Historic Winter Sports - Women's Hockey & Giveaway

As a historic winter sport, women's hockey fascinates me for the fashion as well as the skill of the women and the mark they made on history. However, in researching for this post, I was discouraged by the lack of material proving that women played hockey in the first decades of the 20th century in the USA, and not just in the past few decades. Hence, this post appears biased on Canadian women's hockey, and considering that hockey began in Canada, that seems appropriate, but I have included whatever material I could uncover and legally post without breaking copyright restrictions.

Join me for a photographic journey back into the teams who made hockey history, although for the most part, they have never been considered worthy of induction into any hockey Hall of Fame.

The following 1907 backyard image of a girl on skates holding a hockey stick reminds me of the great hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, who started his career as a boy on his Ontario family's backyard rink.

 ca 1907, Edward T. Curlette and friend skating in flooded backyard, Calgary, Alberta. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives

The earliest known photograph of a women's hockey game is this one taken at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, home of the Governor General, the official regal representative in Canada. The Rideau Skating Club in Ottawa is recognized by both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) as being the March 1889 location of the first women's hockey game on record. 

ca 1890 - Women playing hockey, at Rideau Hall, Ottawa. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada

2015 Stanley Cup, wikipedia photo

In the above photo, it is interesting to know that the woman in white is Isobel Stanley, daughter of the then Governor General, Lord Stanley of Preston.

Lord Stanley and his family were so enamoured with the sport that he donated a silver decorative punch bowl to encourage competition between clubs. Originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, it has grown over the years with every new victory and is now known simply as the Stanley Cup.

By the early 1900's, women were playing hockey in indoor and outdoor rinks across Canada. 

Even in the Yukon where the focus had been on the recent heady gold rush, pursuits changed to more leisurely past times like skating and hockey. This next image shows a 1904 match between the Dawsons and the Victorias.

Apr 13, 1904 - Ladies Hockey Match, Dawson, Yukon Territory, Canada

Calgary's Glenbow Museum Archives has several photographs showing western women as members of hockey teams, and also ones like this early one showing the 1909 Girls High School hockey team of Olds, Alberta. Not only are the hair styles different, but so are the quality of skates. 

1909 Girls' high school hockey team, Olds, Alberta.

The best known skates in the late 19th century were manufactured in the Halifax-Dartmouth area of Nova Scotia by the John Starr manufacturing company. Known as block or stock skates, they were strapped to the boot, and although thousands were sold, skatists complained of feeling insecure while wearing them as they often came loose.

John Forbes, foreman of John Starr, developed a self-fastening skate that could be attached to the skate boot with a spring lever. Called the Star Acme Club skate, it became the favorite of skatists and hockeyists of the time. (Yes, hockey players were known as hockeyists.)

In one of the first marketing brainwaves ever, the Starr manufacturing company paid the 1899 Ladies Hockey Club of Edmonton, Alberta, to be photographed putting on their Starr Acme club skates. 

1899 Edmonton Ladies Hockey Team putting on their Starr Acme Club skates

By 1907, several ladies teams in Saskatchewan, then known as the "Breadbasket of the Prairies" had joined the fun. Several teams existed with exciting names like the Biggar Floradoras, the Saskatchewan Prairie Lillies, the Snowflakes, the Golden Girls and the Old Hens, but I was only able to find a photograph showing the 1907 Prince Albert Tumblers. Although their name is whimsical, they look like serious opponents.

1907 Prince Albert Tumblers, Prince Albert Saskatchewan.  

More information about women's hockey in Saskatchewan can be found in the book, Hockey Heritage: 88 Years of Puck Chasing in Saskatchewan, Brenda Zeman, and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, 1983

In the early 1900's, Banff in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia, was trying to build its reputation as a place of winter fun. It's annual winter festival brought outdoor enthusiasts from all over to compete in a variety of events. Ladies hockey was one of the first to be included as shown in this next 1911 outdoor rink photo with Mount Rundle in the background.

