History Of Field Hockey

The History of Field Hockey

The sport of field hockey — or just “hockey,” as it’s known in most of the 127 countries it is played — is widely considered one of the top six sports in the world. Field Hockey’s origins are ancient. Proof can be found in the simplicity of the game: Teams use a stick to hit a ball into a goal.

The exact origins of the sport are unknown. However, archeologists found 4,000-year-old drawings of men playing a simplistic version of the game in the Beni Hasan tombs in the Nile Valley, Egypt. Other historical records show that various versions of the sport were played in the Persian, Roman, Ethiopian, and Aztec civilizations.

The Middle Ages

A new era was defined in the Middle Ages, when variations of hockey-like games began popping up in various European countries. The game of “cambuca” was played in England, while “shinty” was played in Scotland, “jeu de mail” was played in France, and “het kolven” was played in the Netherlands.

English Royalty

The sport became popular among English Royalty in the 1300s. Yet, not all of the royals were fond of the game. In 1363, King Edward III of England issued the proclamation: “Moreover, we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games.” This proclamation is proof that a semi-organized version of hockey was being played over 1,500 years ago.

Modern Hockey

In the mid – 19th century, English public schools adopted the modern game of field hockey. Playing a much rougher version of the game, the first hockey club, Blackheath, was formed in 1849. A few decades later, the Middlesex cricket clubs developed the modern game. A club called “Teddington” (on their website, they claim to be the “oldest hockey club in the world”) was especially known for its part in molding the game. The cricket players were looking for something to play during winter and began drawing up rules for their new game. This led to the first field hockey association: Hockey Association in London, established in 1886.

History Of Men’s Hockey — CurryPost.com

Olympic Field Hockey

The British Army had spread the game throughout the British Empire. In 1895, field hockey had its first international competition. The game was between Ireland and Wales. Ireland won, 3-0. Hockey first appeared in the 1908 Olympic Games in London with only three teams: England, Ireland, and Scotland. The sport was permanently adopted into the Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Women’s field hockey made its debut and became an Olympic fixture at the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow, Russia.

International Body is Formed

As mentioned above, the first Olympic Hockey Competition for men was held in London in 1908 with England, Ireland and Scotland competing separately. After having made its first appearance in the 1908 Games, hockey was subsequently dropped from the 1912 Stockholm Games, and reappeared in 1920 in Antwerp before being omitted again in Paris in 1924. The Paris organisers refused to include hockey on the basis that the sport had no International Federation.

Hockey had made its first steps toward an International Federation when in 1909 the Hockey Association in England and the Belgium Hockey Association agreed to mutually recognise each other to regulate international hockey relations. The French Association followed soon after, but this was not considered sufficient.

Hockey took its most important step forward in 1924 when the International Hockey Federation, the world governing body for the sport, was founded in Paris under the initiative of a Frenchman called Paul Léautey. Mr. Léautey, who would become the first President of the FIH, was motivated to action following hockey’s omission from the program of the 1924 Paris Games.

Mr. Léautey called together representatives from seven National Federations to form the sport’s international governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Hockey sur Gazon. The six founding members, which represented both men’s and women’s hockey in their countries, were Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland.

The women’s game developed quickly in many countries and in 1927, the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) was formed. The founding members were Australia, Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, the United States and Wales. After celebrating their respective Golden Jubilees – the FIH in 1974 and the IFWHA in 1980 – the two organisations came together in 1982 to form the FIH.

The growth of the International Hockey Federation from its early beginnings has been most impressive. Denmark joined in 1925, the Dutch men in 1926, Turkey in 1927, and in 1928 – the year of the Amsterdam Olympics – Germany, Poland, Portugal and India joined. India’s addition marked the membership of the first non-European country, and that completely changed the sport forever.

Women in Field Hockey

History Of Women’s Field Hockey – Currypost.com

Field hockey was originally considered too dangerous a sport for female participants. This notion later changed when women who enjoyed outdoor activities, such as croquette and lawn tennis, adopted field hockey as a socially acceptable outdoor activity. It was later considered as the only team sport proper for women.
Women’s field hockey was first introduced to British Universities and schools in the 1880s. The first field hockey club, Molesey Ladies Hockey Club, was founded in 1887. This club led to the formation of the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) in 1927. Following the establishment of this association, women’s field hockey grew rapidly around the world. It spread in many continental European countries and later to the USA.

Women’s field hockey arrived in the United States before men’s field hockey. It was introduced by an English physical education instructor named Constance Applebee. She brought the game into the U.S. while attending a seminar in 1901 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The sport quickly grew in popularity and spread through several colleges and clubs by the early 1920s. The United States appeared in the first World Championship of women’s field hockey in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1975 and later played in the 1980 Olympic Games.

The Men’s Game in the United States

Men in the United States officially began playing the sport in 1928. The first official match was between the Westchester Field Hockey Club (of Rye, New York) and the Germantown Cricket Club (of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). The Field Hockey Association of America was also formed in 1928. Five years later, the FHAA merged with the United States Field Hockey Association to form the sport’s official governing body, the USA Field Hockey Association. This was done after urging from the Olympic committee.

The U.S. men first competed in the Olympics at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, California. The team earned the bronze medal after losing to eventual silver medalist Japan, 9-2, and eventual gold-medal winner India, 24-1.

Synthetic Turf

Field hockey was originally played on grass surfaces. That changed in the 1970s, when artificial turf became a replacement on many fields. The game has changed significantly with this innovation.

The Indian dribble is one of the many new tactics and techniques used for the faster field. Also, since the application of turf, Indian and Pakistani domination ended. Wealthier European countries have since dominated the Olympics. Synthetic fields are now mandatory for all national and international tournaments.