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 Please note this timeline is a work in progress - as we build our site and publish more stories and photos here (and its sister site/ digital archive which will be public Summer of 2019) it will be filled in with more events and details of the rich history of lacrosse.

Date  Event  Scope  Region Links 
 ? - ?  Ball and Stick game played by Nations of the interior of British Columbia

Society of North American Hockey Historians and Researchers

First Nations    
 ~ 1100  There is evidence that a version of lacrosse played in Mesoamerica or Mexico as early as the 1100s North America    
1100 Deeply rooted in Native American history, the sport dates back to as early as the 12th century when indigenous people played it for community and religious purposes. It was and still is viewed by many as a gift from the Creator; a game intertwined with enjoyment and healing purposes as the medicine game. First Nations    
 ? - ?

Lacrosse style religious and/or combative events were played in many different parts of North America.

Two of these, "Baggataway" and "Tewaarathon" are perhaps the most documented with Baggataway becoming a recreational game with between 60 and 100 players per side.

First Nations    

 ~1400 

Tyendinaga - Birthplace of the Peacemaker: Pacemaker was later to meet Mohawks First Nations Mohawk  
1636 Jesuit Missionary Jean de Brebeuf documents the game of lacrosse (baggataway) at Georgian Bay, Ontario First Nations  Hurons  
1630's  There is not much early data on lacrosse and that exists (from missionaries such as French Jesuits in Huron country in the 1630s and later English explorers, such as Jonathan Carver in the mid-eighteenth century Great Lakes area) is often conflicting. First Nations    
1630's There seems to have been three basic forms of lacrosse — the southeastern, Great Lakes, and Iroquoian. First Nations  Iroquois  
1630's  Among southeastern tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, Yuchi and others), a double-stick version of the game is still practiced. A two-and-a half foot stick is held in each hand, and the soft, small deerskin ball is retrieved and cupped between them. First Nations     
1630's Great Lakes players used a single three-foot stick. terminating in a round, closed pocket about three to four inches in diameter, only a little larger than the ball., In this game, the ball was usually made of wood, charred and scraped to shape. equipment     
1630's The northeastern stick, found among Iroquoian and New England tribes, is the progenitor of all present-day sticks, both in box as well as field lacrosse. The stick for this game was typically more than three feet long and—the shaft ended with a crook which supported a flat triangular surface of webbing  equipment    
1718

Participation of French in lacrosse games noted in great lakes region:

Near present day Detroit, Monsieur de Sabrevois, commandant of Fort Pontchartrain, penned a description of the region in 1718. Referring to the Potawatomi village located near the fort, he wrote:

In summer they play a great deal at la crosse, twenty or more on each side. Their bat [crosse] is a sort of small racket, and the ball with which they Play is of very Heavy wood, a little larger than the balls we use in Tennis. ...

All this is very diverting and interesting to behold. Often one Village Plays against another, the poux [Potawatomi] against the outaouacs [Ottawa] or the hurons, for very considerable prizes. The French frequently take part in these games.

(cited in Lacrosse: Michigan's First Team Sport by Larry B. Massie as published in Michigan History Magazine, September/October 1997 available online at: LaxRules.com)

First Nations

 Potawatomi

 Outaouacs

 Hurons

 
1763 Ojibway Indians use baggataway as a cover to enter and capture Fort Michilimackinac

First Nations

Ojibway  
1794 Match between two native groups results in creation of a basic set of rules

rules

   
1799 Salmanaca - Handsome Lake vision occurs First Nations    
1815 Onondaga  - Burial place of Handsome Lake First Nations    
1834 Caughnawaga Indians demonstrate the sport at St. Pierre to a large crowd of Montreal spectators and the game is reported by the newspaper.

First Nations 

Caughnawaga

Mohawk

 
1842 First Montreal Olympic Athletic club lacrosse team. Club Quebec  
1843 First lacrosse game between Indians and non-Indian teams 

First Nations

Quebec  
1844 Montreal's Olympic Club organized a team in 1844, specifically to play a match against a Native American team. Similar games were played in 1848 and 1851.

