April 25, 2019 | By Kimberly Uslin

Beginning as a friendly informal competition between St. John’s College and the U.S. Naval Academy in the 1980s, the annual Annapolis Cup croquet match has certainly evolved. The first match had about 150 spectators; in 2016, the front campus was packed with around 8,000 people.

“St John’s College is so fortunate to share the city of Annapolis with the U.S. Naval Academy, and the annual Annapolis Cup is the perfect example of how two very different, but equally essential institutions can join together for fun and fellowship,” says Annapolis campus President Pano Kanelos. “It is wonderful to see how much enthusiasm our community has for this event, and St. John’s is honored to keep this tradition alive.”

As attendance has skyrocketed into the thousands, so too has the match’s visibility. In the past decade, the Annapolis Cup has been featured in Coastal Living, BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and The Wall Street Journal, among other local and national publications. 2017 was the first year that ticketing was implemented; in 2018, tickets sold out in four days, and in 2019, all 5,000 available were gone in just eight hours. (The limited tent spaces sold out in a record-breaking 15 minutes.)

The decades-old rivalry between the Johnnies and the Midshipmen remains at the heart of the event, but it has also become an opportunity for students, alumni, Annapolitans, and visitors from around the world to celebrate the arrival of spring. In addition to the match (and the ceremonial first hit), spectators enjoy performances from the St. John’s Freshman Chorus and the Naval Academy Trident Brass band, picnicking on the lawn, and swing dancing. 

“The annual croquet match is a great tradition for our City and a way for the two colleges to compete in a sporting event. I always enjoy seeing everyone dressed up on the lawn on a beautiful spring day, knowing it marks the changing of the season for us here in Annapolis,” says Mayor Gavin Buckley. “I look forward this year to presenting the Annapolis Cup to the winner—whichever team prevails!”

The 2019 Annapolis Cup Croquet match begins at 1 p.m. on April 27. Tickets are sold out.