Events
28th Annual St. John's - U.S. Naval Academy Croquet Match
Johnnies Win Annapolis Cup!
Victorious in 4 out of 5 matches.
Croquet in the News
SAVE THE DATE
The 28th Annual Croquet Match - SJC VS. USNA
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Rain Date: Sunday, April 18, 2010, 1p.m.
- See the interview with the 2010 Imperial Wicket
- 2010 Croquet Factsheet
- View the 2009 match courtesy of the Annapolis Capitol newspaper online
- 2009 Pre-match Images from The Baltimore Sun
- "Lunch on the lawn at croquet match"
- "Army-Navy has nothing on this game"
- Baltimore Sun article: "Johnnies to take on Mids in Annapolis tradition"
Croquet 2009
The largest crowd ever flocked to the front lawn of St. John's College in Annapolis as the Johnnies, dressed as seafaring Vikings, triumphed yet again over a team from the U.S. Naval Academy in the 27th annual quest for the Annapolis Cup. The score was 4-1, but many who attended were more involved in elaborate lawn parties or busy swing dancing than in watching the contest on the field. Good weather on match day, April 19, attracted the large crowd, comprising students and alumni from both institutions as well as Annapolis locals, who enjoy croquet as one of the town's favorite spring traditions.
"We played better than last year," says Imperial Wicket Micah Beck, a senior. "There were alumni lining the sidelines watching. It was hard at times in front of such a large crowd. We had some nervous jitters to work out." Beck and Coates lost in a very close game against Navy. "I barely missed the wicket," says Coates. "Navy has a conservative style. They are risk-adverse," says Beck. "This worked in our favor most of the time." The Johnnies has warmed up the day before by beating a team of students the college's Santa Fe campus (most of whom were transfers from Annapolis).
The following weekend the Johnnies closed out their croquet season by bringing home another trophy, as winners of the National Intercollegiate Championships held on April 25 and 26 at the Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, Penn. The Johnnies were among the top seeds going into Sunday's play, and they won all of their six-wicket matches. Teams were fielded by institutions including the Naval Academy, Bard, Haverford, Davidson, and SUNY-New Paltz.
View a photo gallery from past matches.
Stats: St. John's has won the Annapolis Cup 22 out of 27 matches; the Mids have taken the trophy five times.
History: This is a timeless "David and Goliath" story. Navy is a powerhouse of competitive athletic teams. St. John's athletic program is an intramural one—except for intercollegiate teams in fencing, sailing, crew—and croquet. St. John's often wins the national intercollegiate croquet championships.
According to legend, in 1982 Kevin Heyburn, then a freshman at St. John's in Annapolis (he graduated in 1986 from St. John's, Santa Fe) was curious about the neighboring Naval Academy and attended a pep rally for the Army-Navy football game. On the way back to St. John's he and a friend found themselves walking behind the commandant of the Academy. "Being a bold freshman I started to talk with him," says Heyburn. "I told him that in the old days St John's had quite a competitive intercollegiate athletic program and would often beat Navy at sports like lacrosse and football. The Commandant said there was no sport where the St John's students would beat Navy." "What about croquet?" was the Johnnie retort. Heyburn later proposed a match in croquet (the first match was in 1983) "in the spirit of fostering better relations between the two schools-so we could understand each other better."
Spectator Sport: This grand spring lawn party is also a highly touted spectator sport, with up to 2000 attending—many looking like they stepped out of The Great Gatsby or Brideshead Revisited. There are lavish picnics and serenades by the St. John's Freshman Chorus. The Naval Academy Trident Brass Band performs and a St. John's deejay plays swing and waltz tunes (waltz parties are still big at St. John's, a nod to the college's colonial past.)
Sports Illustrated said that there was "no parallel in intercollegiate sports." Gentleman's Quarterly has called the annual croquet rivalry between the Johnnies and the Mids for the Annapolis Cup "the purest intercollegiate athletic event in America."
The Trophy: To the victors of the competition goes the Annapolis Cup, a battered silver trophy. The Annapolis Cup - which has been housed everywhere from local restaurants to a storage closet. Today the trophy is once again housed at St. John's. The origin of the cup is disputed: lore has it that a local restaurant that sponsored the first croquet tournament provided the Annapolis Cup trophy; however, other former players say the cup was found in a local thrift shop.
How the Game is Played: The game played at the annual match is nine-wicket, or "backyard" croquet. A full-size croquet court is a rectangle 100 feet long and 50 feet wide. Nine metal wickets and two wooden stakes are arranged in a double diamond pattern. The object of the game is to advance the balls through the course by hitting them with a mallet, scoring a point for each wicket and stake made in the correct order and direction. The winner is the first side to score 14 wicket points and 2 stake points for each of its balls. Teams can also win bonus points by "scoring" a wicket or stake or by hitting another ball. For the Annapolis Cup, each side has 10 players divided into two-person teams.
United States Croquet Association Collegiate National Championships: Both St. John's and the Naval Academy teams compete in the United States Croquet Association Collegiate National Championships. The Croquet Nationals are typically held the following weekend.