Who Invented Hockey

By Robert Grazian

The game of hockey played on ice probably came into being in the 16th Century. Field hockey can be traced back around to around 4,000 ago and this is confirmed by some wall paintings which were found at a burial site in Egypt. These show a game being played using a ball and curved sticks. The Irish version of field hockey, hurling, also has historic roots and was mentioned in the 1366 Statutes of Kilkenny. The first recorded history that we have of ice hockey is in Dutch paintings in the 17th Century. These show people playing a game of hockey which was clearly on a frozen lake. It is impossible to say who invented hockey played on ice, as we know it today.

We know that Sir John Franklin mentions hockey during his arctic expeditions in 1825 and also a British army officer makes mention of it in his writings in 1843, but these were not organised games with written rules and set teams. They were more informal events. This gives us no clue as to who invented hockey as nothing was recorded.

Recording of the first games happened in the mid 1800s in the Halifax area. This was played by British soldiers stationed in there. We also know that ice hockey rules were finally drawn up at the McGill University in Montreal and this maybe the closest that you will get to finding out who invented hockey. This is where the first rules were established regarding the numbers of players etc.

There is, however, another theory. This is a story which involves a Colonel Hockey who was based in Windsor in Novia Scotia. It is thought that Colonel Hockey invented a game using a curved stick and a ball which was used as part of his fitness program for his troops. The game then became known as "Hockey's game". There is, indeed, documentary evidence to prove that John Hockey was serving in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the 1800s, just at the time when the name was adopted for the game. It may be that this is who invented hockey.

So, we have no conclusive proof of who invented hockey. It would seem that it could have evolved rather than being invented. It also depends on how you want to look at the question. McGill University definitely wrote the first rule book and they could, in a way, be defined as being the inventors. The Colonel Hockey story, however, is pretty good and it is encouraging that there is documentary proof of his existence at the right time and the right place. I am afraid that the ball is in your court, so to speak. You will have to accept one of these theories, or you could put in some hours of research and try to prove one of them beyond all doubt.

Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about hockey visit Pucking Hockey for current articles and discussions.