Croquet

== =Croquet=


 * "Croquet** is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops or wickets stuck into the grass playing court" ("Croquet").

History
The origins of croquet aren't very clear. It was developed from the French game of Pall Mall but some link Pall Mall more to golf then to croquet. The game traveled from Ireland to England in 1851. "A Miss MacNaghten observed peasants in France playing a game with hoops made of willow rods and mallets of broomsticks inserted into pieces of wood and introduced it in Ireland." ("History") Jacques disputed claiming he made equipment from patterns he bought in Ireland and had published rules before Spratt introduced the subject to him. "Walter Jones Whiremore loved to play games and create inventions." ("History") In 1860 he took up the game of croquet. He realized that there were no tactics or rules. "So in 1866 he began a series of three articles on tactics in "//The Field"."("History")// He also discussed different types of strokes. Walter Jones Whiremore is considered the father of modern croquet.

' In 1868 the All England Croquet Club was formed with the purpose of creating an official body to control the game. "They needed to find a place to play and in 1869 they leased four acres in Wimbledon." ("History") But, in 1874 there was a decline in the game because women felt it had become too "scientific". "In that same year a game was patented called Sphairistrike, soon t be known as Lawn Tennis." ("History") One of the lawns that was at the club, was put aside for a lawn tennis game. "In April, 1877 the club's name was changed to the AllEngland Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. In July of 1877 the first lawn tennis championship was played in Wimbledon." ("History") Tennis proved to be a better money maker then croquet so the club changed their name to the All England Lawn Tennis Club. "Croquet went on and once again went through a regrowth and in 1899 the club's name was reversed and made into the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club which remains the same still to this day." ("History") "It could be argued that tennis would have never become popular if it wasn't for croquet and its lawns." ("History")