Origin Of Hockey
What is hockey ? In brief the hockey is a game of earth, not of air, to played with stick and ball. (Gulzara Singh ,1995)
Hockey is a game of intricate manoeuvres, delicate turns, skillful footwork, stamina and endurance. It is a game of individuals skill and brilliance, finally meshed in with coordinated team work ( Kanwal, 1995 )
It is believed that hockey is the oldest game in the world .According to historians, it had deep roots in Persia where it was played as crude form as long as 2000 B.C. The game was acquired by the Greeks, who in turn passed it on to the Romans. A discovery made in Athens in 1922 gives reasons to believe that form of stick game came from the East. This was a relief found in a wall built by Athenian politician named Themistocles ( 514-499 B.C. ) which depicts six youths taking part in a game resembling shows that is termed face off or bully in the modern game, but with the hooked sticks pointed downward instead of upward. It is also claimed that the Red Indian tribes of America played a game which resembled hockey thousands of years ago. This sport can also be identified with early games known as Shinty, hurling and bondy. According to historians this game was played in France under the name of hoquer ( it means a shepherd’s stick ). In England the game was known as the hockey, hawkey, hackie, haookey, horkey. In England, hockey was developed about the middle of the last century when it was being played with a cricket ball and oak sticks of no set dimensions.
In 1875, a game resembling present day hockey began to be played in England. The Wimbledon hockey club in 1883 formulated many rules which stayed on for many, many years. Hockey was spread throughout England during this period.
Like cricket, hockey was born on January 18, 1886 ( The real birth day of hockey), the date of formation in London of the Hockey Association. The striking circle and the other rules were made then. Round about this time a few more Clubs were also formed and the game was spread throughout England. In 1895, the first international match was played between England and Ireland. England won match by 5-0.
Calcutta became the first “abode” of hockey in India in 1883. In 1895, the Beighton cup began in Calcutta and the Agha Khan Tournament in Bombay.
Around 1900 an International Hockey Board was established consisting of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was very powerful organisation in controlling hockey rules which continues even today. Federation of International Hockey came into existence in 1924. It rarely interferes in the working of the board for obvious reasons.
Now hockey is the third most popular international game after soccer and basketball (Cozier, 1937)
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