History of lacrosse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lacrosse has its origins in a tribal game played by Plains Indians and Woodlands Natives in what is now the United States and Canada. Contrary to general trivia, it does not derive its name from the resemblance of its chief implement used, the curved netted stick, to a bishop's crozier. Crosse is a French term for any similar stick or baton used in a sports game. The French settlers who first observed the Native Americans playing the game referred to it as le jeu de la crosse.
It originated in the 1400's in Huron County, New York. In original Native Indian versions of the game, each team was made up of 100 and 1000 warriors on a field that stretched from 500 yards to half a mile, or even sometimes several miles long with practically no side boundaries. A solemn dance preceded the game, after which the ball was tossed into the air and the two sides rushed to catch it on "crosses", similar to those now in use. The medicine-men acted as umpires, and the women of the tribe urged on the men by beating them with switches.
Rather than using modern goals wherein the ball has to pass through the goal posts, many of the Native American teams used a large rock or tree as their goal. They would hit the deerskin-formed ball against the goal to earn points. The length of these games varied, lasting from sunup to sundown or for several days. Traditionally, the games were played to settle altercations between tribes and to toughen warriors in preparation for combat. Tribes such as the Cherokee referred to lacrosse as "little brother of war" reflecting the game's warrior element, long game times, large player numbers and high injury and casualty rates. [1]
The game became known to Westerners when a French Jesuit missionary, Jean de Brébeuf, saw the Huron Indians play it in 1636. One infamous chapter in the history of lacrosse occurred in 1763. At that time, after Canada had become British, the game was used by the Native Americans to carry out an ingenious piece of treachery. On the 4th of June, when the British garrison of Fort Michilimackinac (now Mackinac) was celebrating the king's birthday, it was invited by the Ottawas, under their chief Pontiac, to witness a game of "baggataway" (lacrosse).The players gradually worked their way close to the gates, when, throwing aside their crosses and seizing their tomahawks which the women suddenly produced from under their blankets, they rushed into the fort and massacred all the inmates except a few Frenchmen.
The game spread through cities like Boston like wild fire in the 1700s. And it was very popular. By the 1800s, lacrosse evolved to become more of an organized sport and less violent as French pioneers adopted the game. In 1867, W. George Beers, a Canadian dentist, codified the game. In his rules, he shortened the duration of the game and reduced the number of players to ten per team. By the 1900s, many high schools, colleges and universities had adopted lacrosse as a league sport. Lacrosse became an Olympic sport for the 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympics, but was then dropped as an official sport.
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