Lacrosse originated somewhere around as early as AD 1100 among various tribes in North America. Though a big majority began by Native Americans and at that time the game was simply referred to as stickball. The game was mostly played around in St. Lawrence Valley Area by the Algonquian tribe (J. Claydon, 1). Other tribes implemented this game in the eastern half of North America and around the Western Great Lakes.
These games were viewed as very significant and popular events which took over several days when played. They were played over large and wide open areas between villages and the goals (possibly due to natural terrain physical features such as trees and bushes), which were separated from about 500 yards to several miles in distance (J. Claydon, 1). There was no limit on the quantity of players to participate in the game. There were approximate estimations that varied between one-hundred and one-hundred thousand players that were active in a game at any time. The game had a few and simple rules which were the ball was not to be touched by any player's hand and there were no designated boundaries. A game would start when the ball was thrown into the air and players from each team would move in to be the one that would catch the ball first. The balls consisted of deerskin, clay, stone, and sometimes wood (History of Lacrosse, 1).
In 1637, a French Jesuit missionary, Jean de Brébeuf witnessed Iroquois tribesmen play lacrosse and he was the first European to write about the game. Jean called the game lacrosse. The reason he called this are speculated but it might be from the French term for field hockey,
le jeu de la crosse, or was named after the
crosier, which is a staff carried by bishops (History of Lacrosse, 1). The game began to become popular in 1856 starting with Canada first. During that year, Dr. William George beers, who was a dentist, founded first lacrosse club called the Montreal Lacrosse Club. In 1867, William codified the game by shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to twelve per team. The first game was played during the same year at Upper Canada College, whom lost to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3-1 (History of Lacrosse, 1). Eventually by the 1900s, lacrosse was widely played in high schools, colleges, and universities began to play the game. Lacrosse was even demonstrated in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.
For the United States, lacrosse was mostly centered in and around Maryland, New England, upstate New York, Long Island, and mid-Atlantic states (History of Lacrosse, 1). Today, lacrosse has spread nationwide and has attracted views in the media, as well as high schools, colleges,and youth programs across the country. The biggest lacrosse championship was the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship which even went past the Final four of men's basketball. Lacrosse was easier to play in the 1970s through plastic stick heads that were introduced by Baltimore-based STX. This reduced weight and cost of a lacrosse stick and allowed for faster passes and game play than original wooden sticks.
Lacrosse is one of the sports that is widely played in the world. It was even been played for thousands of years. This sport brings something unique and enjoyable for the whole world to experience.
Works Cited
"History of Lacrosse." History of Lacrosse. Issaquah Youth Lacrosse, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
"Lacrosse." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
Claydon, Jane. "Page Not Found." Origin of Men's Lacrosse. Jane Claydon, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
