Hockey History

Origins of Hockey

Most hockey historians believe that the origins of hockey has its roots in the chilly climes of northern Europe, specifically Great Britain and France. In these regions the game of field hockey was a popular summer sport more than 500 years ago.

In the winter time when lakes and ponds froze, it was not unusual for the people who played field hockey in the summer to play the game on ice.

An ice game known as kolven was popular in Holland in the 17th century, and later on the game really took hold in England. The game was called bandy. The local players used to scramble around the town's frozen meadowlands, swatting a wooden or cork ball, with wooden sticks made from the branches of local willow trees. Articles appeared in the London newspapers around that time that mention increasing interest in the sport.

During this time, many people believe the game got its name from the French word hoquet, which means "shepherd's crook" or "bent stick."

However, the game we know today got its true roots and origins in Canada. People and hockey historians tend to agree that Canada is where the "modern" story of hockey history begins. If you look at the hockey history, evidence exist that the indigenous tribe, the Mi'kmaq from Eastern Canada played a hockey type game.

When immigrants from Europe came to Canada, they also brought with them a hockey-type game. The Irish brought the sport of hurling and the Scottish brought versions of field hockey. Also there is evidence of a form of hockey that was played on a ice surface in Russia called "shinney."

Through the 1820-1840s, there were types of shinney hockey games played in different regions of Canada. But the first recorded game of hockey was played by British soldiers stationed in Kingston and Halifax during the mid-1850s.

In the 1870s, at McGill University in Montreal, students created the first set of ice hockey rules. One of the rules that was created determined how many players each team got and they also decided to replace the ball that was used at the time with a wooden puck.

Creation & Foundation of Modern Hockey

The two teams were James Creighton and students from McGill University. Each team had nine players. The game featured the use of a puck to keep it within the rink; the goals were posts that were six feet apart, and the game was sixty minutes long.

Another important event happened in the history of hockey in 1877, when students at McGill University formed the first ice hockey club, and then 4 years later another club was formed in Montreal called the Montreal Victorias. In 1883 ice hockey's first world championship game was played.

By then some new rule changes were added to the game. The number of players was reduced to seven and the game was divided into two thirty minute halves.


Also players were given positions, similar to positions that are used today such as goalkeeper, center, left and right wing. In 1885, the Montreal City Hockey League was established.

In 1888, Lord Stanley of Preston who was the new Governor General of Canada attended a hockey tournament and was very impressed with the game. Lord Stanley didn't know it at the time, but by him attending the tournament he would change the history of hockey forever.

In 1892, Lord Stanley of Preston purchased a bowl for use as a trophy. The trophy would go to the best team in Canada. The trophy became known as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.

It is known today as the most famous trophy in sports, the Stanley Cup. It was first awarded to the Montreal hockey club in 1893, who were the champions of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada.


Today the Stanley Cup is awarded to the champion of the National Hockey League (NHL) and it is the most admired, respected, and sought after trophy in hockey.

By the late 1890s, there were over a hundred hockey teams in the city of Montreal alone. In 1896, the United State Amateur Hockey League was formed, the first ice hockey league in the United States. Also in In 1896, Yale University and Johns Hopkins University entered the hockey history books by playing the first known ice hockey game on U.S. soil.

Although the game of hockey was started in the late 19th century, it wasn't until the start of the 20th century that hockey grew and expanded and became a major sport in North America and around the world.

To learn more about hockey history and how hockey grew and expanded in the 20th century, click on the links below to read the history of professional and minor hockey leagues in North America and around the world that help grow the sport of hockey in the 20th century.

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