I saw the above picture online the other day and wondered if that is how water polo got its name.

Then I mulled over polo mints, polo shirts and the Polo brand. Is there any relation between the above and the game of polo? And so, my research began.

Water polo

Curiously, water polo did indeed get its start as depicted in that illustration. Back in the 1800s players sat on barrels to which a wooden horse head and tail were attached. These roly-poly ponies even had names, often the same as some of the great racehorses of the time. Players had oars that enabled them to move and pick and throw a ball. Thankfully, or regretfully, only the name stuck, and the wooden barrels and sticks have been cast aside.

The word polo, before we get too far, comes from Balti, which means ball and is derived from the Tibetan word pulu, which also means ball. We should consider ourselves lucky that not all ball games are called polo. (More on why the game of polo was lucky enough to claim the name later.)

Polo Mints

It doesn’t seem like the polo mint belongs on this list other than the fact that some horses love them. And maybe it shouldn’t, you be the judge. Polo mints came about in 1948, and it is thought the name is derived from the word polar because it conjures up cool, fresh thoughts that so fittingly describe mints. That piece of info is direct from the Polo mint website—they seem unclear as to the origin of the name, though. I have my own theory: if you look closely at the vents on a polo helmet, I think you will find the rubber grommet looks remarkably like a polo mint. Just a thought.

Polo by Ralph Lauren

The game of polo and the Polo brand are connected. The emblem tells us that much. In 1967 Ralph Lauren started the Polo line with a daringly wide tie made from fancy material. It wasn’t until 1971 that the emblem came about and another year before the iconic polo shirt hit the scene in all its various colors.

Apparently, Ralph Lauren liked the idea of the English aristocracy. He wanted his line to depict just that and nothing says old English money like the game of Polo. In 2006, Polo by Ralph Lauren became the official outfitter for Wimbledon, which brings us full circle to the birth of the white collared shirt that tennis players started to wear long before polo players, Ralph Lauren, or us regular Joes.

The original polo shirt

In 1933, tennis champion René Lacoste designed a revolutionary though somewhat controversial new shirt. It was lightweight, flexible, breathable and came with short sleeves, a collar, a few buttons and a slightly longer back than front. These shirts were strictly white because tennis players traditionally wore that color. Before Lacoste created this brave departure from the norm, tennis players wore what appeared to be button-up dress shirts and/or sweaters, which must have been restrictive and warm. (Much like equestrian show coats, you might say.)

The small crocodile logo we see on Lacoste items was the very first logo to be seen on clothing. It’s inspired by Lacoste’s nickname, The Crocodile, which he was given due to his desire to own a crocodile suitcase and his tenacity on the court. Lacoste was named the best tennis player in the world in 1926–1927 with seven grand slam titles to his name.

Polo players caught sight of these fancy new tennis shirts and started wearing them for all the same reasons. Up until then, much like the earlier tennis players, polo players were stuck wearing long-sleeved shirts with a collar, which were also restrictive and warm.

The most interesting part of all this: Ralph Lauren did not dub this new style the “polo shirt,” but rather the game of polo did, which makes more sense, though back then it was still referencing the long sleeve dress shirt. As the players switched to the short-sleeve, the name followed and the polo shirt, as we know it today, was born.

The game of polo

The game of polo is thought to have originated in Persia, astonishingly over 2,500 years ago, and is thought to be the oldest team sport in history, which is probably how they got to the name first. From almost its inception polo was used as a training ground for the King’s elite cavalry. Back in those days, however, the game more closely resembled a battlefield with up to 100 men per side, as opposed to the less hectic and one might say wimpy, four we have today.

There is of course a gruesome side to the ancient game of polo involving a large spike and the head of a newly decapitated general on the losing side of the battle. For practice, they would use the head of an unfortunate animal.

In the early half 1860s British officers stationed in India modernized the game and brought it back to England in 1869 and from there some years later the game found itself played in the U.S. Today upwards of 84 countries play polo.

Polo players wore white in an attempt to ward off the heat as it can get mighty hot in India. This choice of color, or lack thereof, though used out of necessity soon became a tradition and a rule.

This is also where we get our jodhpurs from. In the 1800s, in a town called Jodhpur in India, men often wore pants that were baggy at the waist and tight from the knee down. Polo players like the freedom the pants offered and that is how jodhpurs came about, though thankfully they have once again left. 

Polo and the Olympics

The game of polo was part of the Olympics from 1900 to 1936. If the IOC is concerned about stabling the number of horses they do these days, imagine how many stalls they would have needed back then as each team may have upwards of 25 or so horses. Never mind the umpire’s horses.

In Closing

I think it is fair to say, with some confidence, that if it weren’t for the game of polo, we may not have the shirts, the brand or the water version of the game, but we’d probably still have the mints.  

Sources:

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