How did lacrosse evolve from an indigenous ritual to a modern sport. What role did William George Beers play in standardizing lacrosse rules. How did photography contribute to the promotion of lacrosse in the 19th century.
The Origins of Lacrosse: A Sacred Indigenous Tradition
Lacrosse, a sport deeply rooted in Native American history, has a fascinating origin story that dates back centuries. French Jesuit priests first documented the game in the 17th century, describing it as a ceremonial ritual practiced by Algonquin and Iroquois cultures. However, evidence suggests that variations of the sport existed even earlier, with some sources indicating its presence in Mesoamerica as early as the 12th century.
The original form of lacrosse was far more than just a game. It served as:
- A spiritual practice
- A method for conflict resolution
- A means of warrior training
- A community-building activity
These early matches were grand affairs, often involving hundreds or even thousands of players. The playing field could stretch for kilometers, and games could last for days. Before each match, teams would negotiate the rules, adding an element of diplomacy to the proceedings.
Regional Variations of Early Lacrosse
As the sport spread across North America, different indigenous nations developed their own versions. Three primary forms emerged:
- Southeastern style
- Great Lakes style
- Iroquoian style
Among southeastern tribes such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminole, a unique double-stick version of the game evolved. This variation is still practiced today, showcasing the enduring legacy of the sport’s indigenous roots.
European Contact and the Transformation of Lacrosse
When European colonists first encountered lacrosse, their reactions were mixed. The Jesuit missionaries initially disapproved of the game, citing its violence and associated betting practices. However, by the 18th century, French colonists began to embrace the sport, though they reportedly struggled to compete against their indigenous opponents.
How did European involvement change the nature of lacrosse? As the game gained popularity among colonists, it began to evolve. The mid-19th century saw a significant shift as lacrosse was absorbed into the Anglo culture of organized leisure sports. This cultural exchange led to the sport’s transformation from a sacred ritual to a codified athletic competition.
William George Beers: The Father of Modern Lacrosse
One name stands out in the history of lacrosse’s modernization: William George Beers. A Montreal dentist by profession, Beers founded the Montreal Lacrosse Club in 1856 when he was still a teenager. His passion for the sport drove him to standardize and codify the game in the 1860s.
Beers’ contributions to lacrosse included:
- Replacing the traditional hair-stuffed deerskin ball with a standardized rubber one
- Establishing uniform stick specifications
- Defining the number of players per team
- Setting standard field dimensions
Why did Beers push for these changes? His goal was to transform lacrosse into a national sport that could unify Canada. With Confederation on the horizon, Beers saw an opportunity to promote lacrosse as a symbol of Canadian identity.
The Role of Photography in Promoting Lacrosse
In the 19th century, photography emerged as a powerful tool for documenting and promoting lacrosse. William Notman, a renowned photographer of the era, played a crucial role in this process. Beers, a regular client of Notman’s, commissioned a series of team photographs featuring both indigenous and Anglo teams.
These photographs served multiple purposes:
- Documenting the sport’s popularity
- Promoting the new standardized rules
- Showcasing the diversity of lacrosse players
- Creating a visual record of the sport’s evolution
This collaboration between Beers and Notman represents an early example of sports marketing through photography. The images not only captured the players and teams but also helped to shape public perception of lacrosse as it transitioned into a modern sport.
Cultural Dynamics in Early Lacrosse Photography
The photographs taken by Notman reveal interesting cultural dynamics at play in 19th-century lacrosse. A comparison of two team portraits from 1867 – the St. Regis Lacrosse Club and the Montreal Lacrosse Club – highlights these differences.
In the St. Regis Lacrosse Club photo, the indigenous players appear somewhat uncomfortable and awkwardly arranged. This contrasts sharply with the image of the Montreal Lacrosse Club, where the Anglo players seem more at ease in front of the camera.
What factors contributed to this disparity? Several possibilities emerge:
- Differing levels of familiarity with photography
- Varying comfort levels with posing for portraits
- The power dynamic between the photographer and subjects
- Cultural differences in body language and self-presentation
These photographs provide valuable insights into the social and cultural context of lacrosse during this transformative period.
Lacrosse as a Unifying Force in Canadian Identity
As Canada approached Confederation in 1867, lacrosse began to take on new significance. William George Beers saw the sport as an ideal candidate for a national game that could help unify the country. But why did he believe lacrosse was particularly suited for this role?
- Indigenous origins: Lacrosse represented a unique part of Canada’s cultural heritage
- Widespread popularity: The sport was played across different regions and communities
- Adaptability: Lacrosse had successfully transitioned from an indigenous ritual to a modern sport
- Physical demands: The game showcased strength, skill, and teamwork – qualities that resonated with the national character
Beers’ efforts to promote lacrosse as a national sport coincided with the formation of the Canadian National Lacrosse Foundation. This organization played a crucial role in spreading the standardized version of the game across the country.
The Global Spread of Lacrosse
While lacrosse was gaining prominence in Canada, it also began to spread beyond North American borders. How did this indigenous North American game become an international sport?
Several factors contributed to lacrosse’s global expansion:
- British colonial connections: The sport spread to countries within the British Empire
- Exhibition matches: Teams traveled internationally to showcase the game
- Cultural exchange: As people moved between countries, they brought lacrosse with them
- Olympic recognition: Lacrosse was included as a demonstration sport in several Olympic Games
Today, lacrosse is played in dozens of countries across six continents. While it retains strong ties to its North American roots, the sport has evolved to incorporate diverse cultural influences from around the world.
Modern Lacrosse: Honoring Tradition and Embracing Innovation
As lacrosse continued to evolve in the 20th and 21st centuries, it faced the challenge of balancing its rich heritage with the demands of modern sport. How has lacrosse managed to honor its indigenous roots while adapting to contemporary athletic standards?
Several key developments have shaped modern lacrosse:
- Professional leagues: The establishment of professional lacrosse leagues has raised the sport’s profile
- Women’s participation: The growth of women’s lacrosse has expanded the sport’s reach and appeal
- Equipment innovations: Advances in stick and protective gear technology have changed how the game is played
- Rule modifications: Ongoing adjustments to game rules aim to enhance safety and spectator appeal
- Cultural recognition: Efforts to acknowledge and celebrate the sport’s indigenous origins have increased
Despite these changes, many aspects of modern lacrosse still echo its traditional roots. The sport continues to emphasize skill, teamwork, and respect for opponents – values that have been central to lacrosse since its earliest days.
In indigenous communities, traditional forms of lacrosse continue to be played alongside the modern version of the sport. These games serve as important cultural events, maintaining a connection to ancestral practices and beliefs.
The Future of Lacrosse
As lacrosse looks to the future, it faces both opportunities and challenges. The sport’s growing international popularity offers the potential for further expansion, while also raising questions about how to maintain its cultural integrity.
Some key issues shaping the future of lacrosse include:
- Olympic aspirations: Efforts to secure lacrosse’s place as an Olympic sport
- Diversity and inclusion: Initiatives to make the sport more accessible to diverse communities
- Environmental concerns: Addressing the environmental impact of lacrosse equipment and facilities
- Technological integration: Exploring how new technologies can enhance player performance and fan experience
- Cultural preservation: Ensuring that the sport’s indigenous heritage remains a central part of its identity
As lacrosse continues to evolve, it serves as a fascinating case study in how traditional practices can adapt and thrive in the modern world. From its origins as a sacred indigenous ritual to its current status as a global sport, lacrosse embodies a unique blend of history, culture, and athletic excellence.
The story of lacrosse is far from over. As new generations of players, coaches, and fans engage with the sport, they contribute to its ongoing evolution. By understanding and appreciating its rich history, we can better appreciate the significance of lacrosse not just as a game, but as a living cultural tradition.
William Notman, St. Regis Lacrosse Club, Montreal, 1867
St. Regis Lacrosse Club 1867
William Notman, St. Regis Lacrosse Club, Montreal, 1867
Silver salts on paper mounted on paper, albumen process, 10.1 x 13.9 cm
McCord Museum
French Jesuit priests first documented lacrosse in the seventeenth century, describing it as a ceremonial ritual in the Algonquin and Iroquois cultures. Teams of between a hundred and a thousand players faced off on a field anywhere from half a kilometre to three kilometres in length, with rules negotiated before the game began. The match itself could take up to several days and served spiritual and practical purposes such as conflict resolution and warrior training. The Jesuits disapproved of lacrosse on the grounds that it was violent and involved betting. However, by the eighteenth century French colonists began to play the game themselves, though apparently with little success against indigenous opponents.
William Notman, Montreal Lacrosse Club, 1867, silver salts on paper mounted on paper, albumen process, 14 x 10 cm, McCord Museum.
By the mid-nineteenth century the game was absorbed into the Anglo culture of organized leisure sports, which had eagerly adapted to the local pastimes of snowshoeing, skating, and lacrosse. William George Beers, a Montreal dentist, founded the Montreal Lacrosse Club as a teenager, in 1856. By the 1860s he began to codify the game. His rules required that the hair-stuffed deerskin ball be replaced with a rubber one of standard size and that the sticks be standardized. Beers also specified the number of players and the size of the field. This portrait would seem to mark his founding of the Canadian National Lacrosse Foundation and the year the first game was played under his new rules. He was insistent that lacrosse would be the right choice for a national game to unify the country. Confederation provided the perfect moment to make his pitch.
Beers was a regular client of Notman’s, and it seems reasonable to assume that it was Beers who commissioned a series of team photographs of indigenous and Anglo teams as a way of both documenting and promoting the popularity of the sport specifically on his new terms. This was an early and creative use of photography in the realm of marketing. The encounter that generated this photograph would have been an unusual one for both Notman and his sitters. Despite the players being lined up and casually posed under the lacrosse association flags, their arrangement and body language seem awkward, especially in comparison with Notman’s image of the Montreal Lacrosse Club from the same year. The Montreal players seem more comfortable performing for the camera, and yet ultimately the artfulness of their arrangement was the domain of the photographer. It would have been Notman who directed each man in his position and pose. In turn they seem to have willingly submitted to his familiar and respected authority.
