Essay On The History Of Lacrosse

The origin of lacrosse begins with Native American Indians and was originally called stickball. The game was played at St. Lawrence Valley and could last several days. They were played on large areas of land between villages, trees, and other natural resources were used as goals, these goals could range from 500 yards apart to several miles apart. There was no limit to how many players were allowed to play, It is estimated that there were 100 to 1,000 players in the game. Players were not allowed to touch the game ball with their hands and since they played on such a lard field there was no out of bounds.At the beginning of the game possession of the ball was decided by throwing it up in the air and players raced to be the first to catch it. Game balls were originally made of wood and later they were replaced by deerskin balls filled with fur. Sticks were also made of wood …show more content…
Canadians became interested in the sport and in 1856 a Canadian dentist funded the Montreal Lacrosse Club. He had created a new rule book for the sport that limited the number of players allowed on the field he also introduced a rubberized ball and more advanced sticks. By 1860 lacrosse had become Canada’s national game and in 1867 exhibition games were played in England, lacrosse then becoming more and more popular in several countries and in 1904 and 1908 lacrosse was played in the Summer Olympics. On November 22, 1877, the first college lacrosse game was played between New York University and Manhattan College. There are now over 600 colleges that offer the game of lacrosse at a D-I, II, And III level. Lacrosse is now considered to be America's oldest sport and America's fast growing sport. In the 1930s “Box” lacrosse was introduced, box lacrosse is also known as indoor lacrosse and became the most popular version of the game in