Ice Hockey History

Ice Hockey History

Some historians trace Ice Hockey’s history back to Ireland, where it was played on a field with a ball and stick. Others say that the game was born from lacrosse and other field games played by Indians in Nova Scotia. The rest will say that ice hockey developed in Northern Europe where field hockey was played on frozen lakes. In conclusion, I believe it is safe to say that Ice Hockey has developed from many different sports and nations. Canada, however, is the homeland of modern hockey. In the mid 1850’s the first recorded ice hockey games were played at Hallifax and Kingston by British Soldiers. In the early 1870’s students at Montreal’s University outlined the first official set of ice hockey rules. These rules used a puck rather than a ball; this puck was square in fact Also the set number of players per side was nine.
The first beginner hockey league was organized in Kingston, Ontario in 1880. During the next few years hockey’s popularity grew, and there were more than 100 hockey clubs in just Montreal alone. The first hockey games played in the United States were played at Yale and John Hopkins Universities. In 1893, the Governor General of Canada donated a permanent trophy to be presented to the best hockey team. The Governor, Lord Stanley of Preston, and the silver bowl inlaid with gold that he donated became known as the Stanley Cup. To begin with the original cup cost only $48.57, today, the trophy is insured for $75,000. The cup has been awarded each year since 1893. However, the competition was stopped in 1919 due to an influenza outbreak.

The Following are Stanley Cup Winners:

Year Winner
1893 Montreal AAA
1894 Montreal AAA
1895 Montreal Victorias
1896 Montreal Victorias/Winnipeg Victorias
1897 Montreal Victorias
1898 Montreal Victorias
1899 Montreal Shamrocks

1900 Montreal Shamrocks
1901 Winnipeg Victoria
1902 Winnipeg Victoria/Montreal AAA
1903 Montreal AAA/ Ottawa Silver Seven
1904 Ottawa Silver Seven
1905 Ottawa Silver...

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