| ? – ? | Ball and Stick game played by Nations of the interior of British Columbia Society of North American Hockey Historians and Researchers | First Nations | ||
| ~ 1100 | There is evidence that a version of lacrosse played in Mesoamerica or Mexico as early as the 1100s | North America | ||
| 1100 | Deeply rooted in Native American history, the sport dates back to as early as the 12th century when indigenous people played it for community and religious purposes. It was and still is viewed by many as a gift from the Creator; a game intertwined with enjoyment and healing purposes as the medicine game. | First Nations | ||
| ? – ? | Lacrosse style religious and/or combative events were played in many different parts of North America. Two of these, “Baggataway” and “Tewaarathon” are perhaps the most documented with Baggataway becoming a recreational game with between 60 and 100 players per side. | First Nations | ||
~1400 | Tyendinaga – Birthplace of the Peacemaker: Pacemaker was later to meet Mohawks | First Nations | Mohawk | |
| 1636 | Jesuit Missionary Jean de Brebeuf documents the game of lacrosse (baggataway) at Georgian Bay, Ontario | First Nations | Hurons | |
| 1630’s | There is not much early data on lacrosse and that exists (from missionaries such as French Jesuits in Huron country in the 1630s and later English explorers, such as Jonathan Carver in the mid-eighteenth century Great Lakes area) is often conflicting. | First Nations | ||
| 1630’s | There seems to have been three basic forms of lacrosse — the southeastern, Great Lakes, and Iroquoian. | First Nations | Iroquois | |
| 1630’s | Among southeastern tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, Yuchi and others), a double-stick version of the game is still practiced. A two-and-a half foot stick is held in each hand, and the soft, small deerskin ball is retrieved and cupped between them. | First Nations | ||
| 1630’s | Great Lakes players used a single three-foot stick. terminating in a round, closed pocket about three to four inches in diameter, only a little larger than the ball., In this game, the ball was usually made of wood, charred and scraped to shape. | equipment | ||
| 1630’s | The northeastern stick, found among Iroquoian and New England tribes, is the progenitor of all present-day sticks, both in box as well as field lacrosse. The stick for this game was typically more than three feet long and—the shaft ended with a crook which supported a flat triangular surface of webbing | equipment | ||
| 1718 | Participation of French in lacrosse games noted in great lakes region: Near present day Detroit, Monsieur de Sabrevois, commandant of Fort Pontchartrain, penned a description of the region in 1718. Referring to the Potawatomi village located near the fort, he wrote: In summer they play a great deal at la crosse, twenty or more on each side. Their bat [crosse] is a sort of small racket, and the ball with which they Play is of very Heavy wood, a little larger than the balls we use in Tennis. … All this is very diverting and interesting to behold. Often one Village Plays against another, the poux [Potawatomi] against the outaouacs [Ottawa] or the hurons, for very considerable prizes. The French frequently take part in these games. (cited in Lacrosse: Michigan’s First Team Sport by Larry B. Massie as published in Michigan History Magazine, September/October 1997 available online at: LaxRules.com) | First Nations | Potawatomi Outaouacs Hurons | |
| 1763 | Ojibway Indians use baggataway as a cover to enter and capture Fort Michilimackinac | First Nations | Ojibway | |
| 1794 | Match between two native groups results in creation of a basic set of rules | rules | ||
| 1799 | Salmanaca – Handsome Lake vision occurs | First Nations | ||
| 1815 | Onondaga – Burial place of Handsome Lake | First Nations | ||
| 1834 | Caughnawaga Indians demonstrate the sport at St. Pierre to a large crowd of Montreal spectators and the game is reported by the newspaper. | First Nations | Caughnawaga Mohawk | |
| 1842 | First Montreal Olympic Athletic club lacrosse team. | Club | Quebec | |
| 1843 | First lacrosse game between Indians and non-Indian teams | First Nations | Quebec | |
| 1844 | Montreal’s Olympic Club organized a team in 1844, specifically to play a match against a Native American team. Similar games were played in 1848 and 1851. | First Nations | Quebec | |
| 1856 | The first step toward turning lacrosse into a genuinely organized, modern sport came when the Montreal Lacrosse Club, founded in 1856, developed the first written rules. | rules | ||
| 1858 | Photograph Lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1858 | club | Quebec | picture |
| 1859 | Parliament proclaimed lacrosse as the national game of the Dominion of Canada | |||
| 1860 | He also published the first set of lacrosse rules in which the first team to score 3 goals won the match | rules | ||
| 1860 | Grand lacrosse match in honour of Prince of Wales’ visit saw Montreal Locals stage a “Grand Display of Indian Games,” including a match between 30-man Iroquois and Algonquian teams, and another between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teams. The day began with a lacrosse game and included supper. Few Montrealers of the period were vegetarians and the meal included veal, chicken, roasts, game, tongue sandwiches and pickles. The Prince arrived late but danced till 4:00 a.m.. Combined Montreal and Beaver Clubs vs Caughnawaga and St. Regis Indians | First Nations, royalty | Caughnawaga St. Regis Quebec | |
| 1860 | In September 1860, one month after the Prince’s visit, a young dentist named Dr. William George Beers wrote a pamphlet that set out some rules and instructions for the game, which until then had had no written regulations. Dr. W.G. Beers (supplemental) | rules
| story | |
| 1860 | Montreal Lacrosse Club merged with Hochelaga Club to form Lacrosse Club of Montreal | club | Quebec | |
| 1860 | Probably the first lacrosse game of 12 players per side saw The Beaver play the Young Torontos club | rules | ||
| 1861 | Shortly after the start of the American Civil War, the supposed possibility of invasion caused the formation of a number of militias in Canada. In Montreal, members of the Beaver Lacrosse Club formed the Victoria Rifles Company on September 20, 1861. | Quebec | picture | |
| 1862 | Ottawa Lacrosse Club Formed | Club | Ontario | |
| 1864 | https://oldschoollacrosse.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/the-earliest-lacrosse-photograph/ | |||
| 1866 | November 24, the Montreal Lacrosse Club beats the Chuawanaga Indians in three successive games to win the Canadian Lacrosse Championship | Championship | Caughnawaga | |
| 1866 | The Champion Lacrosse Club (1866), Montreal, QC, 1866 Photograph | club | Quebec | picture |
| 1867 | Dr. W. George Beers of the MLC rewrote the rules thoroughly in 1867. His rules called for 12 players per team, and named the positions: Goal, point, cover point, first defense, second defense, third defense, centre, third attack, second attack, first attack, out home, and in home. This code of rules forms the foundation of the modern game of lacrosse. Dr. W.G. Beers (supplemental) | rules | story | |
| 1867 | Beers, who is now known as ” the father of lacrosse,” also replaced the hair-stuffed deerskin ball with a hard rubber ball and designed a stick that was better suited to catching the ball and throwing it accurately. | equipment | ||
| 1867 | The first game played under Beers’ rules was at Upper Canada College in 1867, with Upper Canada College losing to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3–1. | rules game | Ontario | |
| 1867 | First major lacrosse league formed | league | ||
| 1867 | St. Regis Lacrosse Club (Akwesasne), Montreal, QC, 1867 Photograph.William Notman (1826-1891). 1867, 19th century More information about this image
| First Nations | Akwesasne | picture |
| 1867 | Montreal Lacrosse Club, QC, 1867 Photograph William Notman (1826-1891) 1867, 19th century ; | club | Quebec | picture |
| 1867 | Kahnawake Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1867 Photograph | First Nations | Kahnawake | picture |
| 1867 | First convention of he National Lacrosse Association, was held in Kingston Ontario where the first uniform code of playing rules were adopted. | rules Association | Canada | |
| 1867 | Engraving, Emblem of National Lacrosse Association of Canada. John Henry Walker (1831-1899) about 1867, 19th century
| Association | picture | |
| 1867 | Captain W.B. Johnson of Montreal toured with a team of Caughnawaga Indians, appearing at Windsor Castle before Queen Victoria, who found the game “very pretty to watch.” | First Nations royalty | Caughnawaga England | |
| 1867 | Caughnawaga Lacrosse Team with Dr. George Beers & Henry Beckett, about 1867 Photograph | First Nations | Caughnawaga | picture |
| 1867 | First Dominion lacrosse title contested; Montreal Lacrosse club vs Caughnawaga with the winner (Caughnawaga) considered the World Champions | championship | Canada Caughnawaga | |
| 1867 | The First lacrosse “trophy” the “Claxton Flags” (officially named the “Champion Lacrosse Flags”) were donated by J. Claxton for challenge competition between amateur teams of Montreal Claxton Banner | trophy | Quebec | story |
| 1867 | By November it was estimated that there were 80 lacrosse clubs with approximately 2,000 players in Canada. |
| Canada | |
| 1867 | Saratoga Springs – first lacrosse demonstration in US | origins | USA | |
| 1868 | First Canadian National Tournament – Paris | tournament | Canada | |
| 1868 | White players in Upstate New York began to play lacrosse about this time and during the 1870’s several teams were organized in metropolitan New York. | USA | ||
| 1868 | First international lacrosse match (at Ogdensburg) between teams of white players; Canadian residents of Buffalo, NY played a team from Prescott Ontario | international | USA Canada | |
| 1868 | A New York Times story of July 11th reports that the Mohawk Lacrosse Club (of Troy) and the Senior American Lacrosse Club are to appear in Montreal on the 28th to ‘gain some insight’ on the game as played in Montreal. | international | Mohawk USA | |
| 1868 | A New York Times story of August 23rd reports that “The Canada National Game of Lacrosse, which is to be played the coming week on the Capitoline Grounds, is rather difficult to describe. ” Later in the story, it is allowed that the team is composed of “…young gentlemen of respectable families.” A partial pdf of the story can be found here. | international | USA | |
| 1868 | Crescent Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1868 Photograph | club | Canada | picture |
| 1868 | Messrs. Beers and Stevenson playing lacrosse, Montreal, QC, 1868 | Canada | ||
| 1868 | US Second Club – Buffalo | club | USA | |
| 1869 | A Montreal publisher produced the first book on the sport in 1869. Lacrosse: The National Game of Canada was written by Beers and illustrated with posed photos of players by the famous Notman Gallery. | rules | Canada | story |
| 1869 | New York – First Nations demonstration by Mohawk and Blackfoot | origins First Nations | USA Mohawk Blackfoot | |
| 1869 | Men from the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake (Caughnawaga) were the Canadian Lacrosse Champions in 1869 | First Nations Championship | Kahnawake | picture |
| 1870 | The New York Times (August 27) reports in “Outdoor Sports” that the Knickerbocker Lacrosse Club of NY faced the Toronto Club in Buffalo. Toronto took the decisive fifth game after the Knickerbocker club won the 3rd and fourth games to tie the series. | international | USA | |
| 1870 | On November 25th, The New York Times reports that the Knickerbocker Club is the winner of a tournament to determine the United States Championship | Championship | USA | |
| 1870 | Lacrosse Match Between the Montreal Club and Caughnawaga Indians Print Anonyme – Anonymous 1870, 19th century | First Nations | Caughnawaga | |
| 1870 | Prince Rupert’s Lacrosse Club formed: the first in Manitoba | Club | Manitoba | |
| 1870 | John Flannery was the father of USA lacrosse in 1870s | origin | USA | |
| 1871 | Montreal Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1871-72 Photograph Wm. Notman & Son | club | Quebec | |
| 1874 | Lacrosse tried on indoor ice in a Montreal rink – the ball bounced so much that players broke $300 worth of window panes. | game | Quebec | |
| 1875 | Dr. Beers and H. Becket, lacrosse player, Montreal, QC, 1875. Photograph | Quebec | picture | |
| 1875 | A lacrosse ball, with the top and bottom cut off, is the first recorded use of the modern form of the puck in a hockey game – until then rubber balls had been used. (Montreal on March 3rd, 1875 @ the Victoria Rink) | equipment | Quebec | |
