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2000 BCE
Hurling was Created
The sport of hurling was created. This is the first sport known to be extremely similar to field hockey. This hurling stick used was extremely similar to the modern stick however it had more of a circle end instead of the curved end it has today. The sport was also very violent with a lack of rules against the physical contact. -
Jan 1, 1400
Field Hockey gets Banned
King Edward II made a proclamation banning hockey being played in England -
Makes Its Way Back Into Public Schools
After lying dormant for so long, hockey became popular again in English public schools. The modern form of the game grew directly from the format established in these schools. -
British Empire Expansion Makes the Sport International
When the British Empire was expanding its borders around the globe in the 1800s, the British Army brought the game of field hockey with them. It expanded the sport's practice to the point where it is now one of the most popular sports in the world. -
Modern Hockey is Established
Field hockey reached its modern form in this time as a game played between two teams of eleven players each. Teams competed on a standard 100x60 yard field and attempted to score goals by hitting a ball off the ground into a net guarded by the opposite team's goalkeeper -
Alternations are Made
The game truly reached its modern form a few years later when Teddington HC introduced the striking circle and changed the official ball to a sphere as opposed to a rubber cube. -
First Professional Hockey Club Founded
Blackheath HC (hockey club) was founded in London in 1849 as the first professional field hockey club -
First Professional Field Hockey Club Outside of England Established
Hockey experienced its greatest level of success in British colonial India, where Calcutta HC was founded as the first professional field hockey club outside of England in 1885. -
Hockey Association Founded
In 1886, the Hockey Association was founded in England, publishing a set of rules and standards to be observed by all organized field hockey teams -
Sport Goes Mainstream
The sport went mainstream in 1908 when it was included in the Summer Olympics in London -
Formation of the FIH
The sport was dropped in 1924, leading to the formation of the Federation Internationale de Hockey sur Gazon (FIH), which exists as the governing body for all international field hockey to this day. -
Becomes an Olympic Sport Again
Field hockey was reinstated as an Olympic sport in 1928, India proceeded to win the gold medal every year from 1928 to 1956. -
Synthetic Turf Replaces Grass
Field hockey was originally played on grass surfaces. That changed in the 1970s, when artificial turf became a replacement on many fields. Synthetic fields are now mandatory for all national and international tournaments.
