Yesteryears

Ten-less

No players with top rating the world over

Adapted from Polo, February, 1935

Cecil Smith

The crown of polo lies empty. For the first time in 19 years, there is no 10-goal polo player in the world—not from the fastnesses of India where the game was cradled, to the plains of Meadow Brook where it was brought to its highest state of development.

There is no King of Polo today, though there are, so to speak, four Crown Princes. There are, in the world, four players rated at 9, which means that they are considered by those generally conceded to know to be extraordinary players but just a shade short of “great,” that descriptive adjective that sums up in one word the ultimate in any form of endeavor. The four are Thomas Hitchcock Jr., for 13 years rated at the top; Cecil Smith, who enjoyed one year of fame; Winston Guest, who is making his way upward in brilliant strides; and the Nawab of Bhopal, India’s great back. Each has one leg on the crown, one might say, and it is a matter of fascinating conjecture which will grasp it firmly as his own.

A year ago, following a good deal of controversy, the United States had three players rated at 10: Hitchcock, Smith and Elmer J. Boeseke Jr., the versatile Californian.

For the first time in many years, the United States permitted itself the luxury of complimentary ratings, for it was generally admitted that while each of the three players was quite capable of playing 10-goal polo, that is perfect polo, none of the three showed the full season of such play in 1933, which one is entitled to expect from 10-goal players. Hitchcock was not at his best in the famous East-West matches at Chicago, in which he suffered so bad a fall that he could not even play in the Open Championship tournament, while Smith and Boeseke never again played quite so marvelously as they did at Chicago.

This year, obviously, the 10-goal ratings of 1934 could hardly be continued. Hitchcock played very little during the year, though he showed clearly that, barring accident, he could still be the greatest player of them all. Smith played well in the second EastWest matches at Meadow Brook, but suffered both defeat and disappointment. Boeseke, after an exceptionally long siege of polo, which included tours of Argentina and of England, was patently played out.

So the handicap committee of the United States Polo Association did the right thing at the right time, reduced Hitchcock and Smith to 9, Boeseke to 8, and raised Winston Guest, who was the actual star of the East-West matches, to the 9-goal rating that he so richly deserved.

There were other changes of interest, too. As predicted by Polo a month ago, Michael Phipps and

Tommy Hitchcock Jr.

Winston Guest

RATED AT 10 GOALS

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RATED AT 9 GOALS

The Nawab of Bhopal India Winston Guest United States Thomas Hitchcock Jr. United States Cecil Smith United States

8 GOALS

Rao Raja Abhey Singh India Manuel Andrada Argentina Gerald Balding England Elmer J. Boeske Jr. United States Humphrey P. Guinness England Rao Raja Hanut Singh India The Maharajah of Jaipur India Lewis L. Lacey Argentina James P. Mills United States Michael G. Phipps United States William Post II United States José C. Reynal Argentina Aidan Roark United States Capt. CTI Roark England Capt. P.B. Sanger India Curtis Skene Australia The Marquis de Villabragima Spain Major A.H. Williams India Wing-Commander P.K. Wise England

7 GOALS

Geoffrey Goulburn Ashton Australia James Hay Ashton Australia

William Post II, who distinguished themselves in the Eastern victory, were raised from 7 to 8. Raymond guest, who played a dashing back for Templeton’s victorious Open Championship team, was raised from 6 to 7. R.L. Gerry Jr. and Tom Mather were raised from 5 to 6. Carl Crawford and George Pope Jr. were raised from 4 to 5.

The list of celebrated players in the world, published herewith, makes the supremacy of the United States quite outstanding. There are 17 players in the United States rated at 7 or better, while the nearest rival is India, with 12. England, which had 18 in 1929, now has eight; South Africa has eight too, and Australia 6. Argentina, which had seven among the best in 1931, now only has four. New Zealand and Spain each have one.

The United States can also put the strongest team in the field, namely a 35-goal side. India comes next, with 33 as a possibility. England’s best available team, according to the ratings, would only total 32 goals. While Argentina, depending upon veteran rather than younger players, could only muster a 31goal side.

These are, of course, only paper ratings, and it is well known a great deal can happen to four men not at the top of the handicap list who are perfectly mounted, play together as a team, and are inspired to brilliant heights. Manuel Andrada’s Santa Paula, which won the Open Championship here in 1931, was such a team. The Maharajah of Jaipur’s side, the champions of India, which swept all before it in England two years ago, was another such team. The “Big Four,” the Waterbury brothers, Harry Payne Whitney and Devereux Milburn, who did happen to be at the top and never were defeated, comprised the very last word indeed in such a team. •

Robert Ralph Ashton Australia Lt. Col. Eric G. Atkinson India G.S. Bain South Africa M.Hugh Brown South Africa W.R. Burdon South Africa Capt. B.G. Dalrymple-Hay India Major C.H. Gairdner England Elbridge T. Gerry United States Ian Gibson South Africa Derrick M.J. Gould New Zealand E.H. Green South Africa Raymond Guest United States M.Henderson South Africa Spencer Higgs South Africa Earle Hopping Jr. United States Stewart B. Iglehart United States Seymour H. Knox United States Capt. W. Selly McCreery England Irwin Maple-Brown Australia Devereux Milburn United States Jack D. Nelson Argentina Eric Pedley United States Capt. Claude E. Pert India E.E. Pope South Africa R.E. Strawbridge Jr. United States Raj Kumar Shree Prithi Singh India Robert Skene Australia Thakur Prithi Singh India John A.E. Traill England E.H. Tyrrell-Martin England Capt. H.C. Walford India H.W. (Rube) Williams United States