First Nations

Quebec  
1856 The first step toward turning lacrosse into a genuinely organized, modern sport came when the Montreal Lacrosse Club, founded in 1856, developed the first written rules. rules     
1858 Photograph Lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1858 club Quebec picture
1859 Parliament proclaimed lacrosse as the national game of the Dominion of Canada      
1860 He also published the first set of lacrosse rules in which the first team to score 3 goals won the match rules     
1860 

Grand lacrosse match in honour of Prince of Wales' visit saw Montreal Locals stage a “Grand Display of Indian Games,” including a match between 30-man Iroquois and Algonquian teams, and another between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teams. 

The day began with a lacrosse game and included supper. Few Montrealers of the period were vegetarians and the meal included veal, chicken, roasts, game, tongue sandwiches and pickles. The Prince arrived late but danced till 4:00 a.m..

Combined Montreal and Beaver Clubs vs Caughnawaga and St. Regis Indians 

Print | The Grand Ball given by the Mayor and Citizens of Montreal, in Honor of the Prince of Wales, Monday, August 27, 1860 | M991X.5.1047

First Nations, royalty

Caughnawaga

St. Regis

Quebec

 
1860

In September 1860, one month after the Prince’s visit, a young dentist named Dr. William George Beers wrote a pamphlet that set out some rules and instructions for the game, which until then had had no written regulations.

Dr. W.G. Beers (supplemental)

rules

 

  story
1860 Montreal Lacrosse Club merged with Hochelaga Club to form Lacrosse Club of Montreal club  Quebec  
1860 Probably the first lacrosse game of 12 players per side saw The Beaver play the Young Torontos club 

rules

   
1861

Shortly after the start of the American Civil War, the supposed possibility of invasion caused the formation of a number of militias in Canada. In Montreal, members of the Beaver Lacrosse Club formed the Victoria Rifles Company on September 20, 1861.

Photograph | No. 6 Company, Victoria Rifles, Montreal, QC, composite, 1889 | II-88853

  Quebec picture
1862 Ottawa Lacrosse Club Formed Club Ontario  
1864 https://oldschoollacrosse.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/the-earliest-lacrosse-photograph/      
1866 November 24, the Montreal Lacrosse Club beats the Chuawanaga Indians in three successive games to win the Canadian Lacrosse Championship

Championship

Caughnawaga   
1866 The Champion Lacrosse Club (1866), Montreal, QC, 1866 Photograph club Quebec  picture
1867

Dr. W. George Beers of the MLC rewrote the rules thoroughly in 1867.

His rules called for 12 players per team, and named the positions: Goal, point, cover point, first defense, second defense, third defense, centre, third attack, second attack, first attack, out home, and in home. 

This code of rules forms the foundation of the modern game of lacrosse. Dr. W.G. Beers (supplemental)

rules   story 
1867 Beers, who is now known as " the father of lacrosse," also replaced the hair-stuffed deerskin ball with a hard rubber ball and designed a stick that was better suited to catching the ball and throwing it accurately.  equipment    
1867 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.

rules

game

Ontario  
1867 First major lacrosse league formed league    
1867

St. Regis Lacrosse Club (Akwesasne), Montreal, QC, 1867 Photograph.William Notman (1826-1891). 1867, 19th century

McCord I-29104.1 More information about this image

 CC McCord Musee

First Nations Akwesasne  picture
1867

Montreal Lacrosse Club, QC, 1867 Photograph William Notman (1826-1891) 1867, 19th century

Photograph | Montreal Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1867 | I-29215.1 ;

Photograph | Montreal Lacrosse Club, QC, 1867 | I-29210

club Quebec  picture
1867

Kahnawake Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1867 Photograph

Photograph | Kahnawake Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1867 | I-29100.1

First Nations Kahnawake  picture
1867 First convention of he National Lacrosse Association, was held in Kingston Ontario where the first uniform code of playing rules were adopted.

rules

Association

Canada  
1867

Engraving, Emblem of National Lacrosse Association of Canada. John Henry Walker (1831-1899) about 1867, 19th century

Engraving | Emblem of National Lacrosse Association of Canada | M930.50.1.742

 

Association    picture
1867 Captain W.B. Johnson of Montreal toured with a team of Caughnawaga Indians, appearing at Windsor Castle before Queen Victoria, who found the game “very pretty to watch.”

