Every now and again a new sport comes about – often as a result of advances in technology. So it was in the first two decades of the twentieth century where the invention of the motor vehicle led to the creation of a number of new sports. One of these was the short lived fad of auto polo.
The game was played much like the equine game from which it was adapted, with the horses being replaced by the vehicles. In 1912 a team of men played exhibition matches in many cities in the United States. Although the reception was generally positive, the sport never really took off.
The reasons were twofold. First of all there was the expense. Due to the nature of the sport there were inevitably collisions. Competitors not only had to be able to afford the car in the first place they had to have the money to repair or even replace damaged cars.
The activity was popular as an exhibition sport at Coney Island in New York from around 1910 but after a decade or so the crowds tired of it and the once popular crowd pullers were cancelled.
Then there were the casualties. In the 1912 exhibition matches there were no less than six serious injuries. This would be enough to put off many. The sport in many ways was doomed from its inception. However, as these pictures show, there was a certain entertainment value in this short lives sport!
At Number 100 on our list of the greatest sports stars (ever!) is the legend who goes by the name of Andrew Johns. An Australian Rugby League footballer he is thought of by many as the best player of all time. During his career he was often trumpeted as the world's best halfback. During the 1990s and the 2000s he captained the Newcastle Knights team at home and played 249 games for the team 0 a record. He also represented Australia in 2 World Cups and played in twenty one test matches for the Aussie national side.
He retired from the game of rugby league at the age of thirty two in 2007. This was young, but he had had a lot of injuries which, had he continued playing, would have seriously threatened his health both on the pitch and in the future. However, he finished playing rugby league as the highest points scorer in the history of the Australian First Grade premiership. How many pointa? A total of 2,176.
Andrew Johns was announced as the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by the influential Rugby League Week. For the imaginary Team of the Century he was named as halfback. An outstanding career which places him at number 100 in our list of the 100 greatest sports stars in the universe!
