Owners Robert and Judith M. from Carmel, IN treated some friends to an enjoyable game of croquet during their recent visit here!
In honor of their friendly competition, we thought we’d share some fun trivia facts about this entertaining game. Betcha didn’t know:
… Croquet was held as an Olympic event only once, at the Paris games in 1900. The reason it was cancelled? Something about croquet not being a spectator sport!
… The venue that hosts Wimbledon – the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – was founded in 1868 as the All England Croquet Club. It was re-christened in 1877, when lawn tennis eclipsed croquet in popularity.
… Croquet was one of the first outdoor sports to embrace gender equality. It was considered “suitable” for 19th century women because it was non-contact, slow, and could be played in long dresses.
… Lewis Carroll adored the game and played at Oxford University. In the pages of Alice in Wonderland, he created an eccentric version in which a hedgehog was used as the ball and a flamingo as the mallet, while playing cards doubled over to make the hoops.
… Reportedly, it was Winston Churchill’s wish to be buried in the croquet lawn at Chartwell, his house in Kent. The prime minister was known to swing his croquet mallet with one hand, as though he were playing polo.
… In 1979, Harpo Marx was inducted into the Croquet Foundation of America’s Hall of Fame along with film producers Darryl Zanuck and Sam Goldwyn.
… A group of American scientists played a very snowy game of croquet outside the South Pole Observatory in 2005!