First Nations royalty

Caughnawaga

England

 
1867 Caughnawaga Lacrosse Team with Dr. George Beers & Henry Beckett, about 1867 Photograph

First Nations

Caughnawaga  picture 
1867 First Dominion lacrosse title contested; Montreal Lacrosse club vs Caughnawaga with the winner (Caughnawaga) considered the World Champions

championship

Canada Caughnawaga  
1867

The First lacrosse "trophy" the "Claxton Flags" (officially named the "Champion Lacrosse Flags") were donated by J. Claxton for challenge competition between amateur teams of Montreal

Claxton Banner

trophy Quebec

story

1867 By November it was estimated that there were 80 lacrosse clubs with approximately 2,000 players in Canada.

 

Canada   
1867  Saratoga Springs - first lacrosse demonstration in US origins USA  
1868 First Canadian National Tournament  - Paris tournament Canada  
1868 White players in Upstate New York began to play lacrosse about this time and during the 1870's several teams were organized in metropolitan New York.    USA  
1868 First international lacrosse match (at Ogdensburg) between teams of white players; Canadian residents of Buffalo, NY played a team from Prescott Ontario

international

 USA

 Canada

 
1868 A New York Times story of July 11th reports that the Mohawk Lacrosse Club (of Troy) and the Senior American Lacrosse Club are to appear in Montreal on the 28th to 'gain some insight' on the game as played in Montreal. international

Mohawk

USA

 
1868 A New York Times story of August 23rd reports that "The Canada National Game of Lacrosse, which is to be played the coming week on the Capitoline Grounds, is rather difficult to describe. " Later in the story, it is allowed that the team is composed of "...young gentlemen of respectable families." A partial pdf of the story can be found here. international USA  
1868 Crescent Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1868 Photograph club Canada  picture
1868 Messrs. Beers and Stevenson playing lacrosse, Montreal, QC, 1868   Canada  
1868  US Second Club - Buffalo club USA  
1869 A Montreal publisher produced the first book on the sport in 1869. Lacrosse: The National Game of Canada was written by Beers and illustrated with posed photos of players by the famous Notman Gallery. rules Canada  story
1869 New York - First Nations demonstration by Mohawk and Blackfoot

origins

First Nations

USA

Mohawk

Blackfoot

 
1869 Men from the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake (Caughnawaga) were the Canadian Lacrosse Champions in 1869

First Nations

Championship

Kahnawake   picture
1870 The New York Times (August 27) reports in "Outdoor Sports" that the Knickerbocker Lacrosse Club of NY faced the Toronto Club in Buffalo. Toronto took the decisive fifth game after the Knickerbocker club won the 3rd and fourth games to tie the series. international USA  
1870 On November 25th, The New York Times reports that the Knickerbocker Club is the winner of a tournament to determine the United States Championship

Championship

USA  
1870 Lacrosse Match Between the Montreal Club and Caughnawaga Indians Print Anonyme - Anonymous 1870, 19th century First Nations Caughnawaga   
1870 Prince Rupert's Lacrosse Club formed: the first in Manitoba Club Manitoba  
1870 John Flannery was the father of USA lacrosse in 1870s origin USA  
1871 Montreal Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1871-72 Photograph Wm. Notman & Son club Quebec  
1874 Lacrosse tried on indoor ice in a Montreal rink - the ball bounced so much that players broke $300 worth of window panes. game Quebec  
1875 Dr. Beers and H. Becket, lacrosse player, Montreal, QC, 1875. Photograph   Quebec picture
1875 A lacrosse ball, with the top and bottom cut off, is the first recorded use of the modern form of the puck in a hockey game - until then rubber balls had been used. (Montreal on March 3rd, 1875 @ the Victoria Rink) equipment Quebec  
1875

Toronto Lacrosse Club defeated Montreal Shamrocks for NLA championship; this was the first NLA championship by other than a Montreal Team

Print | The Toronto Lacrosse Club, Champions of Canada. General View of the Lacrosse Grounds | M986.89.270.1

championship Canada  
1876 Captained by Dr. W. G. Beers of Montreal, the honorary president of the National Lacrosse Association of Canada, Montreal Club with Caughnagawa Indians tour England. This tour is said to have started the game in "the old country"

First Nations

International

England

Caughnagawa

Quebec

Canada

 
1876

Caughnawaga lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1876 Photograph

Notman & Sandham 1876, 19th century Photograph

First Nations Caughnawaga  picture 
1876  Home Canadian lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1876 Notman & Sandham 1876, 19th century Club Quebec picture
1876 Canadian and European Lacrosse Teams in playing positions, composite, Montreal, QC, 1876 Photograph  international   picture 
1876 Queen Victoria watched and "endorses" a lacrosse game in Windsor, England and is quoted as noting "The game is very pretty to watch."  royalty

England

Canada

 
1876

In April of 1876 the pioneer of lacrosse in Victoria (and Australia as a whole) was a Canadian Lambton L Mount who had come to theVictorian goldfields as a fourteen year old with his family in 1853.In 1875 he was moved to revive his early boyhood memories of lacrosse and thus he wrote to the Australasian Newspaper to announce that he was arranging to import forty lacrosse sticks from Canada and intended to start lacrosse and establish the Melbourne Lacrosse Club.