| 1875 | Toronto Lacrosse Club defeated Montreal Shamrocks for NLA championship; this was the first NLA championship by other than a Montreal Team | championship | Canada | |
| 1876 | Captained by Dr. W. G. Beers of Montreal, the honorary president of the National Lacrosse Association of Canada, Montreal Club with Caughnagawa Indians tour England. This tour is said to have started the game in “the old country” | First Nations International | England Caughnagawa Quebec Canada | |
| 1876 | Caughnawaga lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1876 Photograph Notman & Sandham 1876, 19th century Photograph | First Nations | Caughnawaga | picture |
| 1876 | Home Canadian lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1876 Notman & Sandham 1876, 19th century | Club | Quebec | picture |
| 1876 | Canadian and European Lacrosse Teams in playing positions, composite, Montreal, QC, 1876 Photograph | international | picture | |
| 1876 | Queen Victoria watched and “endorses” a lacrosse game in Windsor, England and is quoted as noting “The game is very pretty to watch.” | royalty | England Canada | |
| 1876 | In April of 1876 the pioneer of lacrosse in Victoria (and Australia as a whole) was a Canadian Lambton L Mount who had come to theVictorian goldfields as a fourteen year old with his family in 1853.In 1875 he was moved to revive his early boyhood memories of lacrosse and thus he wrote to the Australasian Newspaper to announce that he was arranging to import forty lacrosse sticks from Canada and intended to start lacrosse and establish the Melbourne Lacrosse Club. He succeeded and the first practice match of this club took place on 22 June 1876 between 15-20 players at Albert Park. | club | Australia | |
| 1877 | New York University and Manhattan College played the first U. S. intercollegiate game on November 22, 1877, and other colleges in the Northeast soon took up the sport, including Boston University, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, and Stevens Institute. | college | USA | |
| 1878 | Lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1878 Photograph | club | Quebec | picture |
| 1878 | From 1878-1883 lacrosse was started in area by Baltimore A.C. followed by Druids A.C. and the beginning of Johns Hopkins L.C. | club college | USA | |
| 1879 | The U. S. Amateur Lacrosse Association, founded in 1879, adopted the Canadian rules. | USA | ||
| 1879 | By 1879, four clubs had been formed in Australia with some 120 players. These four clubs Melbourne, Fitzroy, South Melbourne and Carlton formed the Victorian Lacrosse Association in July 1879 for the purpose of coordinating matches and His Excellency, the Govenor of Victoria, The Most Hon G A C Phipps was the inaugural Patron | Association | Australia | |
| 1880 | One of the first night games to be played under the new “Electric Light” was played in August of 1880 at the Shamrock Lacrosse Field in Montreal. In order to help the fans follow what was occurring on the field at night, in a second game the promoters decided to coat the ball with phosphorous. (note the more famous first game under lights in Baseball was 50 years later in 1930!) | equipment | Quebec | |
| 1880 | Emblem of Shamrock Lacrosse Club 1850-1885, 19th century Engraving John Henry Walker (1831-1899) | club | Quebec | picture |
| 1880 | The first Indian Lacrosse World Championship (professional) held; won by Caughnagawa Indians. | First Nations Championship Professional | Caughnagawa | |
| 1880 | National Lacrosse Association became an amateur organization; Indians (professionals) were barred. | Association | ||
| 1881 | The first intercollegiate tournament is held at Westchester Polo Grounds in New York | College | USA | |
| 1881 | Match held between Montreal Shamrocks and the New York Lacrosse Team for the “Championship of America” | International Championship | Canada USA | |
| 1881 | Sketch Canadian Illustrated News | picture | ||
| 1882 | Seven colleges formed the first Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. in the United States | College | USA | |
| 1882 | Lacrosse equipment is available in Edmonton, Alberta | Alberta | ||
| 1882 | Philips Exeter Academy (New Hampshire) and the Lawrenceville School (New Jersey) were the USA’s first high school teams in 1882. | High School | USA | |
| 1882 | Mr. Polin, lacrosse player, Montreal, QC, 1882 with NLA Championship Banner Photograph Notman & Sandham February 28, 1882, 19th century | championship | Canada | picture |
| 1882 | On a trip to visit the Garry Lacrosse Club of Winnipeg, the Montreal Lacrosse Club visits Chicago and St. Paul, At various times the club acknowledges pleasant memories of “fraternal courtesies” received at various times from the athletes and/citizens of New York, Boston, Portland, Baltimore, Washington, Newport, St. Albans and other places | international club | Manitoba Quebec USA | |
| 1882 | Tthe National Lacrosse Association was renamed the National Amateur Lacrosse Association. | Association | ||
| 1883 | 1883 edition of The Boy’s Own Paper, contains a report on a three month tour of Great Britain and Ireland by a group of Canadians led by Dr. W.G. Beers of Montreal. The tour is said to have given lacrosse “its second wind” with 60 or more clubs now in existence. | international club | England Ireland Canada | |
| 1883 | The Canadian Lacrossers from the pages of The English Lacrosse Association’s website comes this fascinating glimpse into how lacrosse came to England … by way of few visiting ‘colonials’ including an Iroquois professional team, that was arranged by Dr. W.G.Beers of Montreal. | international | England | |
| 1883 | Canadian lacrosse team, European competitors, Belfast, Ireland, 1883 Photograph | international | Ireland | picture |
| 1883 | Canadian lacrosse team and friends, Queens Hotel, Belfast, Ireland, 1883 | international | Ireland | picture |
| 1883 | Canadian lacrosse team, European competitors, on board the “Oregon,” Belfast Lough, Ireland, 1883 | international | Ireland | picture |
| 1883 | Canadian and Kahnawake lacrosse teams, European competitors, Oxford, England, 1883 | international | England Canada Kahnawake | picture |
| 1883 | Canadian lacrosse team, European competitors, Scarborough, England, 1883 | international | picture | |
| 1883 | Big John” and the Kahnawake lacrosse team, European competitors, Scarborough, England, 1883 | First Nations | Kahnawake | picture |
| 1883 | Canadian and Kahnawake lacrosse teams competing at the Zoological Gardens, Clifton, England, 1883 | First Nations | Kahnawake Canada England | picture |
| 1883 | Lacrosse on the Ice, on the Tank at Montreal Anonyme – Anonymous | Quebec | picture | |
| 1883 | Melbourne University Lacrosse club formed in Australia | College | Australia | |
| 1883 | In March, the Edmonton Lacrosse Club was organized but, because of a lack of competition, it disbanded in 1885 | Club | Alberta | |
| 1883 | Lacrosse in Victoria, B.C. | Club | BC | |
| 1883 | Lacrosse Team in Victoria is recorded in photo available from the BC Archives. (dated Feb. 19. 1883; Photographer Spencer and Hastings) Players shown in the photo are: W. Wadhams, A. Cameron, A.D. Crease, W. and R. McDonald, M. Walker (Captain), R. Finlayson, H. Smith, T. Bryden, H. Beaven, William Beaven, R. Harvey. The Photo shows Christ Church Cathedral in the background. | Club | BC | picture |
| 1883 | Another tour of the British Isles by Canadian team, captained by W.G. Beers, and Indian team captained by Big John (Scattered Branches). By arrangement with Dominion Government, tour members acted as “emigration agents” to attract settlers to Canadian West, and over 500,000 special copies of “Canadian Illustrated News” were distributed at matches, together with 150,000 sundry other publications on Canada | international | England | |
| 1884 | The Calgary Lacrosse Club was organized in 1884 with Captain Boynton serving as the club’s first president. The club’s membership swelled to thirty, with games among the club members being held periodically on weekends and, on several occasions, competitions took place between the citizens and the police. After lagging interest, the Calgary Lacrosse Club was re-organized in 1887 when Mr. Boag, a teacher who was to be elected as the club’s president, organized a lacrosse meeting at the school house. The Calgary Lacrosse Club operated in a local manner for several years. | Club | Alberta | |
| 1885 | Young Canadians” of Richmond Hill | Club | Ontario | |
| 1886 | Despite the 1883 picture cited above, most sources suggest that the first recorded game in British Columbia was played at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria between teams from Victoria and Vancouver | Club | BC | |
| 1886 | The New York Times reports that an Irish team are to meet crack players of the US and Canada and that “Great care has been shown in the selection of the Irish lacrosse team now on the Etruria, and expected here this morning. It is composed of the most prominent players of the principal clubs in Ireland. ” The story is can be found here. (pdf) | International | Ireland | |
| 1886 | Irish Lacrosse Team, Montreal, QC, 1887 Wm. Notman & Son | international | Ireland | |
| 1887 | Victoria Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1887 | club | Quebec | picture |
| 1887 | The Toronto Lacrosse Club breaks away from the National Amateur Lacrosse Union leading to the formation of the Canadian Lacrosse Association. | Association | ||
| 1887 | Canadian Lacrosse Championship (J. Allan Lowe Cup) held between C.L.A. (Western Ontario) and N.A.L.A. (Eastern Ontario and Quebec) | Championship | ||
| 1888 | N.A.L.A. introduced a very important rule change: fixed time limit for lacrosse matches replaced previous “best 3 out of 5” games format (note: 1 goal = 1 game in the old rules). | rules | ||
| 1888 | The first lacrosse tournament was held in Kamloops with Victoria beating Vancouver in the final game. | BC | BC | |
| 1889 | National Amateur Lacrosse Union formed by 5 senior teams from Montreal, Toronto, Cornwall and Ontario. | Association | Canada | |
| 1889 | N.A.L.A now controlled only junior clubs | Association | Canada | |
| 1890 | St Leonards claims to be the first girls’ school to have played lacrosse. Records give details of the House matches played during the Spring Term 1890. The hour long games featured teams of eight. An earlier letter, from the schools first Headmistress, Miss Louisa Lumsden, (later to become Dame Louisa) home from White Mountains, New Hampshire that is dated September 6th 1884 tells of her visit to watch the Caughnawaga Indians , play lacrosse against the Montreal Club. In it she notes: “It is a wonderful game, beautiful and graceful. (I was so charmed with it that I introduced it at St Leonards)”. History of Lacrosse at St Leonards Scotland | School Womens | Scotland | |
| 1890 | British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association incorporated on March 22, 1890 with three teams: Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster | Association | BC | |
| 1890 | Constitution and Rules British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association adopted March 22nd, 1890, revise April 8th 1899 Includes Rules and Historical Information about early lacrosse in British Columbia Including Conventions and Officers of the BCALA ffrom 1890 through 1899 (image of each page may be scrolled through) | Asssociation | BC | story |
| 1890 | New Westminster Salmonbellies Lacrosse Club Formed | Club | BC | |
| 1890 | During the 1890 season, Johns Hopkins did away with the traditional long passes from defense to offense, opting instead for short passes and a greater emphasis on running while in possession of the ball. | College | USA | |
| 1890 | First recorded lacrosse game in Maritimes; probably played at Saint John, N.B. | club | N.B. | |
| 1891 | Literally days before Dr. James A. Naismith invented basketball in 1891, he tried out different sports in the Springfield College gymnasium including an attempt to play lacrosse indoors | College | USA | |
| ~ 1890s | Nass River, O.M.S. Kincolith Lacrosse Team. A photo showing an early Indian team can be found in the BC Archives here | First Nations | Kincolith | picture |
| 1896 | Western Canada Lacrosse Association Formed, for Prairie provinces | Association | Canada | |
| 1898 | Johns Hopkins began changing their sticks to make them more position-specific: attackmen were given shorter sticks with small nets, defenders were given long sticks significantly lightened to improve speed and accuracy, and goalies were given sticks with very large nets. | equipment | USA | |
| 1892 | The sport became quite popular in Bristol, Cheshire, Lancashire, London, Manchester , and Yorkshire, and the English Lacrosse Union was organized in 1892. | Association | England | |
| 1896 | Constitution and by-laws of the Capital Lacrosse Club : adopted May 15th, 1896, Victoria, B.C.
