Croquet in America

Croquet came to the United States in the early 1870s, and quickly grew in popularity among New York’s high society. By the 1880s, croquet players far outnumbered tennis players, and no eastern estate would be seen without a proper croquet set. Municipalities, wanting to improve lifestyle and attract more residents, began to purchase croquet sets and leave them for check-out at their parks and public fields.

One hallmark of the game that helped its popularity surge: it was one of the first games played in the United States by men and women, with women routinely trouncing the men. Even today, some of the very best croquet players in the world are women, competing against men, and beating them.

Outlaws, Scofflaws, and Ragamuffins

As proper and polite society out east clamped down on and virtually eliminated croquet, the sport grew on the plains and throughout the American West.

Pictured here is the fastest gun in the West, Billy the Kid, playing the game with a flare that any St. John’s player will recognize.

It is believed that folks out west picked up the game not in spite of the East Coast bans, but in large part, because of them.

The Front Campus Unity

St. John’s College croquet plays nine-wicket which is the backyard version. But they use their own version of American six-wicket rules, and professional level equipment.

Front campus is not manicured, and the randomness generated by the natural environment keeps all games close and competitive.

Over the years, our team has synthesized the best of both versions of croquet:

Women and men on an equal footing, the random chaos of nature, a certain outlawesque joie de vivre, and a thoroughly egalitarian mindset with an emphasis on civility.

Why Croquet at St. John’s?

Our program is heavy on discourse and discussion, and those discussions continue on the greensward. With no time limit, some turns can last 20 minutes or more, allowing the other players sufficient time to read their books, discuss their labs, and compare translations in between turns.

The conversations continue from the croquet courts and back to the classrooms. A certain gentility is required to work out differences over sometimes Byzantine croquet rules. That same requirement is found in our seminars and tutorials to help better aid mutual understanding.

The Program and croquet go hand in hand.

In addition to the conversations, there is the point Eva Brann often makes: the word “school” comes from the Greek σχολή.

There is perhaps no more leisurely activity Johnnies can engage in than a serene game of croquet on front campus. With ample time to reflect, the croquet courts become a sort of oasis for college students needing a healthy way to decompress.

Yet, probably the single reason croquet has endured at St. John’s is because of the friendships the team creates. Drawing from every part of the polity, the croquet team bonds together through friendly competition and an annual rivalry like no other in America.

The Equipment
1983-1991: Founding Generation

From 1983 up until around the reign of Imperial Wicket Craig Sirkin, the team used backyard variety croquet ware. Short wooden mallets, single milled wooden balls, and wide hoops were laid out in a nine-wicket court pattern. These sets made the game easier to play, but also required the courts to be much smaller than the official nine-wicket dimensions and did not allow for the sophisticated strategies and techniques used by today’s players.

The Equipment
1992-2000: The First Golden Era

In the 1990s the team experimented with more difficult to wield arms (heavier balls, heavier mallets, narrower wickets). The prior generation’s backyard mallets and hoops (Class D), were replaced with Class B, and sometimes A. These upgrades were required in order to compete on the manicured greens at USCA Collegiate Nationals.

Though mallets were still far too light for the balls used by professionals, the team’s strategy and high velocity shot taking managed to give them an edge.

These teams secured our first Runner-up at Nationals in 1996, our first National Championship in 1997, our first repeat National Championship in 1998. After this era, the only time some other college won nationals was when the Johnnies didn’t compete. Of course, these teams also beat Navy nine times in a row.

No other Era has equaled or exceeded nine straight Annapolis Cup victories.

The Techniques
1992-2000: The First Golden Era

In this period, the first players to complete the course in one turn were recorded, demonstrating an increasing command by the Johnnies of medium to short range shots, all while running breaks with the next three moves in mind.

Players became adept at jump shots, and continued to hit the balls with so much force and speed that some grizzled professionals from Merion Cricket Club (a USCA venue) spilled their drinks.

The 1990s were characterized by high velocity, mostly airborne shots, which seemed to be guided to their targets by some sort of autonomous intelligence.

All of it still pulled off with effortless ease while sipping an icy cold beverage.

The Camaraderie
1992-2000: The First Golden Era

Due to the increasing use of a strategy that was meant to confuse and ultimately demoralize the opponent, intracollegiate play on campus was a hot mess. Mallets, balls, wickets, and occasionally deadness boards, were hurled in indignation, although never at someone (except once, and that was a mistake, we fixed that problem).

On any given afternoon in the 1990s, 15-25 Johnnies could be seen on front campus playing croquet, drinking a beer, and doing their reading in between turns. It is rumored that gambling on games became so lucrative some students never had to work again.

Each Imperial Wicket in this era felt duty bound to pick a successor and make them better.

A Dark Omen
1992-2000: The First Golden Era

In the fall of 1999, Hurricane Floyd blew into Annapolis. Its most prominent victim was the grand and last remaining Liberty Tree from the American Revolution.

Weakened and damaged beyond repair, expert arborists determined the Liberty Tree could not be salvaged and it was slated for demolition.