He succeeded and the first practice match of this club took place on 22 June 1876 between 15-20 players at Albert Park.

 club Australia  
1877 New York University and Manhattan College played the first U. S. intercollegiate game on November 22, 1877, and other colleges in the Northeast soon took up the sport, including Boston University, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, and Stevens Institute. college USA   
1878 Lacrosse team, Montreal, QC, 1878 Photograph club Quebec  picture
1878   From 1878-1883 lacrosse was started in area by Baltimore A.C. followed by Druids A.C. and the beginning of  Johns Hopkins L.C.

 club

college

 USA  
1879 The U. S. Amateur Lacrosse Association, founded in 1879, adopted the Canadian rules.   USA   
1879

By 1879, four clubs had been formed in Australia with some 120 players.

These four clubs Melbourne, Fitzroy, South Melbourne and Carlton formed the Victorian Lacrosse Association in July 1879 for the purpose of coordinating matches and His Excellency, the Govenor of Victoria, The Most Hon G A C Phipps was the inaugural Patron

Association Australia   
1880 One of the first night games to be played under the new "Electric Light" was played in August of 1880 at the Shamrock Lacrosse Field in Montreal. In order to help the fans follow what was occurring on the field at night, in a second game the promoters decided to coat the ball with phosphorous. (note the more famous first game under lights in Baseball was 50 years later in 1930!) equipment Quebec  
1880 Emblem of Shamrock Lacrosse Club 1850-1885, 19th century Engraving John Henry Walker (1831-1899) club Quebec picture 
1880 The first Indian Lacrosse World Championship (professional) held; won by Caughnagawa Indians.

First Nations

Championship

Professional

Caughnagawa   
1880 National Lacrosse Association became an amateur organization; Indians (professionals) were barred. Association    
1881 The first intercollegiate tournament is held at Westchester Polo Grounds in New York College USA  
1881 Match held between Montreal Shamrocks and the New York Lacrosse Team for the "Championship of America"

International

Championship

 Canada

 USA

 
1881 Sketch Canadian Illustrated News      picture
1882 Seven colleges formed the first Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. in the United States College USA  
1882 Lacrosse equipment is available in Edmonton, Alberta   Alberta  
1882 Philips Exeter Academy (New Hampshire) and the Lawrenceville School (New Jersey) were the USA's first high school teams in 1882. High School USA   
1882 Mr. Polin, lacrosse player, Montreal, QC, 1882 with NLA Championship Banner Photograph Notman & Sandham February 28, 1882, 19th century championship Canada picture 
1882

On a trip to visit the Garry Lacrosse Club of Winnipeg, the Montreal Lacrosse Club visits Chicago and St. Paul,

At various times the club acknowledges pleasant memories of "fraternal courtesies" received at various times from the athletes and/citizens of New York, Boston, Portland, Baltimore, Washington, Newport, St. Albans and other places

international

club

 Manitoba

 Quebec

 USA

 
1882 Tthe National Lacrosse Association was renamed the National Amateur Lacrosse Association. Association    
1883

1883 edition of The Boy's Own Paper, contains a report on a three month tour of Great Britain and Ireland by a group of Canadians led by Dr. W.G. Beers of Montreal.

