Hockey has its origins in some of the most ancient cultures of the world. A game similar to modern day field hockey has been found depicted on 4000 year old tombs in Egypt. The picture depicted two men with sticks having curved ends, standing over a ball.

It has been evidenced that Arabs, Persians, Romans, Ethiopians and even the Aztecs played a version of hockey.

The Romans called the game ‘Paganica’. The Irish had a game of hurling dates which goes back to 1272 BC. A game called ‘Chueca’ was depicted to be played in Argentina by the Araucano Indians. The Australian Noongar people played a game called ‘Dumbung’.

In Europe, a hockey-like game was played. It was called ‘Cambuca’, ‘Comocke’ or ‘Cammock’ in England, ‘Shinty’ in Scotland, ‘Jeu De Mail’ in France, ‘Het Kolven’ in the Netherlands. The game has also been called ‘Clubbes’, ‘Hurl-Bat’, ‘Baddins’, and ‘Shinnops’. The Statutes of Galway had even forbidden the game in 1527.

It is said that the name ‘Hockey’ has been derived from the French word ‘Hocquet’ which is used to describe a shepherd’s crook. Or, it could have been derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for hook which is ‘Hok’.

Therefore, one cannot be certain about who invented hockey, as such, or about who was the inventor of hockey as a game.

History of Field Hockey

A game like hockey was played in English Public Schools in the 19th Century. Like any other team games, the popularity of hockey increased with time. At the time, hockey was played on a larger field and they used a cube of black rubber with rough sticks which were planed on one side. » Read more: History of Hockey