Field Hockey History

Ice hockey is a well-known and popular sport in many place of the world today, but it all begins with field hockey history. While the exact origins of field hockey are unclear, there are depictions of the game in 4,000 year old Egyptian tombs. These date from well before the first Olympic games in ancient Greece. 

Modern field hockey history begins in England. The first field hockey club, Blackheath, was founded in 1849. British soldiers spread the game to India and other colonies and thus the first international competition was held in 1895. The first time in field hockey history the game was played in the Olympics was at the 1908 London games. Field hockey was played at the Olympics in 1920 in Antwerp and was added permanently in 1928 in Amsterdam. The 1920s were a period of immense growth in popularity field hockey in colleges. In 1922, the United State Field Hockey Association was formed. The U.S. men's team competed for the first in the 1932 Los Angeles games. 

The first field hockey club for women was started in East Mosley, England in 1887. The game was introduced in the U.S. for the first time in field hockey history in 1901 by Englishwoman Constance Applebee, a physical education instructor. She was taking a summer course at Harvard and was displeased with the physical exercises women were doing there. Women's field hockey first appeared in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. However, the U.S. did not participate because of a boycott. But in 1984, the team captured the bronze medal. They have appeared in the Olympics ever since.