Swashbuckler Spence? Hepburn, Tracy, and the Hollywood Polo Knights

One of the most devoted players was Will Rogers seen here in his last match

The nearly thirty year love affair between Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy sometimes surprises people. She was unique, independent, glamorous, with the air of a patrician; he was a highly skilled actor, reputed to be a hard drinker, known to be gruff at times and often representing an “everyman” character.

Woman of the Year — the beginning

Hepburn admired his talent and was intrigued with the idea of co-starring with him in the upcoming Woman of the Year. In her autobiographical video, All About Me, she described feeling quite flustered about going with director George Cukor to be introduced to him. In fact, she just about admitted that she had a crush on him. And then Tracy came galloping up on a polo pony.

Now, frankly, I certainly never thought of Spencer Tracy as being particularly athletic. True, he was powerfully built, about 5’10” with a 44-inch chest (this was revealed in the movie Boomtown, where he’s being measured for a new suit). For comparison, Fred Astaire was about the same height and had a 36” chest (this is from Swing Time). I didn’t know Tracy could ride, either; it hardly came up in the films he made before WW2, though eventually he made some Westerns in the 1950s.

But behold:

Tracy belonged to an elite group of Hollywood polo players. Participants in regular matches included Leslie Howard, Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tracy, Walt Disney, and James Gleason (another surprising athlete) During the early years the beloved comedian and actor Will Rogers was a constant presence until his death in a plane crash in 1935. Matches were played in front of spectators, but not filmed or shown to the general public in any way, though a few brief moments show up in various home movies and newsreels. So Kate saw a Spence that we never got to see  – a dashing and romantic competitor who made her heart beat faster right from the start.

Above: Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Leslie Howard, Tracy in action, Howard again, Tracy and Walt Disney.

Dashing, isn’t he?

And here’s a little snippet of film with Rogers, Howard, and Gleason — and Carole Lombard is sitting in the stands watching, along with with soon to be deceased bandleader Russ Columbo.

Oh, yes — there is one more movie star player pictured above — and what I’d like to know is, where did he get a helmet to fit over his ears?

The later years

One thought on “Swashbuckler Spence? Hepburn, Tracy, and the Hollywood Polo Knights

  1. Absolutely fascinating. My grandfather, who owned a shipbuilding company in Portland, Oregon, came down to L.A. to play polo with Walt and Clark (as he called them) and the whole Hollywood gang. He’d ship his ponies down, not borrow other horses. He’d stay in his bungalow at the former Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, I think. (and, no, I wasn’t raised with that kind of money, as my grandfather disinherited my mother when she married my father, who was from a poor family)

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