Mining for Old

Roller Hockey at Norwich? A Puzzling Photograph

As noted in our blog post about “Hockey at NU,” Norwich did not have a hockey team until 1909.  That does not, however, mean that students did not hanker for hockey before then.  As early as 1890, the Reveille broached the idea of having a hockey team.  The photograph displayed here shows a group of Norwich students, c. 1890, posed in their “roller hockey” or “roller polo” outfits.

According to the National Museum of Roller Skating website, “Roller hockey or roller polo started in 1878 at the Denmark Roller Rink in London, England…Participants played with curved sticks, sometimes called canes, while wearing quad skates.  The game was played with two opposing teams trying to shoot either a ball or puck into their opponent’s cage to score.  The team with the most goals won the game.”

The staff at the NU Archives is puzzled by this photograph:

• What is the exact year the photograph was taken?  (The photographer, Alonzo Harlow, had a studio in Montpelier in the 1880s and 1890s but was living in Boston by 1900.)
• Where on earth did they play their game?  NU did not have a gymnasium or other suitable building at the time.
• Who are the students in the photograph?

Any input is welcome!