Evening star., 1936-06-26
YANKEES PULLING
TOO FAR IN FRONT
Hurlingham Victory Pleased,
but U. S. Wouldn't Have
Regretted Defeat.
BY LAWRENCE PERRY.

n YEW YORK, June 26.-The pres
N ent estate Of English polo is
" worth considering.
Victory of the United States
team over England in the recent
International Cup match at Hurting
ham was. of course, pleasing to Amer
leans who follow this highly dynamic
sport, while, at the same time, they
would not have regretted an English
triumph This because the essence
of living sport is a fair distribution
Of defeat and victory.
Especially is this the case in in
ternational competition, in which, to
a greater or less extent. national pride
Is involved. 1t is obvious that more
satisfactory emotions prevail when
there is a fairly even division of
honors. No matter how sporting one
may be, he has much more amiable
attitude toward neighbor If, in
whatever competitive game, he beats
him once in while. if not more
often. 1t is simply human nature.
Eng ianu ar Outmdnne0.
60 THE regrettable element in polo
relationship between England and
the u S. A. is that the very nature
Of the conditions under which polo
Is played and promulgated sees the
two nations drawing farther apart in
proficiency on the part of large num-
bers of players.
To give point to this statement, it
might be said that the American polo
team which has just won honors at
Hurlingham would have great diff
ficulty-if, indeed, it succeeded at all
in proving itself superior outfit to
four made up, say, of Pete Bost-
wick, young Earl Hopping, Tommy
Hitchcock and Billy Post And still
you could go on with Laddy Sanford,
Averell Hartman, Shorty Knox, Rube
Williams, Cecil Smith and others to
make up one or more additional
teams qualified for international play.
England at present cannot begin to
name players approximating these
Americans, most of whom, by the
way, are young men. And that Har-
ward team, young Won Stade, Town
send Windmill and the two Gerrys:
Jingle Wilson's son at West Point and
j. K. Browns sons, as we'll as individ-
ual players at Yale, Princeton, Penn
Military College. Lawrenceville and
elsewhere, give signal promise of the
unceasing accession of recruits to
American polo.
Given the opportunity of frequent
play. there Is no reason at all why
English players should not rise to a
parity with American rivals. But
there are several reasons why more Of
them do not rise.
Lack of Money Hurts.
PRIMARILY, the game, generally
speaking, had developed beyond
the British Army, which used to be
the backbone Of Englands interna-
tional strength. This is because lack
of money prevents most young officers
from playing frequently until they get
to India. where the game costs much
less. Here they are separated and
CealllS, aS consequence, are likely 10
be spotty as to proficiency.
Another reason is that, because Of
climatic conditions, English players
who remain at home do not get more
than month Of polo. whereas weather
In the United States, even on the
Atlantic Seaboard. is much more IA
vorable for play. What happens when
opportunity for play and practice
comes Is shown in the cases of Tyrrel-
Martin and Gerald Balding. who were
drafted for the recent English inter-
national team after several years of
play in the U. S. A.
Still another factor in the develop
ment of young American players is
the indoor game. in which boy with
one or two ponies can get into the
game and get its feel and work up
skill. England has no indoor polo, is
not at all interested in it-chiefy, so
Tar as appears, because tradition is
against 1t. Yet indoor polo well might
work miraculous result in England's
outdoor destiny.