History Of Hockey

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Hockey is one of the earliest ball and stick game. There are evidences that a game similar to field hockey was played during the early civilizations. In fact in the Roman civilization, a similar version was called paganica.

There are 4000 year-old drawings found depicting the game of hockey being played found in the ancient walls of Egypt. Experts said that they can date the drawings from 1272 B.C. In other historical records, like in Persia, a version of field hockey was played during 2000 B.C.

Europe bear witness to its many names: in England it was “cammock” or “cambuca” and “shinty” in Scotland. The French called it the “jeu de mail.” It was referred to as “clubbes”, “baddins,” and many more names. It is said that its present name hockey was derived from the French word for shepherd crook, “hocquet.”

By 17th to the early 18th century, hockey became a competitive sport in England. Communities and villages would compete against each other. The teams consist of large numbers, usually about 100 players for each team. It was one of the most dangerous sports during the period. The game could last for half a month and could result to very serious injuries.

Hockey became a popular sport in English public schools early in the 19th century. School teams were using rough sticks and a cube of black rubber and tried experimenting with the game rules. But it was 1874 when rules were started to be drawn. There was an association established during 1875 but it lasted only for seven years. Eventually, the Hockey Association was formed in 1886.

Because of the widespread of the game, the first international competition between Ireland and Wales was held in 1895. To cope with such development, the International Rules Board was established in 1895.

The British army could be held responsible for its popularity in the British empire. British colonies like India, Pakistan, Australia, England and New Zealand were among the first major sport players. In fact, when hockey became an Olympic sport in 1908, India dominated the sport. It won six Olympic gold medals from 1928 to 1956.

In its Olympic debut, only males were allowed to participate in the game. It was only 1980 when women were allowed to play hockey. Although, women’s hockey was in its peak during `20s and `30s, the sport declined when after the Second World War. Hockey was considered as a men’s sport. It was during the 60s when the women’s sport was revived.

From its humble beginnings, the sport has become quite popular, both among youth and adults. Field hockey, in fact, is considered to be the second largest team participation sport in the world. It places second after soccer.