| Association | BC | story |
| 1900 | Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, about 1900 | club | Quebec | |
| 1900 | Important lacrosse rules changes: goal nets introduced baggy” stick to permit easier catching and carrying of the ball | rules | ||
| 1901 | Lord Minto, the Governor General of Canada, donated a silver cup to become the symbol of the championship of Canada for amateur teams. Within three years the cup became symbolic of professional Champions of Canada. The Minto Cup, today the symbol of supremacy in the Junior ranks, remains one of the proudest prizes of Lacrosse. Minto Cup (supplemental) | Trophy | Canada | story |
| 1901 | The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary) were present at the first game played for the Minto Cup between the Capitals of Ottawa and Cornwall in 1901 (winners Ottawa Capitals) | Royalty championship | Canada | |
| 1901 | Ottawa Capitals defeated New York Crescents at Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo to win North American Championship | international | Canada USA | |
| 1903 | Kamloops Star Lacrosse Team (photo in British Columbia Archives) | Club | BC | picture |
| 1904 | Lacrosse was an Olympic sport in St. Louis (Canada, England, USA were the only participants) Canada took the Gold medal (Shamrock L.C. Winnipeg) Mohawk Indians (Brantford) took the Bronze | Olympics First Nations | Canada USA England Mohawk | |
| 1904 | Shamrock Lacrosse Club, 1904. (with the Minto Cup) The Champions of the World. [Centre: Thos. O’Connell. Inside group: J. Currie, P.F. Brennan, J. Kavanagh, H. Hoobin. Outside group: E. Robinson, J. Howard, W. Hennessey, P. O’Reilley, J. Brennan, Jos. Valois, J. McIlwaine, M. Kenny, J. Hogan, H. Smith.] | Club | Quebec | picture |
| 1904 | A photo in the British Columbia Archives shows a 1904 Kamloops youth lacrosse team | BC | picture | |
| 1907 | Canadian Lacrosse Association’s Ontario All-Star team, then playing across Canada on their way to Vancouver, as part of an around-the-world trip promoting the national game. | |||
| 1907 | Australia’s first international lacrosse match against Canada was played at the famous Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) before a crowd of 30,000 | international | Australia | |
| 1908 | Alberta Lacrosse Association formed | Association | Alberta | |
| 1908 | Lacrosse was an Olympic sport in 1904 in London (Canada, England were the only participants). This was the first truly representative Canadian Lacrosse team. Canada takes the Gold medal | Olympic
| Canada England | |
| 1908 | New Westminster wins its first Minto Cup (then given to the top senior team in Canada) | championship | Canada | |
| 1908 | Photo of the New Westminster Salmonbellies “Champions of the World” is available on the BC Archives here | Club | B.C. | picture |
| 1910 | University of Toronto lacrosse team won Intercollegiate Championship of North America (thos team on the same title in 1910) | College International | Canada USA | |
| 1910 | The Mann Cup, donated by Sir Donald Mann, chief architect of the Canadian Northern Railway, donated a gold cup (valued at $2,500) to be awarded, as a challenge trophy for the Canadian amateur senior champion team. The first winners were Young Toronto Club. Mann Cup (Supplemental) | Trophy | Canada | story |
| 1910 | In 1910, Glenn “Pop” Warner, Athletic Director at the Carlisle Indian School, (and now famous for the “Pop Warner Youth Football program) replaced baseball with lacrosse as the school’s Spring sport because of the “evils of professional baseball” and the fact that many Carlisle Indian School students had been lured away from school into “temptations and bad company by professional baseball offers.” He is also quoted as saying “Lacrosse is a developer of health and strength. It is a game that spectators rave over once the understand it.” The famed US Olympic hero James Thorpe played lacrosse at the School. | School | USA | |
| 1910 | Squamish Lacrosse Team 1910-1930, 20th century Photograph | First Nations | B.C. | picture |
| 1910 | Oxford University Lacrosse Team ca. 1910 – 1911 / Oxford, England Canadians: First row: Laurent Beaudry (right) Second row: A. Yates (second from left), Gustave Lanctot (right), F.E. Hawkins (second from right) Third row: S. Johnson, E.A. Munro, H.T. Logan (left to right) | College | England | picture |
| 1911 | Vancouver Athletic Club wins the first of 4 consecutive Mann Cup Championships | Championship | Canada | |
| 1911 | The Vancouver Lacrosse Club Front row: M. Barr, N. Carter, A. Adamson, B. Fitzgerald, E. Lalonde, D. Phelan, S. Nichols, S. Sumner, B. Allen. Back row: H. Cowan, H. Woodman, B. West, G. Matheson, F. Ion, H. Godfrey, C. Jones, H. Pickering, H. Griffith, B. Clark, P. Muldoon, L. Yorke. | Club | B.C. | picture |
| 1911 | National Professional Lacrosse Union Formed | professional | Canada | |
| 1912 | North Shore Lacrosse Team About 1912, 20th century | First Nations | Squamish | picture |
| 1912 | The PCALA grew to four teams with the addition of Vancouver Fairview | League | B.C. | |
| 1912 | Canadian Amateur Lacrosse Association formed, as part of Amateur Athletic Union of Canada | Association | Canada | |
| 1912 | Dominion Lacrosse Association (professional union) formed | professional | Canada | |
| 1913 | High School Lacrosse in New Westminster | School | B.C. | |
| 1913 | John Robson High School (New Westminster) youth lacrosse team photo on the BC Archives here | School | B.C. | picture |
| 1913 | Girls lacrosse teams at St. Leonards have expanded to 12 a side by this time | School | Scotland | |
| 1915 | New Westminster Salmonbellies win the first of 3 consecutive Mann Cup Championships (after a two year break they would win another 6 in a row from 1920-1925 and then win once more in 1927 before going on a decade long drought) | Championship | Canada | |
| 1925 | C.A.L.A re-formed as central controlling body to re-introduce unified rules and national championships, in effort to revive amateur lacrosse. | Association | Canada | |
| 1925 | The Canadian Lacrosse Association ( l’Association canadienne de crosse), founded in 1925 is the governing body of lacrosse in Canada | Association | Canada | |
| 1925 | Mann Cup series became regular national amateur competition, alternating between east and west each year. | championship | Canada | |
| 1926 | Rosabelle Sinclair reestablishes women’s lacrosse in the United States when she starts a team at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore. | School | USA | |
| 1928 | Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the Olympics in 1928 in Amsterdam. The New Westminster Salmonbellies field lacrosse club represented Canada with the result being a three-way, one win-one loss tie with each of the three competing teams having scored 12 goals. The U.S. suggested a three-way playoff to decide a single victor; Canada agreed but England refused. The Olympic committee then declared all three teams gold medal winners. | Olympic | Canada England USA | |
| 1928 | The Salmonbellies Olympic team toured Holland, France, Germany, Belgium, England, Scotland and the Eastern United States | international | ||
| 1930 | North Shore Athletics Lacrosse team Photograph Gift of Squamish Indian Band Office | First Nations | Squamish | |
| 1930 | Joseph Lally Trophy, emblematic of North American Amateur field lacrosse championship, presented first time: won by Oshawa, Ontario team. | championship International | Canada USA | |
| 1930 | First box lacrosse (“boxla”) league formed with 2 Ontario and 2 Montreal clubs | box | Ontario Quebec | |
| 1931 | Although its origins are somewhat shrouded, Box Lacrosse was first played about this time. Some maintain that the game just naturally evolved around 1929 0r 1930 in Ontario when some lacrosse players in Ontario noticed hockey rinks sitting empty in the summer an moved in just to shoot the ball around. However according to Cleeve Dheenshaw (Lacrosse 100: One Hundred Years of Lacrosse in B.C. 1990. Victoria: Orca Book Publishers) some sources give the credit to a British Columbian, Jim McConaghy: …[Jim McConaghy] apparently read a newspaper account of lacrosse being played in Australia with just seven men a side instead of the twelve men used in Canada, and that the Australians were playing the game in an enclosed indoor box instead of outdoors. Strangely enough, the story turned out to have no shred of truth in it whatsoever, but some old-timers insist it gave McConaghy the idea to go to the Canadian Amateur Lacrosse Association in 1931 with the idea for box lacrosse, | box | Canada | |
| 1931 | The first box lacrosse games in BC were played at the PNE (in the old Horse Show Building) and at Queens Park Arena. | box | B.C. | |
| 1931 | C.A.L.A adopted box lacrosse as its official game | box rules | Canada | |
| 1932 | Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Teams from Canada and the United States played three games, with the team from the United States winning the series 2 games to 1. Games were played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of large crowds of about 75,000 people. | Olympic | USA Canada | |
| 1932 | The NY Times, in its May 10th edition, reports under the title “The Gentle Pastime of Box Lacrosse” that a game will be played at the Gardens between Newsy Lalonde’s professional champions, the Canadians of Montreal and the Maple Leafs of Toronto. | professional box | Canada | |
| 1932 | 80,000 people watched a lacrosse match between Johns Hopkins University and Canada | international | USA Canada | |
| ~ 1930’s | Promoters in Canada married the two most popular games, Lacrosse and Hockey, and created Indoor Lacrosse, also known as Box Lacrosse or Boxla. By the mid 30’s the field game had been almost completely replaced by Boxla and the box version became the official sport of the Canadian Lacrosse Association. | Box | Canada | |
| 1933 | Interest in the final game of the Mann Cup championship was so high that the final game (won by the eastern champion Hamilton Tigers) had to be moved by the Host New Westminster Salmonbellies to the Denman Arena of Frank Patrick where 11,000 fans took in the boxla match. The display of talent in this series is said to have cemented the position of Box Lacrosse in British Columbia. | Championship | Canada B.C. | |
| 1933 | Leo Nicholson made first radio broadcasts of box lacrosse in Vancouver Leo Nicholson (supplemental) | Box | B.C. | story |
| 1936 | North Shore Aboriginals lacrosse team. Photograph North Shore Aboriginals lacrosse team 1936, 20th century | First Nations | Squamish | picture |
| 1937 | Robert Pool introduces the first double-walled wooden stick, an early prototype for today’s plastic sticks. | equipment | ||
| 1937 | Pamphlet Official Box-LaProgram – Inter City League Hastings Park Vancouver 20 July 1937, 20th century | Box | B.C. | picture |
| 1937 | Minto Cup placed in junior competition | Championship | ||
| 1939 | Box Lacrosse professional International League formed, with teams from Vancouver, New Westminster, Seattle plus an Indian team. | Box professional international | Canada USA | |
| 1947 | The men’s field game positions change from goalkeeper, point, cover point, first defense, second defense, center, second attack, first attack and in home to goal keeper, attack, midfield and defense. | rules | ||
| 1948 | Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the Olympics in 1948 (London). Only England and the United States participated. | Olympics | England USA | |
| 1954 | Peterborough Trailerman set Mann Cup record by being the first team to win 4 Nabb Cup titles in a row. | championship | ||
| 1957 | Ontario Minor Lacrosse Association formed, to develp and administer age categories | association | Ontario | |
| 1960 | Development of Minor Lacrosse | Youth | Canada | |
| 1961 | The only shutout in the history of Mann Cup play — Don Hamilton’s blanking of Brampton 13-0 on September 23, 1961 | championship | Canada | |
| 1967 | First International Lacrosse Foundation (ILF) sanctioned World Cup held in Toronto. Won by USA, Canada placed third. This World Feld Lacrosse Championship really began the concept of international play. | international championship | USA Canada | |
| 1967 | The Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame was the brain child of Tom Gordon. He was ably supported by Jack Fulton, Harry McKnight, Art Daoust, and Bill Ellison. It was first proposed in 1963 at a Canadian Lacrosse Association Annual Meeting, and adopted at the next CLA AGM. It was registered with the BC Societies Act in 1965. At the CLA AGM in Montreal on January 19, 1966, forty-eight first members were inducted to the Hall. As a result of continued effort by Jack Fulton, supported by Harry McKnight and Don Benson, the official opening of the Hall as part of New Westminster Parks Board, took place on May 17, 1967. History of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame | Association | Canada | story |
| 1968 | Professional lacrosse league formed with 8 teams | League | Canada USA | |
| 1969 | First National PeeWee Tournament | Youth | Canada | |
| 1969 | For the first time, organized lacrosse leagues in all provinces and both territories | League | Canada | |
| 1969 | Oshawa, Ontario, team won Minto Cup for record seventh consecutive year. Perhaps no team at any level has so dominated its sport as the Oshawa Green Gaels did from 1963-1969 with its 7 consecutive Minto Cup Canadian Championships. The Green Gaels definately not only achieved a high level of achievemen but also brought recognition of the sport at the national level. Oshawa Green Gaels 1963 – 1969 (supplemental) | Championship | Canada | story |
| 1974 | Second ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Melbourne Australia. Canada tied second (with Australia and England) | Championship | USA Canada Australia England | |
| 1974 | Eagle Professional Box Lacrosse League Formed | Professional | ???? | |
| 1977 | First official Canadian Girl’s Lacrosse Championship held in Toronto | Championship | Canada | |
| 1978 | Box Lacrosse was the demonstration sport at the Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton with Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand participating. Canada placed first | international | Canada England New Zealand Australia | |
| 1978 | Third ILF Sanctioned World Cup Held in Stockport, England. In the finals, in what the international lacrosse community dubbed “…what must be ranked as one of the most surprising comebacks since Lazarus strode from the crypt” Team Canada captured the Championship with a 17-16 double overtime win over the U.S. team. Canadian team wins its first World Lacrosse Championship in Stockport, England (Changed the future of international lacrosse and the creation of Pro Leagues) Team Canada – Field 1978 (supplemental) | championhsip international | England Canada USA | story |
