Many people say that modern hockey dates back to around 1875 in Canada. Obviously, hockey was not invented overnight in this location at this time. However, this version of hockey is very similar to the modern version of hockey that people take for granted today. Many of the historical versions of hockey would not be regarded as 'hockey' by a lot of modern people.
Earlier versions of hockey have been traced to Britain. They may have taken place back in the 1790's. This makes sense, since this is close enough to the more official birth date of hockey. It takes some time for any game to become established and to develop its own firm set of rules. This seems to have been the case for modern hockey.
Charles Darwin actually might have been a big fan of hockey, or at least a game that was similar to hockey. He actually talked about his games of ice hockey when he wrote letters to his son William Erasmus Darwin. Charles Darwin would have played this hockey-like sport on a frozen river, which isn't so different from the manner of playing that a lot of people today enjoy. These letters were written in the 1850's, which should still place them before the official date of hockey's commonly accepted origin story.
People during this time period were the people who were literally creating hockey. They were not the people who sat back and watched others play hockey for the most part. Hockey became more of a spectator sport much later in its chronology. Throughout the nineteenth century, people refined the rules of hockey and helped to make it much more like its modern version.
In the 1880's, actual ice hockey leagues started to become popular. These were leagues at the amateur level, of course. However, depending on the definition, almost all sports leagues of that time period could be considered amateur sports leagues by the standards of today. It is known that professional ice hockey began in 1900.
The twentieth century really helped to revolutionize spectator sports and professional sports. People would soon be able to hear about the games on the radio. After that, people would be able to watch them on television. Today, people can watch hockey from all over the world easily, getting footage of games that are happening thousands of miles a way. The twenty-first century has certainly done a lot of great things for spectator sports in general. The fact that people can learn more about their origins should only make it all more special.
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