There is little documentation as to the origins of water polo. However, we do know that the term "polo" is the English pronunciation of the Indian word "pulu," meaning ball. Just as the ball game played on horseback became known as "polo," the ball game played in water became known as "water polo," although there is no connection between the two sports.

The game that evolved into modern water polo began as a form of rugby football played in rivers and lakes with the object to "carry' the ball to the opponent's side. By 1869, an Indian rubber ball began replacing the original ball, which was made from a pig's stomach. One year later, the London Swimming Club developed rules for football to be played in swimming pools. The first official game was played in the Crystal palace Plunge in London.

The early games were generally exhibitions of brute strength. Passing, punting and dribbling were scarcely ever practiced. Each player considered it his duty to score goals without regard to position. A goal was scored by placing the ball, with two hands, on the top of the tank end. A favorite trick of the players was to place the five- to nine-inch ball inside their swimming suit and dive under the murky water, then appear again as near the goal as possible. Should the player come up too near the goal, he was promptly jumped on by the goalie, who was permitted to stand on the pool deck.

Around 1880, in Scotland, rule changes were introduced to make the game faster. The game moved from a rugby-style to a soccer-style of play. The goal then became a cage of ten feet by three feet and a goal could be scored by throwing the ball into this area. The small ball was changed to a leather association football (soccer ball). Players could only be tackled if they held the ball and players could only touch the ball with one hand-at-a-time. In the late 1880's, these Scottish rules were generally adopted throughout Great Britain.

In 1888, the United States became the next country to play water polo when John Robinson, an English swimming instructor, organized a team at the Boston Athletic Association. The early American game was played in the "old" English style, but soon developed its own, distinctly American characteristics. It was a game of close formations and fierce scrimmages and was one of the roughest games ever played. The ball would be taken underwater and held with two hands. Players grabbed each other where they chose, becoming locked in wrestling grips and losing interest in the whereabouts of the ball. It was a survival of the fittest. In many underwater battles, men let go of one another only when one man was no longer able to endure without air. Players often floated to the surface or were pulled out of the water in need of resuscitation.

The game was included in the Olympic Games of 1900 as an exhibition at the Paris Games. Only club teams participated and Great Britain defeated Belgium, 7-2, in the final game. In 1911, a decisive advance was made in the game when the Federacion International de Natacion Amateur (FINA) made the English-Scottish rules obligatory for all member nations. Beginning in 1928, first Germany and then Hungary began a reign of dominance over international water polo that lasted into the 1980's, when Yugoslavia, the United States, the USSR, Italy, and Spain all fielded extremely competitive teams.

From the 1912 Olympics, the water polo ball was a leather soccer ball that absorbed water and became extremely heavy, slippery and lopsided when wet. Following the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, James r. Smith (USA) developed a water polo ball made with a cotton bladder (later changed to nylon to improve performance), and a rubber fabric cover. The new ball was red, but by 1948, yellow was adopted for better visibility.

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