History of Hockey

The game of Hockey has been around from the time of early civilization. Some of the reports find the earliest origin of the game 4000 years back. Field hockey was reportedly played even before the birth of Christ. Basically known as the “ball and stick” game, it was played since ancient times in places diverse as Rome, Scotland, Egypt and South America. The game was referred to in different names but the basic idea of playing the game was the same. The most apt used term was “Hockie” by the Irish. Though the term was coined centuries ago, the word found its way through to the present generation.

In the 17th and the early 18th century England, the game acquired a fiercely competitive and chaotic form. Villages would compete against their neighboring hamlets and there were nearly 100 players in one team. The game was a matter of pride and manhood; so the game acquired a dangerous form. The game would last for half a month and many players would end up injured and grievously hurt. The umpires were there but they were more of mute spectators, who would make a call only if a team asked them to.

After some years, common sense and a logical and organized approach to the game came into play with the introduction of revision of rules. The game was limited to 30 players for each team. The Eton College of England drafted some rules to bring sanity to the game. The Hockey Association was formed in the year 1875 and some of the rules chalked out were implemented. The results were quite positive and more rules like giving the umpire enough authority were soon drawn to improve the quality of the game.


Hockey stick history

The hockey stick was introduced in the early 1800s. The first stick was created of wood with a flat blade. In the 1920s, hockey players began to tape their sticks to increase the hold and strengthen the blade. The banana curve or the bend in the blade which we see today was developed during the phase between the years 1957-1980. A certain player named Bobby Hull broke a stick at a practice match and began to play around with the “bent” stick and found to his amazement that there was far more accuracy in his shots. In the early 1980s, the sticks were formed of metals. By the turn of the 21st century, there have been three types of hockey sticks-wood, composite (reinforced wood sticks) and aluminum. The aluminum hockey sticks are most often used today because of its light weight, durable nature and replaceable blades.

Olympic hockey history

The first year that Hockey was played in the Olympics was in the year 1908. Only men were permitted to play the game. It was only in the year 1980, that women got the opportunity to play Hockey in the Olympics. Ice hockey was played in early April of 1920 as a part of the Olympic Summer Games in Antwerp, Belgium. The tournament was also famous for being the first World Hockey Championship. Canada was the clear cut winner in the championship. The first Olympic Winter Games are held in Chamonix, France, in the year 1924 with Canada winning all five games.

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