History

J. Watson Webb
America's Left-Handed 10-Goaler

It was by the merest chance that J. Watson Webb is eligible to play with the American polo team in the championship matches at Hurlingham this month.

Webb is a left-handed player and had he failed to register as such at Hurlingham during 1907 he would have been barred from the competition under the rule, which prohibits players using their left hand.

The rule reads: “No player shall play with his left hand, except left-handed players registered at Hurlingham during 1907.”

Twenty-two left-handed players registered. Webb was the last to register.

It was not until 1911 that he began playing polo regularly. Prior to that time he had not played more than twenty-five times. When he heard about the rule in 1907 he registered, as he put it, “for any future possibility.” He could have had no thought of representing the United States at that time, but his foresight has turned out very happily.