| 1980 | First World Box Lacrosse Championship – ‘Nations in 80 held in Vancouver. Canada West (Coquitlam Adanacs) placed first Down Memory Lane – The Nations in 80 | international championship | Canada Australia | story |
| 1982 | Fourth ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Baltimore, Maryland. Canada placed third | championship international | USA Canada | |
| 1982 | First Senior Women’s World Cup held in Nottingham, England. Canada placed third Canada sends its first Women’s Field Lacrosse National Team to first World Championship tournament in Nottingham, England. This signifies the beginning of Women’s Field Lacrosse in Canada | championship | England Canada | |
| 1984 | Major Indoor Lacrosse League formed in eastern USA | League | USA | |
| 1986 | Fifth ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Toronto. Canada placed second | Championship | Canada | |
| 1986 | Second Senior Women’s World Cup held in Philadelphia, USA.Canada placed fourth | championship | USA Canada | |
| 1987 | Beginning of National Lacrosse League (box) which led to the MLL and other leagues | league | ||
| 1988 | First International Junior Men’s World Cup held in Adelaide, Australia. Canada placed second | championship | Australia Canada | |
| 1989 | Third Senior Women’s World Cup held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Canada placed fourth. | championship | Scotland Canada | |
| 1990 | Sixth ILF Sanctioned World Cup held in Perth, Australia. Canada placed second. | Championship | Australia Canada | |
| 1992 | Second International Junior Men’s World Cup held in New York | Championship | USA Canada | |
| 1992 | National Lacrosse League (NLL) four team circuit formed in Ontario | League | Ontario | |
| 1993 | Fourth Senior Women’s World Cup held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Canada placed fourth | Championship | Scotland Canada | |
| 1994 | Parliament proclaims Lacrosse Canada’s National Summer Sport (Bill C-212) | Canada | ||
| 1994 | Field Lacrosse was the demonstration sport at the Commonwealth Games (held in Victoria) | international | England Canada | |
| 1994 | Seventh ILF Sanctioned World Cup held in Manchester, England. Canada placed third | championship | England Canada | |
| 1995 | Fifth Senior Women’s World Cup held in Haverford, USA. Canada placed fourth | Championship | USA Canada | |
| 1996 | Third Junior Men’s World Cup held in Tokyo, Japan. Canada placed third. | championship | Japan USA Canada | |
| 1998 | ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Baltimore, Maryland, Canada placed second (losing by one goal in overtime) | championship | USA Canada | |
| 1998 | At NCAA tournament Gary Gait first took his famous “Air Gait” shot | college | USA | story |
| 2001 | The IFWLA World Cup is played in High Wycombe, England where the U.S. defeated Australia for the cup | championship | USA England Australia | |
| 2002 | The International Lacrosse Federation World Championship is played in Perth, Australia. The U.S. defeats Canada for the championship. | championship international | USA Canada Australia | |
| 2003 | The ILF and IFWLA U-19 World Championships are held in Towson, Maryland. | championship | USA | |
| 2003 | The World Indoor Lacrosse Championship Canada hosts first ever sanctioned FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship was contested by six nations at four sites in Ontario, Canada. Canada won the championship in a final game against the Iroqouis, 21-4.and wins Gold. Canada has won all of the Indoor Championships including 2007, 2011 and 2015. (6 Countries then – 20 countries by 2017) | championship international | Canada Iroqouis | |
| 2005 | The IFWLA World Cup is played in Annapolis, Maryland (U.S.) and won by Australia, which defeated the U.S. 14-7 in the gold medal game. | championship international | Australia USA | |
| 2006 | The International Lacrosse Federation World Championship is played in London, Ontario (Canada). Canada wins the title with a 15-10 victory over the U.S. in the gold medal game, snapping the American men’s 38-game winning streak, dating back to 1978. This was the Canadian Men’s Field Lacrosse Team second FIL championship (Not a miracle like in 1978 – a coming of age for our field lacrosse program) Team Canada Men\’s Field 2006 (supplemental) | championship | Canada USA | story |
| 2007 | The 2007 WILC was held in Halifax, Canada. Teams from Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Iroquois Nationals, Scotland and the United States competed. The Canadian team beat the Iroquois Nationals, 15-14 in overtime for the championship | championship | Canada Iroquois USA | |
| 2014 | Canadian Men’s Field Lacrosse Team wins its third FIL championship (Shut down and dominated US in championship game) | Championship International | Canada USA | |
| 2015 | Lacrosse Comes Home: FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship hosted by HaudenosauneeNation. Gold Medal – Canada; Silver Medal – Iroquois | championship international | Canada Iroquois USA | story |
| 2015 | Canada wins its first FIL Women’s U19 World Championship in Edinburgh, Scotland. (The first international gold medal for Canadian Women.) | championship international |
Montreal Quebecois – Forgotten Teams of Lacrosse History
Montreal Quebecois: We Hardly Knew Ye
We touched base on the Montreal Quebecois professional lacrosse team in the History of Box Lacrosse Series, but it’s still only the surface of this club. It was a member of the original NLL, the incredibly short-lived earliest version of the pro game. Not affiliated with the current National Lacrosse League, the original NLL set some lofty goals for including sport in the national conversation.
The entire six-team league started competition in 1974 and folded right after the 1975 season. A brand new entity in a sport largely unfamiliar at the time, the 38-game season with two best-of-seven series in the postseason was beyond a massive undertaking. Five clubs operated during both seasons, including the Long Island Tomahawks, Boston Bolts, Philadelphia Wings, Maryland Arrows, and Montreal Quebecois. The Syracuse Stingers relocated after 1974 to Quebec City to become the Quebec Caribous.
With the four other clubs located on the eastern seaboard of the U.S., Canada staked it’s initial two clubs in the province of Quebec in an attempt to drum up an early rivalry and govern travel budgets. The final championship series of the league featured the Caribou defeating the Quebecois, 4-2.
Nelson Stoll and John Ferguson were the main investors in the Montreal Quebecois. Ferguson was a star in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, winning five Stanley Cups during his 12-year tenure with the team until 1971. Sidney Salomon III, owner of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, had originally owned 50 percent of this team, but the other two gentlemen bought him out, becoming the sole owners of the franchise. The team moved into the famous Montreal Forum, shared also by the NHL’s Canadiens.
The buyout resulted in a completely locally-owned franchise. Paying homage to the inhabitants of the province, Stoll and Ferguson landed on the Quebecois which simply means, “a person from Quebec.” Ferguson was essentially forced to coach the team in year one when Bill Bradley, the original manager, decided he wanted to play on the team. That’s how informal the whole process was in the original version of the NLL.
Jim Bishop would replace Ferguson at the helm for year two, improving the 19-21 regular season and 2-4 first round loss to 24-24 and 6-7 in the postseason with a championship appearance.
When the league closed shop in February of 1976, the final series between the teams in Quebec generated some of the best revenue and attendance for both cities. The Caribous jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the series before Montreal fought back to claim Games 4 and 5. On September 29, 1975, the Caribous decided the series at home in Le Colisee, topping the Quebecois, 16-10, in-front of 9,185 strong.
Yet, after the dust settled, the Caribous, Arrows and Wings proved to be the only profitable and sustainable teams. With half the teams falling bankrupt, the whole league was dragged down with them.
The final roster included legends like Haudenosaunee great Gaylord Powless and Bruce Arena, former U.S. Men’s Soccer National Team head coach and MLS staple. John Davis gets record book credit as the star, second in NLL scoring in 1974 (78 goals, 105 assists) and third in 1975 (79 goals, 129 assists) with 68 total playoff points. A long-time Peterborough Senior A great, Davis is considered to be one of the best in the club’s history, winning two Mann Cup titles (1966 and 1973), 1966 Mann Cup MVP honors, the Bucko McDonald Trophy for Senior A scoring titles four times (1966, 1967, 1971, 1973), Senior A Rookie of the Year (1966), along with dozens of other titles.
Montreal Quebecois Roster – 1975
- Bruce Arena
- Michel Blanchard
- Gary Brezany
- John Davis
- Nick Delmonico
- Wayne Finck
- Gord Floyd
- Ron Hill
- Sid Hill
- Ross Jones
- Bill Langley
- Dave Litzenberger
- Serge Loiselle
- Dale Mackenzie
- John McKenna
- Ernie Mitchell
- Bill Nunn
- Gerry Pinder
- Ron Pinder
- Gaylord Powless
- Bruce Roundpoint
- Bill Sheehan
- John Sheffield
- Steve Shipley
- Bill Squires
- Dave Tasker
- Ken Tyler
- Ken Winzoski
Montreal Quebecois: Lacrosse History
Own Montreal Quebecois History!
While digging through the archives, Justin Skaggs at Wood Lacrosse Sticks found an awesome advertisement for the Montréal Québécois that he just had to own on a shirt. Not being the greedy type, Skaggs is letting the world get their hands on these puppies too!
We are printing straight on to the comfiest Anvil shirts we could find. One. Time. Only! Once these shirts are out of print, they’re never coming back.
Skaggs took an old advertisement, cleaned it up and took it to the press. Now we want you to own one too.
All sales close on JULY 18th with NO REPRINTS! You miss it now, you miss it forever!
Who we are | Westmount Lynx Lacrosse
The Westmount Sports & Recreational Department established a lacrosse program in the spring of 2006. It was organized by Westmount resident, Tim Murdoch, long-time head coach of the McGill University’s men’s varsity lacrosse team. The “Rec” lacrosse program grew quickly from 32 players in 2006 to over 120 players by 2008, supported by McGill student-athletes as youth coaches. The Westmount Lynx Lacrosse Club, a competitive team that features three age groups, was co-founded in 2009 as a natural extension of the “Rec” program by Tim Murdoch, Oliver Sugden, and Brian Kreisman, Westmount neighbors who have remained members of the Westmount Lynx’s advisory board.
In 2013 Peter Zabierek, a former college and club lacrosse player and experienced youth field lacrosse coach, took over both Westmount’s “Rec” program and the Westmount Lynx. Coach Zabierek has quickly refreshed Westmount’s lacrosse programs and the full support of the City of Westmount’s Recreation Department, offering expanded practice times and instruction from NCP-certified coaches to new and beginning players so they may develop skills in a non-competitive environment. The Lynx provide competitive opportunities for more developed players in both a spring and fall schedule.
As of 2018 “Coach Z” had to step back from running the club and a group of willing and able parents stepped in to carry the club forward. Jamie Henderson, Quyn Giao-Pham and Glenn Harrison have taken on operations, finance and coaching programs within the club and have helped give the Lynx a pivotal role in the development of the sport in Quebec. This addition of resources with a varied background as participants, administrators and coaches wth several youth and adult sports clubs puts the Lynx on a great track to expand our presence in the local community and beyond and to grow the maker’s game across the City.
The Lynx are committed to being an integral part of the growth of the sport that now features three nearby university teams at McGill, Bishop’s and Concordia, plus a new league among Quebec’s francophone universities. Alumni of the Westmount Lynx include several players who have received NCAA and prep school lacrosse scholarships. Long before Westmount had a rebirth of the game of lacrosse in 2006, the team’s recently re-sodded home field, the Westmount Athletic Grounds or “WAG,” served as a primary field for Montreal men’s lacrosse played in the late 1800s.
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The following newspaper story will give you a better sense of our history.
Adapted from the Westmount Examiner, January 4, 2012
For Tim Murdoch, founder of the Westmount Lynx field lacrosse team, the game’s rubber ball and wooden stick are symbols of a deeply rooted unity between European and First Nations cultures. “When my son was a young boy, the first game I brought him to was a field lacrosse game in Kahnawake,” Murdoch said, adding that lacrosse has been Canada’s national sport since long before Jacques Cartier first sailed up the St. Lawrence.
“Lacrosse has always been a treasure in the Mohawk culture,” he continued. “In the Mohawk tradition, a lot of men are buried with their lacrosse sticks and I’m just barely scratching the surface of what the game means for them.” The integration of Anglophone, francophone and First Nations players has created a sense of deep appreciation of the sport among the Westmount team. This passion resulted in three 10th grade teammates – Marc-Antoine Pion of Montreal, Kahnawake’s Cougar Kirby and Ville St. Laurent’s Louis-Guillaume Lemay – to be selected to represent Quebec as Canada’s Top-30 prospects for Inside Lacrosse.
While this accomplishment sets the Westmount Lynx another step closer to proving themselves to be the province’s best field lacrosse team, Murdoch’s greatest memory of the season is watching the team play on the Kahnawake field. “It was incredible watching an animated crowd of Westmount and Kahanwakean parents sitting together to watch their boys’ faces light up when passing around the ball and performing quite well. That’s what we are all excited about, combining these two communities.” Watching the game being played with wooden sticks that day in Kahnawake brought flashbacks of Murdoch’s childhood playing lacrosse on Winchester Avenue with his friends Oliver Sugden and Brian Kreisman.
