Where was lacrosse invented?

Answer

Lacrosse has witnessed great modifications since its origins in the 1400s, but many aspects of the sport remain the same. In the North American Indian version, each team consisted of about 100 to 1,000 men on a field that stretched about 500 yards to half a mile. Sometimes, the fields were even several miles long. Rather than having traditional goals where the ball has to pass through goal posts, many of the Native teams used a large rock or tree as their goal. They would hit the deerskin ball against the goal to earn points. The medicine-men acted as umpires, and the women urged on the men by beating them with switches. These lacrosse games lasted from sun up to sun down for two to three days. The games were played to settle inter-tribal disputes and also used to toughen young braves in preparation for future combat.

The game became known to Westerners when a Jesuit Missionary, Jean de Brébeuf, saw the Iroquois Natives play it in the 1600s. In 1763, after Canada had become British, the game was used by the Natives to carry out an ingenious piece of treachery. On the 4th of June, when the 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.

By the 1800s, lacrosse evolved to become less violent and more of a sport as French pioneers began playing the game. In 1867, W. George Beers, a Canadian dentist, codified the game, shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to ten per team. The first game played under Beers' rules was at Upper Canada College in 1867, with Upper Canada College losing to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3-1. By the 1900s, high schools, colleges, and universities began playing the game, and lacrosse was contested as a medal sport in the 1904 and 1908 Olympics.

In the 1930s, an indoor version of the game, box lacrosse (see below), was introduced in Canada. It quickly became, and remains, the dominant form of the sport in that country. A later version of box lacrosse, indoor lacrosse, is played professionally in both Canada and the United States.

In the USA, the sport is popular in Maryland (where it became the official team sport in 2004), New York, New England and other areas along the east coast. In addition, its popularity has started spreading to the west coast, spurred by the sport's increasing visibility in the media as well as the growth of college and high school programs and "pee wee" leagues throughout the country. This explosion has been made possible in part by the introduction of plastic heads invented by Baltimore-based stick maker STX in the 1970s. This innovation reduced the weight and cost of the stick, and allowed for faster passes and gameplay. The plastic head is now universally used, and while wooden sticks remain legal, they are far outclassed.

At the collegiate level, there are currently 57 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse teams, 31 NCAA Division II men's lacrosse teams, and 130 NCAA Division III men's lacrosse teams. There are also currently 82 Division I women's lacrosse teams, 35 Division II women's lacrosse Teams, and 153 Division III women's lacrosse Teams.

At the professional level, there are 11 National Lacrosse League (indoor) teams with 1 new team starting in the 2007 season (See Chicago NLL expansion team and 2007 NLL expansion). In Major League Lacrosse there was 6 teams in the 2005 season and the league is adding 4 more teams to create a west division for the 2006 season (The league also plans to add 2 more teams for the 2008 season).

• What conference is johns hopkins in?
• How to make a stick-ball?
• What is the best food or drink to have after a lacrosse game?