch 4 fair sized watermelon. He
dropped each and every ball, bar
none, and held many and long con-
situations with the pitcher. exhort-
ing him "fer the luvva Mike. can't
cha puttem over?" He had recent
~ been substituted for another boy
who had caught a foul tip on the
| end Of finger and had lost interest
| in the proceedings. The first base
man was holding an argument with
the base runner who rested on his
base. telling him to quit shown or
getta bust in the snoot." The sec
ond baseman was lackadaisical about
handling balls thrown down from
home plate. being content to wave
his hand at them as they went past
The third baseman was rapidly get.
ting into a fight with the shortstor
and the flelders had long since set
tied down to chewing grass and yell.
ing "C'mon."
Three on and two outs-the
breathless moment. The pitcher
wound up extensively, and threw a
ball, seven feet over the catcher's
head. He was admirably supported