Polo, Men

Five teams entered the 1924 Olympic polo tournament, but the favorites were Argentina and the United States. They had never met in an international match, but as the world’s top polo nations, would later begin a series of matches, the Cup de las Americas. The US was led by Tommy Hitchcock, a 10-goal player from 1922-1940, and supported by Elmer Boeseke, who would later attain 10-goal status briefly in 1934. Also on the US team was Rod Wanamaker, the grandson of the founder of the Wanamaker Department Store chain. The tournament was a round-robin but it came down to the USA-Argentina match. The US was leading early on, but Argentina tied the match in the final minutes, and then Juan Miles scored a goal in the final chukka to give Argentina a 6-5 victory.