The last Annapolis Cup played under the Liberty Tree’s shade was in April of 1999. Even that match heralded bad times, as the Imperial Wicket wounded himself while cutting a piece of chocolate. All of St. John’s croquetdom knew, something was amiss.

The Equipment
2001-2012: The Redemption Era

As interaction with the local and regional croquet clubs increased, the team was exposed to greater quality equipment. Oakley Woods became the standard SJC mallet, which were the slim majority of our Polity budget.

Sunshiny CQ16 balls became standard, due to cost, specifications required: 16 oz weight, 3-5/8" diameter, specific rebound rate and double milled surface.

The wickets used in play on front campus and against Navy could not be improved much over previous decades without an improvement to the lawn. Attempts to play with professional standard hoops on a bumpy, uneven surface would be near impossible and very frustrating.

The Strategy
2001-2012: The Redemption Era

Improvement in equipment and experience with other clubs lead to a greater faith in the team’s ability to make more difficult shots with greater frequency.

The team began to learn more about the high levels of the game beyond college and soon a few of our players began to compete in tournaments after graduation and to acquit themselves with both τιμή and κλέος.

The three-ball break became the standard of how to play, with all strategy focused on how to acquire one and how to keep the opponents from starting one. This occurs when the striker’s ball uses two of the other balls on the court to take as many hoops in one turn as possible.

When executed properly, the game can be over very quickly. When failed, bad things loom.

The three-ball break is sometimes provided by an opponent’s mistake, laying out the required balls in opportune placement for the striker to begin.

More often (at least, in games involving more skilled players), it is required that a player needs to create the break out of an in-opportune situation, since a wise opponent is trying to NOT give it away.

As a result, the opening turns of the game became absolutely crucial and much more difficult for the casual observer to understand. “Why did they choose to play out of bounds instead of to their wicket?” is a very common question.

The Rules
2001-2012: The Redemption Era

The adoption of the USCA American Rules six-wicket croquet continued in the 2000s, even overturning some rules which no one could expect. Infinite Rover Rule was deemed too powerful as equipment and offensive play improved and it was quickly revoked so that the rover ball could only hit each of the other balls on the court once per turn, regardless of liveness.

A rover ball that was staked out still sat out of the game for two turns and then must stake back in at the turning stake.

The boundary line is not an ideal Euclidean line, but rather an actual string and out-of-bounds is defined as the center of the ball in question being completely over that string. Crush shots and double-taps were a greater part of our understanding of the game, but they remain a call that the striker must make, not anyone else on the court or the crowd.

The Match Itself
2001-2012: The Redemption Era

In the 2000s, Annapolis Cups began as a casual affair with attendees wandering freely along and setting up their blankets and picnics and drinks wherever they’d choose. It ended with uncounted thousands coming inside the grounds and the college needing more security and personnel on the clock. By 2012, outside alcohol was prohibited, sponsor tents were being sold next to the courts, and vendors arrived.

The local and regional media picked up on the idea considerably at this point. There was a specific media day taking place before the match with the Navy team invited. There were newspaper, radio interviews, and multiple reporters on the scene, chronicling not only the match but the party, as well.

The Equipment
2013-Present: The Pro Era

During this time, Gary Dunkleberger, the mad genius who toils beneath Mellon Hall, added croquet mallets to his manufacturing repertoire (in addition to the more complicated equipment used in lab classes). These cherished keepsakes were made to specification and fully customizable. Gary also tirelessly restored the Annapolis Cup to its current form.

Ordering a “Gary mallet” was a rite of passage for new players after they had committed to learning the game at a high level. Many of these mallets were constructed with the cherry wood from retired seminar tables (and the lead capped with seminar chairs) and have become treasured pieces among those lucky enough to own one.

Receiving a white jumpsuit (a way for players to inexpensively wear white for more official tournaments) was still a tradition that occurred when a player officially made the team.

The Techniques
2013-Present: The Pro Era

Long shots became mandatory to get players back in the game, should they have taken any deadness after a failed break attempt. Long hoop shots to clear deadness were common as well as shots that, if they missed, would go safely out of bounds. The wickets that were in use were much more forgiving than the hoops played on professional courts, and more angled shots were possible.

Mastering the techniques necessary to conquer the long grass of the front campus lawn became a necessity, especially as the players of this era were exposed to manicured croquet courts.

All types of rolls were practiced regularly: full rolls, half rolls, stop shots, take-offs, pass rolls, drive shots, 1/4 rolls, 3/4 rolls, spring rolls, tuna rolls, and tootsie rolls alike. The game was being played at its highest level yet and the techniques used were no exception.

The Camaraderie
2013-Present: The Pro Era

The game itself advanced to a much higher level of strategy, techniques, and general skill—but the foundation of playing croquet for fun was still an integral part of croquet.

The team also began to host more campus-wide events, namely grilling various foods or hosting general get togethers with the Polity.

The team began to take more trips to other croquet clubs, including Pinehurst, the Chesapeake Bay Club, and the National Croquet Center.