History of Lacrosse

Lacrosse is the oldest sport in North America andmay have developed as early as the 5th century.

In the 1600s a Jesuit missionary named Jean de Brebeuf saw the Hyron Indians play. In a report to his superiors, he stated little about the actual play of the game but seemed to be intrigued by the stick the Indians used while playing.  He likened the stick to the "crosier" carried at religious ceremonies by a bishop.  The name la crosse stuck and this later became simply "lacrosse."

Indian lacrosse was a large game and teams were often made up of one hundred to one thousand braves on each side. The goals were five-hundred yards to one-half mile apart.  On occasion, the goals could be separated by several miles.  Usually a large rock or tree was considered the goal and a score was recorded by hitting the rock or tree with a ball.  Some tribes used goal posts six to nine feet apart, and the ball had to pass between them for a score, much like today's game.

Games lasted from sunup to sundown and stretched over the course of two or three days. The games were played for recreation, but had other roles in the Indian culture, as well.  Lacrosse served to vent aggression and territorial disputes were sometimes settles with a game.  Lacrosse games were used to toughen braves for actual combat and much of the ceremony surrounding their preparations and the rituals required of the players were identical to those practiced before departing on the warpath.

The first evidence of non-Indians taking up the game came in the 1800s when French pioneers in Montreal adopted the Mohawk game they were familiar with and “civilized” it.  They adopted field dimensions, limits to the number of players per team and basic rules and started amateur clubs.  The game quickly grew in popularity in Canada.

The first college team was formed in the US in 1877 and the first high school teams followed in 1882.  In the early 1900s lacrosse was first played in the Olympics.  Today it is estimated that there are approximately 267 NCAA sponsored men’s teams playing in Division I, II or III and more than 450 club teams playing at the college level.  The estimate for women’s’ teams is 358 teams playing at Division I, II or III and more than 230 club programs.  Lacrosse remains the fastest growing sport in North America.

References:

Laxhistory.com  http://www.laxhistory.com/

Lacrosse History by Thomas Vennum, Jr. http://www.uslacrosse.org/TopNav/MuseumHallofFame/History.aspx