“The Winchester Boys” would later pass on the Lacrosse legacy to their children and establish the Westmount Lynx. This boys’ under-16 field lacrosse team competes against Greater Montreal-area high schools and several American clubs. Dreaming to see a major revival in the sport, Murdoch felt it was important to incorporate Kahnawake players to bring the Westmount team full-circle. The sport originated as a First Nations ceremonial ritual to give thanks to the Creator. After observing this ritual-sport practiced by the Iroquois, Jean de Brebeuf, the French Jesuit missionary was the first European to record the game. In 1867, J. B. L. Flynn founded the Shamrock Lacrosse Club of Montreal in Westmount. Before hockey overtook lacrosse at the turn of the 20th century, thousands of Montrealers regularly attended the Lacrosse Grounds at the northwest corner of Ste. Catherine Street and Atwater Avenue, to watch the Shamrocks compete in the world championships.
Lacrosse 101
for the uninitiated
Box Lacrosse is a Fast Paced and Thrilling Sport which is often compared with Hockey, and in some ways it is similar. Both games are played in an arena, feature five runners & a goaltender and points are scored by shooting an object into a net.
However, the flow and speed of Lacrosse is much more like the game of Basketball! Many rules have been developed over the years to keep Lacrosse a fast moving “transition” style game. There is no Off Side, Two Line Pass or Icing calls affecting the flow. Many rule infractions result in only a possession change and continuation of the game. Face offs generally occur only at the beginning of a period or after a goal has been scored.
Lacrosse, Canada’s Game… Its origin has been lost to the antiquity of Native Legend & Myth. When Europeans first came to what would become Canada, they found that nearly every Nation & tribe played their own version of the Game. The Iroquois Nation called it Tewaarathon, and the Algonquin referred to it as Baggataway, but in each instance the meaning of the Game was the same. This was a game to be played For the Creator, to show thanks for all that was provided, to Celebrate Life, and to create a Link to the Great Spirit.
In the early 1800s, Montreal Settlers first started to show a great interest in the Game, and by 1840 there were regular games between the townsfolk and the Natives. By the 1860s, Lacrosse clubs were springing up in many townships and cities. The people of our young Country embraced the game as their own and Competitive Lacrosse was born.
In 1867, the Montreal Lacrosse Club, along with Dr. George Beers, helped to form the National Lacrosse Association, which was the first and only National Sport Governing Body in North America.
British Columbia started to form Lacrosse clubs in 1880, and by 1893 all provinces of Canada were involved in competitive games, which drew crowds of 5000 – 10000 fans regularly. The newspapers of the time, knowing the importance of the game to the readers, reported on all games. In 1910 a Montreal team traveled to New Westminster to play the Salmonbellies for the Championship of Canada in front of 15000 fans, 3000 more than the total population of New West at the time.
In the early 1930s a new version of the Game was unveiled for the Country. Indoor Lacrosse, or Box Lacrosse, took the field game and compressed it into a tighter playing area creating an Exciting, fast moving Game like no other. By the mid 1930s, Box had all but replaced Field Lacrosse in all of Canada, and was the official game of the Canadian Lacrosse Association.
Through the 1990s Participation in the Game grew once again, and Field began to make a recovery. Today more than 100 000 Amateur Players register with the Canadian Lacrosse Association each year.
With such a long and interesting History, it is impossible to fit everything into this space. We can say though that this Game predates recorded history, and is destined to be played well into the future.
This essay will be is still under construction, and will be updated from time to time.
Medicine Game, Montreal-Mohawk Reenactment Mark 150th Anniversary of Lax in Canada
T
he year is 1867.
Tokyo opens its borders to foreign trade, Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state, barbed wire is patented, a colony of the British Empire north of the young United States is about to become a country and the modern game of lacrosse is born.
The Creator’s Game, of course, had been played by the Kanienkehá:ka (Mohawks) and the other five Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nations for centuries, but it was in 1867 that the a dentist named George Beers, who learned the game in Caughnawaga (now Kahnawake) from the Mohawks, wrote a set of rules down in Montreal and created the modern game.
Indeed, four months before Canada united as a nation, Beers wrote a letter to the Montreal Daily News titled “Lacrosse – Our National Field Game.”
“This is what kept me connected to my past,” he said through tears holding his wooden stick above his head. “Through the language of my elders, that’s the only thing that you could say kept our identity at those times.”
Fast forward 150 years to last week, when Montreal’s McGill University hosted the Canadian Lacrosse Association’s sesquicentennial anniversary with a series of tournaments, lectures, dinners and events highlighted by two reenacted games harkening back to how the game was played before and after European contact.
First, the Kanienkehá:ka (Mohawk) bear and wolf clans squared off in the Creator’s Game Saturday afternoon donning traditional buckskin breechcloths, playing with a deer hide ball and shooting for a single pole on either end of the dirt field.
Wenhniseriiostha Goodleaf led her warrior players onto the field before the contest followed by elder Kakaionstha Deer, for whom the game was played.
“It was exciting,” said Goodleaf, the high school student from Kahnawake. “It feels good because a lot of non-Natives don’t really know how we handled our medicine back then. Now they do. They have some sort of an idea.”
The game was played as medicine for the elder, who said she felt better after seeing the wolves and bears play.
Playing his traditional game, in his traditional style in the middle of his people’s traditional territory was a unique experience for Kahnawake Mohawk River McComber.
“For everybody here, players and fans included, it was definitely a treat,” he said. “It’s very fun to play, but it’s a lot more difficult.”
McComber, who played with the bears, faced off against Kaneráhtens Bush of the wolves, who echoed McComber’s excitement.
“It felt amazing to be out here playing this game in front of all these people,” Bush said.
McComber’s father and grandfather are local lacrosse legends. They played through the 20th century using the wood sticks, though none played with the stick used in the 1800s, as the boys did Saturday.
“With the times, lacrosse has gotten easier and more fine-tuned,” McComber said. “It was more body-to-body aggression back in the day, and that’s what we’re kind of getting the feel of. With the breeches and the 18th-century sticks, that’s just a bonus.”
Stick maker Travis Gabriel from the Mohawk community of Kanesatake watched the game along with fellow crafters Alf Jacques from Onondaga and Seneca Richard Big Kittle.
“It was really something to watch,” Gabriel said. “Every time I watch a medicine game like that, it does give me a certain amount of pride, because that’s how we originally played the game. It was nice to see that that’s still there.”
Following the traditional game, Kahnawake and McGill University laxers reenacted a game between the Caughnawaga Indians and the Montreal Lacrosse Club from 1867.
Dr. Beers (played by Dick Binsley) and Big John Rice Canadian (Larence “Buck” Cook) introduced the game and spoke about Beers’ rules and how they differed from the traditional game.
McGill’s captain, Bohe Hosking, spoke about lacrosse’s international appeal that spans nations.
“The sport itself is extremely inclusive and it’s meant to be more than divided by borders,” said Hosking, who originally is from the Washington, D.C. area.
Hosking and the McGill team have visited Kahnawake on occasion and taken part in practices. Hosking spent the week of festivities meeting old timers in the sport learning about its importance in the North.
“I definitely think that in Canada, it’s more ingrained in the culture,” Hosking said. “It’s just a way of life, whereas down in the States, there are a lot of tracks for athletic careers and whatnot. … Here, you see it in the ties to the community.”
Jacques, the stick maker, was not surprised to see so much support for the sport in Montreal. As part of his craft, he’s been able to see the excitement audiences have for the sport’s origins.
“I go around and talk about how the sticks are made to a lot of people all over the country in the United States and some in Canada, and I see that everybody wants to know,” he said. “They want a taste of that, the mystique, that spiritual game that the Natives play. They want a taste of that. They want a piece of that. They want wooden sticks, and want to know more about that traditional game all over the country.”
For Jacques’ fellow stick maker, Gabriel, the importance of showcasing the game in a traditional fashion in the center of Canada’s second-biggest city can’t be understated.
“It helps to show people that we’re not gone, we’re still very much alive,” he said. “Just that thought alone makes me happy.”
Information | About lacrosse | Poznan Hussars
Indian roots.
Lacrosse is considered the oldest national American sport. Its history is connected with Indian tradition. Early lacrosse was characterized by deep spiritual involvement, befitting the spirit of combat in which it was undertaken. Whole tribes participated in “the Creator’s game” which could last even several days on a field many miles in length and width. The game was very brutal so that it could develop strong, virile men and prepare them for war. The most organized form of lacrosse was played by the Iroquois.
Road to Europe
First Europeans that saw Indians playing “the Creator’s game” were French. They called it lacrosse because of the similarity of the stick used to play the game to a staff carried by bishops – crossier. In the 1636 French missionary Jean de Brébeuf saw Iroquois playing lacroose and was the first European to write about the game. During the next ages lacrosse evolved but it was still hard to refer to it as to sport discipline. In the 1844 in Montreal the first lacrosse club was set up. Twelve years later a dentist, George Beers, from Montreal Lacrosse Club codified the game. Thanks to that he is called “the father of lacrosse”. The first European country that adopted lacrosse was England. It was thanks to Caughnawaga Indians who performed in front of the English queen Victoria. In 1892 English Lacrosse Union was set up.
Lacrosse around the world
Lacrosse was introduced to the world thanks to the Olympics in St. Louis in 1904 and London in 1908. Teams from Canada, England and United States were competing for the golden medals, which were finally given to Canada. After the Olympics in London lacrosse was no longer an olympic discipline. But it didn’t stop to develop. In 1931 thanks to Constance M. K. Applebee Women’s Lacrosse Federation was created in States. Since 1967 Federation of International Lacrosse is organizing Lacrosse World Championships. The first golden medals went to the United States. Current champion of the world is team Canada, which in 2006 in London won with States 15:10.
What about the future?
There is no doubt that the homeland of lacrosse is North America. It’s not only due to origin of lacrosse but also due to the popularity of this sport acrosse the ocean and the domination of Canada and States in International games. However it doesn’t mean that Europe is far away. In many European countries (i.e. England, Germany or Czech Republic) there are strong lacrosse leagues which can be compared the the American leagues like Major Lacrosse League or National Lacrosse League. In other countries (including Poland) lacrosse is just starting to gain popularity but it does it very fast (it is said that it is the fastest developing sport in the world!). What will the future bring? The time will show. Nevertheless Hussars are in! How about you?
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Montreal AAA | vv-travel.Common crawl en
Athletic Association Montreal Amateur is Canada’s oldest sports association, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was renamed Club Sportif MAA or simply MAK (Montreal MAA) in 1999 after brushed with bankruptcy, but is still commonly known as MAAA. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the IAA was one of the most important sports institutions in Canada and North America, with affiliated Stanley Cup Winner Teams in Ice Hockey and Canada’s Gray Cup football and cricket.
Mr. McLeod, Bicycle Club, Montreal, Quebec, 1885
Content
History
The
Athletic Association Montreal Amateur emerged in June 1881 and became a confederation of three sports clubs: the Montreal Snowshoe Club, The Montreal Bicycle Club, and the Montreal Lacrosse Club. These club founders shared the club space with the Montreal Grammar School, located on Mansfield Street and de Maisonneuve Boulevard.
In 1880, the MAAA organized the famous annual Montreal Winter Carnival.[1] The Winter Carnival featured a temporary “ice castle” or “ice fort” that would be “stormed” into the attack layout, as well as a number of events such as snowshoe races, toboggan slides, skating carnivals and ice hockey tournaments. The Sir Vincent Meredith Trophy is awarded to the best all-round athlete in the MAAA.
The current club was opened in 1905, on Peel Street in downtown Montreal, in the current shopping area. Due to problems with an aging population, the club moved from being an exclusively funded member during the 1999 revival.High taxes on club building property in downtown Montreal exacerbated their problems.
