origin of hockey

"Certain historians, who perhaps may not always be quite objective, keep on giving their own interpretations. They often want to see "ice hockey" in terms of what may be interpreted as a lot of imagination. References to ancient painters who show a man on skates with a ball and a stick, as he was painted for example by Romeyn de Hooghe (Holland 1645–1708) have been interpreted as precursors of ice hockey players. More detailed investigations reveal some kind of Golf or Polo on ice, but not Ice Hockey. A connection to ice hockey – and again with a lot of imagination – would be more likely with other sports like Shinney, Hurling, or Baggataway. Shinney originated from the Scottish game Shinty which was played with a ball and a bent stick. But there were no goalkeepers. One team consisted sometimes of 50 to 100 men playing as company against company, with no skates. The objective was to win space. Hurling originated from Ireland. The game was similar to field hockey. It was played w...