1911 Women's Hockey Match in Banff, Alberta

In 1916, two owners of men's teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association spoke of organizing an international women's league. It didn't come into fruition until Feb 1921 when 3 teams competed. My research dug up images of the Vancouver Amazons, but not on the other 2 teams: the Seattle Vamps, nor the Victoria Kewpies. For more information on these teams, check out the webpage, Women and Hockey Post War.

These next two images of the Vancouver Amazons shows the difference a successful year can make in the world of sports, especially when men buy the uniforms.

1920 Vanouver Amazons Ladies Hockey Team

1921 Vancouver Amazons Ladies Hockey Team at Banff Winter Festival

Meanwhile in the east, ladies' colleges had been in training and playing hockey for years on both inside and outside rinks.

March 1906, Ottawa Ladies' College hockey group, Ottawa, Ontario. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada

Queen's University hockey team, Kingston, Ontario, 1917

One important fact to note about the women's hockey team from Queen's University is that it is the birthplace of the hockey goalie face mask. 

Although many attribute Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens as being the one who made wearing a face mask trendy, and others go back earlier to 1930 when Clint Benedict of the Montreal Maroons wore a mask to cover up a broken nose, the truth is that a woman beat them both to the mark. 

Queen's University goalie, Elizabeth Graham, first wore a fencing mask to protect her dental work in 1927. This is corroborated by an article by Elizabeth's grandson, reporter Stewart Bell, who wrote a National Post article on Dec 14, 2008 which states, 

"I picked up a copy of The Hockey News the other day and there, on page 25, was an old black-and-white photograph of my grandmother, wearing goalie pads and a striped hockey sweater.

It described how, while playing for Queen's University in 1927, grandmother shocked fans by wearing a mask.

"The first hockey netminder interested in saving face looks to have been Elizabeth Graham," the (Hockey News) article reads. "It would appear the father of the goalie mask was in fact a woman."

1926 Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. Courtesy of www.hockeygods.com

Accordingly, there are several other accounts such as this one... "The Montreal Daily Star reported : "The Queen's goaler gave the fans a surprise when she stepped into the nets and then donned a fencing mask. It was safety-first with her and even at that she can't be blamed for her precautionary methods."

But not all hockey was played as part of college or other organized teams. Sometimes, teams played for fun such as this last photo involving a 1921 game of shinny at Dufferin Park in Toronto. 

1921 Shinny at Dufferin Park, Toronto, Ontario

According to the Team USA History of Women's Hockey page, the first instance of American women playing hockey is the entry:
"1920s - College teams form in both the U.S. and Canada."

Unfortunately, there are no links for further information.

As with everything else, the years of the second world war took its toll on sports and leisure. Women were needed to replace the men who were off fighting for freedom. And when the men returned, they needed the support of their wives and families at home. Although men's hockey returned to a schedule, it would be decades before women's hockey returned as a valued place in not only sports history, but also that of leisure and recreation.

I welcome you to share your views and links concerning the early history of women's hockey. 

Giveaway: 

As for the giveaway, we're leaving the land of frozen water and heading down to Austin, Texas for the January 15th release of Austen in Austin Volume One.

You might want to leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of Austen in Austin if the thought of four novellas set in historical Austin, Texas, and based on Jane Austen's novels appeals to you. Yes, that would be Jane Austen, Texas-style. Yeehaw!!!

For extra chances of winning this giveaway, share this post on Facebook or Twitter and let me know in the comments below.

Please include your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you're the winner.

The winner will receive the digital copy upon release. 

Deadline to enter this draw - Sunday midnight, January 10th.

Check here for info on the novellas included in the Austen in Austin collection. 

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Anita Mae Draper's stories are written under the western skies where she lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan with her hubby of 30 plus years and the youngest of their four kids. Anita's first novella, Romantic Refinements, will be released January 2016 in Austen in Austin Volume 1, WhiteFire Publishing. Anita is represented by Mary Keeley of Books & Such Literary Management. You can find Anita Mae at  www.anitamaedraper.com