30 greatest one-time sports in Summer Olympics history

2. Croquet
1900 Paris Olympics

Ah, back to the 1900 Olympics, but this is at least a sport that makes sense this time. Croquet is known as a sport of the rich and powerful, where large mallets are used to smash balls through arches or hoops. The sport can be done individually or with competition, and in this installation there were some team events, although there was only one team listed (the gold medalists from France, Gaston Aumoitte and Georges Johin).

This Olympics consisted of three total events. We mentioned the team event, but there was also two individual events. One used one ball and the other used two. It was simple as far as croquet goes.

It wasn’t well attended, any of the events. The reports say there was only one paying spectator. Imagine the access that person had? The lack of interest, and the fact that only French competitors participated, made it an easy cut in future years.

We did mention that croquet turned into roque at the 1904 Olympics, but that was another example of a one-off sport. Ultimately, this sport could make a comeback one day, but it’s not on the schedule yet. We feel there would be enough interest and enough athletes to fill the field.