A Brief History of Field Hockey

In North America, because of ice and street hockey, hockey is called field hockey. The other countries call this sport hockey. This sport is said to be one of the oldest team sports in history.

The earliest records of field hockey date back over 4000 years ago. Hieroglyphics show ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians and Romans playing one version of the sport or another. A statue that has been dated 478 B.C. showed six men carrying sticks and fighting over a ball.

During the Middle Ages different variations of field hockey were played. Up to the early 1800s, teams played sports such as cambuca, shinty, hurling and jowling. The term hockey was not used until it was used by an English writer by the name of Lord Lytton.

Hockey became a popular sport in English schools. In 1850, the Blackheath club promoted the first game of hockey. However, instead of using a ball, a black cube was used. The Middlesex Clubs also adopted hockey to be played as a winter sport. They wanted the rules to be similar to soccer.

In 1874 rules were set for field hockey. In 1886, the Hockey Association was created. New rules were established. The changes included playing with cricket balls, limiting seven players to a team, and having scoring circles." Field hockey clubs started to form throughout England.

Field hockey made its first appearance in the 1908 Olympic Games. This was the first international field hockey competition. However, due to a lack of governing structure, the sport was removed from the Olympic Games in 1934. When the International Hockey Federation was formed, field hockey returned to the Olympic Games in 1928. It has been become a permanent feature in the Summer Games ever since. The countries that played field hockey grew. In the early 1970s, seventy-two countries belonged to the International Hockey Federation.

While most field hockey games are played on grass, the 1976 Olympics had a new innovation. Artificial turf was used for the first time in a field hockey game. This created a faster and more exciting sport.

In the 1980s a new set of rules were established. The sticks had longer handles and shorter heads. A rubber ball replaced the wooden one.
Today, field hockey is a very popular sport. It is played in both high schools and colleges. It is widely followed at the Summer Olympics, dominated by countries such as India and Pakistan. Today, 120 nations belong to the International Hockey federation. Both men and women play the sport. It is an exciting and simple game to play.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/Field_hockey