Historical Commands
Ice hockey
Montreal Hockey Club as first Stanley Cup championsMain article: Montreal Hockey Club
The Montreal Hockey Club (MHC) was a hockey team that played in the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) 1886-1898, the Canadian Amateur Hockey League 1898-1905 and the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association 1905-1908, an interregional amateur hockey union since 1908 later.The team won the AHAC title from 1888 until 1894, and won the Canadian Amateur Hockey League title in 1902. It was the first club to be represented from the Stanley Cup in 1893. They won again in 1894, March 1902 and February 1903.
1902 team was known as the “little iron people”. [2] After the 1903 season, players from the team formed the core of the professional club Montreal Wanderers, which took on the nickname “Little Men”. After retiring from the game with professional teams, the MNC club continued as an amateur club after 1908, winning the Allan Cup in 1930.The club eventually became the Montreal Royals hockey team.
Sports achievements
- 1893 – Montreal Hockey Club wins its first Stanley Cup. 1894 – Montreal Hockey Club wins its second Stanley Cup. 1902 – Montreal Hockey Club wins its third Stanley Cup. 1903 – Montreal Hockey Club wins challenge to part title holder for the 1903 Stanley Cup. 1904 – Etienne Desmarteau wins the gold medal in weight toss at the 1904 Summer Olympics.He is often incorrectly credited as the first Canadian Olympic champion. 1912 – George Hodgson wins two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics 1920 – Russell Wheeler becomes Canadian Speed Skating Champion 1930 – MAAA hockey team wins Allan Cup 1931 – MAAA Football Club wins the Gray Cup
Source: Wikipedia
90,000 Stanley Cup. Part 7.1898-1899 – Club news
The year 1899 is notable for the fact that the reigning champions of the Montreal Victorias Amateur Hockey Association defended the Stanley Cup, and only a month later lost it.
Montreal Victorias defended the Stanley Cup in a series against Winnipeg Victorias in February 1899, but just one month later the trophy passed to Montreal Shamrocks, the new winners of the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (KLHL), which replaced the AXA that season.
Shamrocks (former Montreal Crystals) won the title after beating Victorias 1-0 at the new Montreal Arena in front of 8,000 spectators and finished the season with 7 wins and 1 loss. Victorias were second with 6 wins and 2 losses.After that, Shamrox were able to defend the Stanley Cup in a challenge match against Queen University.
And here is the chronology of events: on February 15, 1899, the match “Montreal Victorians” – “Winnipeg Victorians” took place, which ended with a score of 2: 1, and on February 18 – the return match in Winnipeg, ended with a score of 3: 2.
In the second match, there was a rather unpleasant incident when Bob McDougall from “Montreal” with a blow with a stick injured Tony Gygras from “Winnipeg”. The referee removed McDougal for two minutes, but the Winnipeg hockey players considered this punishment insufficient and left the ice in protest.The offended referee left the stadium, but returned an hour later, giving Winnipeg five minutes to resume the match. After the guests refused, the victory was awarded to “Montreal”.
And on March 14, 1899, Montreal Shamrocks defeated the Queen University team with a score of 6: 2. Three goals from the winners were scored by Harry Trichy, two – by Arthur Farrell.
Who are they – “Montreal Shamrocks”, snatched the victory from the favorites? Montreal Shamrox is a men’s amateur and then professional hockey club.Founded on December 15, 1886, it existed until 1910, merging with Montreal Crystals in 1896. Twice Stanley Cup winner – in 1899 and 1900.
The ice hockey club was founded on one of the meetings of the Shamrock Lacrosse Club, which in turn was founded by D.B.L. Flynn in 1867. In the beginning, there were youth and adult hockey teams. Played for the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC). The club peaked in 1899 and 1900, when Shamrox won the Stanley Cup, losing it in 1901.Gradually, its stars left the club, including Harry Trichi and Arthur Farrell, and in 1910 the club ceased to exist.
While the lacrosse club was mostly working class, mostly Irish Catholics from Griffintown, a town near Montreal, the hockey club was composed of members of the bourgeoisie. It should be noted that Montreal’s large Irish community had a lot of influence on urban politics in the 19th century. Many of those who played hockey and held the Stanley Cup in their hands later went to study at McGill University and left there as doctors, lawyers, businessmen.
The famous Montreal Shamrox players, whose names are immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame: Arthur Farrell, Jimmy Gardner, Jack Laviolette, Jack Marshall, Didier Pitre, Fred Scanlan, Harry Trichy.
Harry Trichy (1877 – 1942) – Captain of Montreal Shamrox during the Stanley Cup years. Born in Berlin, Ontario.
Although Trihi was not a Montreal, it was with Montreal Shamrox that he won the Stanley Cup in 1899 and 1900. On February 4, 1899, Trichi scored 10 goals in one match with the Quebec team.
Following his retirement from the sport, Trichi was the Secretary-Treasurer and President of CAHL, as well as a judge. Was a member of the board of the hockey club “Montreal Wanderers”. His name has been in the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1950.
Arthur Farrell (1877 – 1909) – Canadian professional ice hockey player, striker for Montreal Shamrox. Born in Montreal, Quebec. He made a significant contribution to the victories of his native team in the Stanley Cup in 1899 and 1900.
Wrote several books on hockey. There are only four copies left of his first book, Ice Hockey – Canada’s Royal Winter Game, published in 1899.He wrote two more books – “A Guide to Ice Hockey and Ice Polo” in 1904 and “How to Play Ice Hockey” in 1907.
Ferrell contracted tuberculosis in 1906 and died in 1909 at the Sanatorium Saint-Agatha-de-Mont. His name has been in the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1965.
Fred Scanlan is a Canadian amateur hockey player who plays for Montreal Shamrocks and Winnipeg Victorias. Played with Arthur Farrell and Harry Trichy. Stanley Cup winner in 1899 and 1900. He left sports in 1903.In the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1965.
Jimmy Gardner (1881 – 1940) – Canadian professional ice hockey player, striker. Born in Montreal, Quebec. He played for HC Montreal in the CAHL, twice Stanley Cup winner with the ‘Little Men of Iron’ in 1902 and 1903. Then, as part of Montreal Wanderers in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), he again became a two-time Stanley Cup winner already in their composition – in 1908 and 1910.He turned pro, played in the United States, then returned to his hometown at Montreal Shamrox, and then played for Montreal Canada, where after retiring from the sport he became a coach. By the way, Gardner is one of the founders of the “Canada” in 1909.
In the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1962.
The next year, 1900, was marked by a serious struggle for the cup, but Montreal Shamrocks held it tightly in their hands. Let’s wait for the next story about this amazing trophy.
They began to play the puck in order to preserve the stained glass windows of the arena.Where was hockey born?
The sports edition “BUSINESS Online ” tells about the legendary indoor ice rink in Montreal, which was built 155 years ago.
| Ice Skating Victoria Rink, William Notman, 1870 | |
Roller
Victoria was the pride of Montreal at
for decades. The largest
a building of this type in the world was
the first in all of Canada to
was fully electrified.AND
this sports palace was opened on December 24
1862 Serfdom in Russia
canceled in 1861 … However, it was
not the first indoor arena in the city, as
three years earlier, a modest
ice rink for Montreal speed skating
club.
The building was two-story brick. Length – 77 meters, width – 34 meters. The skating rink height was 16
meters. To support the structure, the roof
supported from the inside by sinuous
wooden trusses that have been bent
across the entire width.In one wall was located
massive window that allowed
ride in the daytime. In the evening
while the room inside was lit
five hundred gas-jet lighting
devices that were installed in
colored glass globes. After 15
years of opening field, for safety reasons
(after all, all the floors were wooden),
the entire lighting system was replaced with
electric. Yes, while in
emperors exploded in our country, in
Canada has several hundred people every day
went ice skating.
In 1880, membership in Montreal
the speed skating club had more than two
thousands of people. They were given
priority right to use ice,
total number of skating rink visitors per day
exceeded four thousand. And that’s just
in winter time, because “Victoria” can
boldly called the first multifunctional
complex in the world. In the summer, there were held
conferences, exhibitions, concerts. So, in
1890 for a joint performance
Canadian opera singer Emma Albani
and other prominent musicians of Northern
America of that time, more than six
thousands of viewers.Already at that time Canadians
did business.
were
even offers to host matches here
on lacrosse, however they immediately
were rejected because the balls could damage
window. And the basketball that was invented
Canadian, has not yet become popular in
this side of the border. Although now in
Montreal this ball game is special
not popular.
ROLE IN HISTORY OF HOCKEY
It is huge.After all, it is here on March 3, 1875
the first meeting took place in a closed
the room. In a friendly match came together
hockey players of the local university and
skaters. Except that this is the first
playing in such conditions, we can thank
skating rink “Victoria” for three more innovations,
that changed the game. For washer, board height
and the size of the site.
| 1893 Hockey game in Montreal | |
| photo: William Notman & Son / collection of McCord Museum |
Yes, before this game, hockey was played
exclusively with a lacrosse ball that
was quite heavy and bouncy.So
how the stained glass and windows in the arena were
costly, and their damage was worth
owners of huge losses, it was
it was decided to play the game with wooden
washers. Washer is noticeably lighter and less
stronger than a ball, but at the same time
not so mobile. If the ball even after
the faintest click bounced into
dangerous zones, but the puck, because of its
figures flew flat.
Flight
washers forced the management to think
over the safety of spectators, which led to the construction of wooden
boards.Of course, they have been before, on
street games, but their thickness and height
were completely different. Besides,
the rebound of the puck from the sides turned out to be where
more unpredictable than ball bounce.
Dimensions
hockey rink and in the current years
almost equal to what was on
Victoria. At least in the NHL.
Organizers, due to massive boards
slightly reduced the possible area
ice: its dimensions are 62 by 25 meters. Dimensions (edit)
hockey rink in the NHL is now 61×26
meters.And for decades these
sizes were standard, even during
times of the first Stanley Cups, which
were also played on Victoria
Skate Rink.
In 2002 IIHF wrote
See the article about this legendary arena. And in
it was named as “the place of birth
modern hockey “, and on March 3, 1875
was named the date of birth. Well, apparently
we don’t know who invented hockey, british
or Canadians, but his birthplace from now on
officially documented.
And how did Canadians keep this sacred
a place for them? No way: in 1906 there was
reconstruction was made, but in the city
several new arenas have already been opened.
So the popular Victorian
skating rink “did not use. As a result, in 1925
the building was sold to the Stanley Corporation
Realty for construction
garage. The transaction value was estimated
250 thousand dollars. And after a year
the object ceased to be sports, becoming
garage.Although it stands to this day.
This year, this building is celebrating
155 years old, which means our favorite game
as many.
Text evaluation
90,000 “One-Eyed Frank” McGee – Stanley Cup record holder
Francis Clarence McGee was born on November 4, 1882 in the capital of Canada, Ottawa. His father John held an important position in the government of the country, serving as an adviser to the Prime Minister, and Uncle Thomas was one of the founders of the Canadian Confederation.Thus, the McGee family was very famous and respected, and Frank and his five brothers and three sisters grew up without knowing the need for anything. After graduating from high school, Francis continued his education and soon got a job in the state Department of Indian Affairs, but his career as an official attracted little. Professional sports became the real passion of the young man.
Back in his school years, young McGee made great strides and showed promise as a future athlete. He was not very tall and did not have the most powerful physique, but he was very mobile, hardy and had an excellent reaction.An energetic temperament disposed to power sports, so Frank was especially willing to play rugby, hockey and lacrosse – a game borrowed by European colonists from the Canadian Indians and somewhat reminiscent of field hockey. Already at the age of 16, McGee showed himself excellently, becoming the Canadian rugby champion as part of the Ottawa team, but two years later he received an injury that almost put an end to his further sports career. In those days, the protective equipment of hockey players was minimal and the players entered the field even without helmets.Therefore, it often happened that the athlete did not leave the court on his own, but on a stretcher. A similar fate did not escape Francis – on March 21, 1900, in one of the matches, an opponent in the heat of struggle hit him hard in the face with a stick and hit him in the left eye. And although the eye itself remained in place, it completely stopped seeing after that, since the optic nerve was damaged. Of course, this sad incident greatly upset McGee, and for a while he even stopped playing as a player and retrained as a sports judge.But he soon realized that with one eye he was able to see the field perfectly, and, as before, to make accurate shots at the goal. Therefore, the young man started training again and by 1903 he felt confident enough to go on the ice in big tournaments.
