All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club are invited to become members. The patron of the club is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and the President is The Duke of Kent. The Club was founded by six gentlemen at the offices of "The Field" on 23 July 1868 at the height of a croquet craze as the "All England Croquet Club," and held its first croquet competition in 1870. Its original ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon. Croquet was very popular there until the then-infant sport of lawn tennis (a game introduced by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so prior, and originally called "Sphairistikè") was
John Solomon (croquet player) tournaments, winning on four occasions. As an administrator Solomon served on the Council of the Croquet Association between 1952 and 2004, serving as Chairman (1962 to 1964), Vice President (1976 to 1982) and President (1982 to 2004). In 2006 Solomon was inducted into the World Croquet Federation Hall of Fame. John Solomon (croquet player) John Solomon (22 November 1931 - 20 October 2014) was a croquet player from England. Solomon dominated English croquet in the 1950s and 1960s winning the President’s Cup nine times (1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968 and 1971), the Open Championship ten times (1953,