Roller Polo
Roller Polo, played like ice hockey on roller skates in indoor rinks, was the new winter sport that became a craze in the late 1800s. By 1878 roller rinks would be converted with boards and goal nets called cages. Teams consisted of 5 to 7 players. The game was fast and rough. Games started when a bright colored ball was dropped into the middle of the Roller Rink, called the spot. The Rushers (forwards) would sprint from their Cages to the center of the rink, where there was a fierce battle for the ball. Professional roller polo was very popular in Rhode Island in the 1880's through the 1940's most notably at Infantry Hall in Providence. The National Roller Polo League formed in 1882 and the first Providence franchise began in the 1882-83 season. Prominent teams included Providence Grays and Pawtucket Tigers. Rhode Island was at the center of the roller polo craze. The Providence Gold Bugs would follow in 1917 and the Providence Bears in 1932 in the National and American Roller Polo Leagues. Amateur leagues also formed like the Providence Amateur Roller Polo League. The sport went through a couple of revivals in its history in Rhode Island as teams transferred and interest waned. The Providence Grays famous nickname would return in the 1938-39 season led by iconic roller player "Jigger" Higgins through the early 1940's demise of the once popular spectator sport.
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Roller Polo Champions
1895-96 National Roller Polo League - Pawtucket Tigers
1898-99 National Roller Polo League - Providence Grays 1905 Eastern League - Providence Grays 1908-09 National Roller Polo League - Providence Grays 1919-20 American Roller Polo League - Providence Gold Bugs |
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