History of Hockey

No cross checking, no cradling, no handling, no body checking or deliberate pushing from behind, and no high sticks or pick ends. What I have just described are some of the common rules of ice hockey. Though the rules of ice hockey are well defined and their origins can be traced back with certainty, this is more than can be said about the sport itself. So where did hockey originate? Though this question seems simple enough, hockey as we know it has left open many questions that one may never be able to answer with certainty. This is because the origins of this sport are questionable, being that there are many individuals who have a different understanding as to the origins of this sport. Questions pertaining to the origins of ice hockey have been around for as long as the sports existence and there are many suggestions for its origins, but without the proper documentation there is no saying which of these claims should be taken as truth.

English: Hants County, Nova Scotia, 1879

English: Hants County, Nova Scotia

English: St. John The Evangelist Roman Catholic Ch...

While doing research on the origins of ice hockey, I have come up with several variations as to where ice hockey originated. Looking at each of these claims there is one that I feel has the most supporting evidence to support its claims. As such, it is this claim that I will discuss in this paper as well as any structural conditions at that time that may have caused ice hockey to originate. I will also be evaluating the reliability and validity of each of the sources used that provides supporting facts to this claim. The main question that I will be asking throughout this paper is not a matter of where it originated, but more so about why and how it originated. By focusing on these questions, it is my goal...