Francis’s new team was the capital’s Ottawa club, which the fans called the Silver Seven. The nickname comes from the habit of the club’s main sponsor, Robert Shillington, of giving each player an extra silver bar at the end of the season.And the word “seven” in the name appeared because at the very beginning of the 20th century the number of hockey players in the field from each team was seven, and not six, as it is now. In the very first games, McGee proved that he returned to the big sport for a reason. In a meeting with “Montreal AAA”, he threw two goals into the opponents’ goal, and in the next match against another Montreal club – “Victorians” – already five goals. At the end of the season, “Ottawa” confidently won the Stanley Cup, and a very large credit for that belonged to the new striker, whom the fans dubbed “One-Eyed Frank”.The team’s tactics also contributed to the success. Even in those days, Canadian hockey was characterized by a tough and uncompromising power struggle on the field, and the capital’s athletes were especially distinguished by this. The comrades knew that McGee very rarely misses on goal and his swift throw is very difficult to parry, but they also knew that Francis is blind in one eye and poorly sees what is being done on the left. Therefore, in the game, he was always covered by four tough guys – especially strong players, whose main task was to block opponents with power techniques.And if someone from the enemy team tried to prevent the next passage of McGee, then he usually faced an unenviable fate. The newspapers of that time wrote about the playing style of “Ottawa” as follows: “For them this style of hockey seems to be the only one, they prefer to suppress, destroy rivals, and not surpass them in skill and speed … Hitting rivals on the hands and wrists is a distinctive feature of the style” Ottawa ”.
Silver Seven from Ottawa. Second from right is Francis McGee.
Therefore, it often happened that the referee had to stop the meeting so that someone from the “Silver Seven” once again went to the penalty box, and the medical team had the opportunity to take out another victim from the field.For example, in a match on January 4, 1904, Ottawa hockey players managed to inflict injuries on seven of the nine (including substitutes) players of the Winnipeg Rowing Club team. But the capital’s athletes sometimes got no less, because the rivals played the same hockey.
In 1904, “Ottawa” again took the Stanley Cup, but the finest hour for Francis McGee came a year later. In the winter of 1905, the Dawson City Nuggets from the Yukon became the rival of the club in the fight for the trophy. I must say that the visit to Ottawa itself was a feat for these athletes.For this they had to overcome more than six thousand kilometers, and part of the way to do it on dog sleds. “The Nuggets” were considered very strong players, but in that season McGee was at the peak of his form and simply did not leave the enemy any chance. In the first match, the hockey players from Dawson City lost with a score of 9: 2, and in the return match, “Ottawa” achieved a fantastic result 23: 2, with 14 goals being scored by “One-Eyed Frank”! It seemed that in the wake of such an outstanding success, the “Silver Seven” would easily sweep away all competitors in the next season, but everything turned out to be not so simple.In one of the matches, during a power struggle with a defender, McGee broke his right wrist. The final meetings were supposed to take place without him, and as it turned out, the loss of the leading striker greatly reduced the potential of the entire team. In the very first game against the Rat Portage, the capital’s hockey players lost 3: 9, and that’s when Francis announced that he would play for the return leg even despite the injury that was not completely healed. And the biggest optimists, not to mention everyone else, had little faith in the fact that even such a great striker would be able to rectify the situation, but “One-Eyed Frank” could.In the second game, his team won 4: 2, and in the third decisive meeting with a tied score, McGee was able to score the winning puck seconds before the final whistle. Stanley Cup went to Ottawa once again.
Players, managers and coaches of the Ottawa team. 1905
Such outstanding sporting feats, accomplished in just four years, made Francis a real hero in the eyes of thousands of compatriots. But in 1906, he suddenly announced the end of his sports career.Constantly training and going to the matches did very poorly with McGee’s work in the Department of Indian Affairs. And since “One-Eyed Frank” understood perfectly well that the active life of any athlete in sports does not last so long, he decided to stop performing at the pinnacle of his fame. In August 1914, the Great War began in Europe, and although Francis could not have gone to the front with a calm heart, he nevertheless volunteered for the 21st Battalion of the 43rd Infantry Regiment, and sailed to France in May 1915.With the rank of lieutenant and commanding a platoon, he fought in Flanders, until in December 1915 he was wounded by a shrapnel in the leg. When McGee recovered, the command offered him to return to his homeland, or at least transfer to some rear unit, but the stubborn Canadian refused and asked to continue serving on the front line in his native regiment. In the fall of 1916, the 43rd Infantry Regiment, along with other Canadian and British units, participated in a grand offensive on the Somme. In these battles against the well-organized German defense, the Entente troops suffered heavy losses, having achieved only very minor successes.One of the victims of the battle was Francis McGee, who died on September 16. He barely lived to see his 34th birthday.
In the history of sports, “One-Eyed Frank” remained not only as one of the most famous athletes with disabilities, who played on a par with completely healthy people, and not only as one of the best strikers ever to play for Ottawa. His record, set in the Stanley Cup match on January 16, 1905, when McGee scored 14 goals against Dawson City, has not been broken to this day and is an absolute achievement.And it is very possible that it will never be surpassed by anyone.
90,000 Hollywood Writers Notes – #BelieveVTampa – Blogs
In March 2013, when Tampa was once again sliding into a deep abyss, Steve Yzerman decided to change the head coach. So instead of the “scarface” Guy Boucher, John Cooper came to the team from the “Lightning” farm club – “Syracuse” (before that – “Norfolk”).
Cooper, throughout his coaching career, from the moment he led the school team, produced amazing results that no one expected from him.Someday, when John retires, there will be a movie about the first ten years of his career somewhere in Hollywood. Provided that … Now you will understand.
So, imagine. You are watching a Hollywood movie …
In the yard in 2005. The once not very successful and not very talented hockey player and lacrosse player John, whose athletic success was only enough for a sports scholarship at the far from prestigious Hofstra University (New York), recently received a law degree from Thomas Cooley Law School and works as a “public defender “In the state of Michigan.
If you have no idea what a “public defender” is, then watch any American movie that shows the arrest of a criminal and the moment of reading him the rights. One of the rights – “You have the right to a lawyer. If you don’t have enough money to hire a lawyer, the state will provide you with one for free ”(or something like that).
This is the free lawyer that John Cooper worked with. And he worked, according to him, not too successfully. Which is not surprising, since he mainly had to defend criminals from the lower strata of the population, whose crimes (such as theft or robbery) were all too obvious.According to Cooper, he was lucky not to have to defend the killers.
90,090 There was only enough money to barely make ends meet. And the prospects as a whole look rather hazy and not too bright. And at this moment a key event occurs.
One of the court employees has a son attending a private Catholic school in Lansing, Michigan. And the school has a school hockey team (as well as soccer, basketball, and so on). And the son of a colleague John Cooper plays in this team as a goalkeeper.And here’s the problem – the team’s coach is leaving (how and why he leaves is not preserved in history, and in principle it does not matter, the main thing is that the team was left without a coach).
And John’s colleague, mindful of his friend’s financial difficulties, offers Cooper a little extra money at school. For a small fee, train his son’s team. After all, John once played hockey. John, of course, agrees.
This is how the story begins.
In 2006 (the second year of Cooper’s coaching) the Lansing School team wins the Championship in the Capital Area Conference.
UPD: according to information from eliteprospects, they say that John Cooper began his coaching career in 1998, not in 2005. However, the official Tampa website starts counting from his next job.
Financial problems remain, the money of the public defender and the school coach is not enough to make ends meet. And at this moment, an offer from the St. Louis Bandits preparing for their first season in the NAHL (North-American Hockey League).It is the second-ranked junior hockey league in the United States. Of course, it cannot be compared with the Canadian junior leagues, but it was from it that people like Mike Modano, Pat Lafontaine, Doug Waite, Brian Rafalski and others came out.
John Cooper – Head Coach of St. Louis Bandits
The first season of the “bandits” and the first Robertson Cup (Cup for winning the League). 73.5% wins.
The second season of the “Bandits” – the second Robertson Cup. 82.8% wins. John Cooper Coach of the Year.
Cooper gets noticed in the higher league – USHL (United States Hockey League). Actually – this is the supreme junior league of the United States. Again, in terms of its level, it is inferior to the junior leagues of Canada, but in the USA there is no league for juniors. The only alternative is student hockey (where, however, according to most estimates, the level is still higher than in USHL).
John is invited to coach the Green Bay Gamblers, which finished the previous season in last place, winning only 12 games out of 60, scoring the least in the league.
Cooper’s first season as coach of this team. First place in the regular season. The second highest scoring team in the league. 68.3% wins. True, in the playoffs, the team stumbles and drops out of the fight in the second round.
Cooper’s second season as coach. First place in the regular season. 79.2% wins. The lowest-performing team in the League.
The Gamblers also have no competitors in the playoffs. Champion title. John Cooper Coach of the Year.For the second year in a row.
Head Coach Green Bay Gamblers
At this time, Steve Yzerman begins to build a new team in Tampa. One of the main conditions for Yzerman’s vision of the system is the training of young people. A bet on homegrown players, drafted. Their preparation at the farm club and gradual admission to the base.
Given this approach, the position of head coach of the farm club – Norfolk Admirals (which did not make the playoffs last season) is very important from the point of view of the Detroit legend.It should be a person who knows how to work with young people, who knows how to win.
Of all the options available, Yzerman chooses John Cooper. Cooper starts the 2010-2011 season in the Tampa system as head coach of the AHL club (American Hockey Diga is the second most powerful professional league in North America after the NHL – the discussion about the strength of the AHL relative to the domestic KHL will never end).
First season. 58% wins. Exit to the playoffs. True, the defeat in the first round.
Second season. 74.5% wins. Record winning streak for all professional sports in North America (not just ice hockey) with 28 matches.
90,090 28 wins in a row. Plus two playoff wins before they could beat the team.
Unconditional first place in the AHL based on the results of the regular season. Uncontested “march on corpses” in the playoffs and the Calder Cup as a result. John Cooper is the best coach of the year.
Head coach of Norfolk with Calder Cup.
The next season, Cooper starts as head coach for Syracuse (the Tampa farm moved there from Norfolk). However, the core team is in serious trouble. She is beaten by all and sundry, and by the beginning of spring 2013, Lightning loses its chances for the playoffs. While Syracuse leads the AHL standings.
In this situation, Steve Yzerman makes the only possible decision. Head coach “Tampa”, “scarface” Guy Boucher dismissed from his post.
John Cooper has been appointed. The team (formally already under his leadership, but his fault is not in this, since the result was provided before his arrival) takes the third place from the end.
Cooper’s first full season as head coach of Tampa. 61.6% wins. The nomination for the Jack Adams Prize is a prize for the best NHL coach (won by Patrick Roy – after all, who is the legendary Roy for the NHL, and who is your John Cooper anyway?). Two players at once claim the prize for the best newcomer (to the question of working with youth).
In the playoffs, however, everything is sad. Largely due to the injury of the main goalkeeper Ben Bishop (nominated at the end of the season for the best goaltender in the NHL), Lightning is losing 0-4 to Montreal.
And now we come to a key point in our script for a Hollywood movie. And whether it will or not will depend on how everything will turn out.
John Cooper’s second season as head coach of an NHL team. The tenth season of his coaching career (starting with the school team).With each of the teams he worked with before, he won the title in his second season.
Lightning is currently ranked second in the Atlantic Division. The lag behind last year’s offenders – Montreal – is 1 point.
In a match that took place on the night of March 30-31, Tampa played with Montreal and won. The fifth out of five matches in this regular season.
In parallel, the team officially entered the playoffs and set a club record for the number of victories in one season (47).
