I came across this cover and had to see who this guy was. Well here you go!
Clyde seems to have been born in Missouri back in the very early 1890s – probably 1891 or 1892.
The official inventor of auto polo is purported to be Ralph "Pappy" Hankinson, a Ford automobile dealer from Topeka who devised the sport as a publicity stunt in 1911 to sell Model T cars.[2] The reported "first" game of auto polo occurred in an alfalfa field in Wichita on July 20, 1912, using four cars and eight players (dubbed the "Red Devils" and the "Gray Ghosts") and was witnessed by 5,000 people.[
FERRITER AT THE MALLET?
The Annuals of Kansas, (Kirke Mechem), states that on July 19, 1912, there was an Auto Polo game played at Wichita. Also, on December 12, 1913, "A series of auto polo games between American and British teams was played at Topeka. At that time, Auto Polo was said to be a Kansas game promoted by Ralph Hankinson (of) Topeka.
The game was played with two cars, with two people in each vehicle. The vehicles themselves seem to have been modified Model- T Fords, with the body metal stripped away, and rudimentary crass and roll bars installed. One person would operated the vehicle, (the driver), while the other would attempt to whack an over-sized softball towards the goal. This guy was the "mallet man".
Well, Clyde Ferriter was a Mallet Man, and he must have been pretty good. By the end of 1912, the National Auto Polo Association was presenting matches for the public in New York City. Just before Christmas, 1912, exhibitions were put on inside, with Madison Square Gardens as the venue.
We can trace his life in Wichita by his membership in the "Twentieth Century Club", as listed on the 1921 Wichita Social Register, and by his 1965 obituary, recorded at Christmastime, 1965, some 53 years following his daredevil performances in Madison Square Garden.
James Clyde Ferriter, 1892 - 1965
James Clyde Ferriter was born on month day 1892, at birth place, Missouri, to John Ferriter and Frances Laura Ferriter (born Kirby).
James passed away in 1965, at age 72 at death place, Kansas.
Posted 01/26/2021 11:05 am