The tour is said to have given lacrosse "its second wind" with 60 or more clubs now in existence.

international

club

England

Ireland

Canada

 
1883 The Canadian Lacrossers from the pages of The English Lacrosse Association's website comes this fascinating glimpse into how lacrosse came to England ... by way of few visiting 'colonials' including an Iroquois professional team, that was arranged by Dr. W.G.Beers of Montreal. international England  
1883 Canadian lacrosse team, European competitors, Belfast, Ireland, 1883 Photograph international Ireland  picture
1883 Canadian lacrosse team and friends, Queens Hotel, Belfast, Ireland, 1883 international  Ireland  picture
1883 Canadian lacrosse team, European competitors, on board the "Oregon," Belfast Lough, Ireland, 1883 international  Ireland picture 
1883 Canadian and Kahnawake lacrosse teams, European competitors, Oxford, England, 1883 international 

England

Canada

Kahnawake

picture 
1883 Canadian lacrosse team, European competitors, Scarborough, England, 1883 international   picture
1883 Big John" and the Kahnawake lacrosse team, European competitors, Scarborough, England, 1883 First Nations Kahnawake  picture 
1883 Canadian and Kahnawake lacrosse teams competing at the Zoological Gardens, Clifton, England, 1883 First Nations

Kahnawake

Canada

England 

picture 
1883 Lacrosse on the Ice, on the Tank at Montreal Anonyme - Anonymous   Quebec picture 
1883 Melbourne University Lacrosse club formed in Australia College Australia  
1883 In March, the Edmonton Lacrosse Club was organized but, because of a lack of competition, it disbanded in 1885 Club Alberta  
1883 Lacrosse in Victoria, B.C. Club BC  
1883

Lacrosse Team in Victoria is recorded in photo available from the BC Archives. (dated Feb. 19. 1883; Photographer Spencer and Hastings)

Players shown in the photo are: W. Wadhams, A. Cameron, A.D. Crease, W. and R. McDonald, M. Walker (Captain), R. Finlayson, H. Smith, T. Bryden, H. Beaven, William Beaven, R. Harvey. The Photo shows Christ Church Cathedral in the background.

Club BC picture 
1883

Another tour of the British Isles by Canadian team, captained by W.G. Beers, and Indian team captained by Big John (Scattered Branches).

By arrangement with Dominion Government, tour members acted as "emigration agents" to attract settlers to Canadian West, and over 500,000 special copies of "Canadian Illustrated News" were distributed at matches, together with 150,000 sundry other publications on Canada

international England  
1884

The Calgary Lacrosse Club was organized in 1884 with Captain Boynton serving as the club's first president. The club's membership swelled to thirty, with games among the club members being held periodically on weekends and, on several occasions, competitions took place between the citizens and the police.

After lagging interest, the Calgary Lacrosse Club was re-organized in 1887 when Mr. Boag, a teacher who was to be elected as the club's president, organized a lacrosse meeting at the school house. The Calgary Lacrosse Club operated in a local manner for several years.

Club Alberta  
1885  Young Canadians" of Richmond Hill  Club Ontario  
1886  Despite the 1883 picture cited above, most sources suggest that the first recorded game in British Columbia was played at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria between teams from Victoria and Vancouver  Club BC  
1886  The New York Times reports that an Irish team are to meet crack players of the US and Canada and that "Great care has been shown in the selection of the Irish lacrosse team now on the Etruria, and expected here this morning. It is composed of the most prominent players of the principal clubs in Ireland. " The story is can be found here. (pdf)  International Ireland  
1886 Irish Lacrosse Team, Montreal, QC, 1887 Wm. Notman & Son  international Ireland  
1887 Victoria Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, 1887   club Quebec picture 
1887 The Toronto Lacrosse Club breaks away from the National Amateur Lacrosse Union leading to the formation of the Canadian Lacrosse Association. Association    
1887 Canadian Lacrosse Championship (J. Allan Lowe Cup) held between C.L.A. (Western Ontario) and N.A.L.A. (Eastern Ontario and Quebec) Championship    
1888

N.A.L.A. introduced a very important rule change:

fixed time limit for lacrosse matches replaced previous "best 3 out of 5" games format (note: 1 goal = 1 game in the old rules).

rules    
1888 The first lacrosse tournament was held in Kamloops with Victoria beating Vancouver in the final game. BC BC  
1889 National Amateur Lacrosse Union formed by 5 senior teams from Montreal, Toronto, Cornwall and Ontario. Association Canada  
1889 N.A.L.A now controlled only junior clubs Association Canada  
1890

St Leonards claims to be the first girls' school to have played lacrosse.

Records give details of the House matches played during the Spring Term 1890.

The hour long games featured teams of eight.

An earlier letter, from the schools first Headmistress, Miss Louisa Lumsden, (later to become Dame Louisa) home from White Mountains, New Hampshire that is dated September 6th 1884 tells of her visit to watch the Caughnawaga Indians , play lacrosse against the Montreal Club. In it she notes: "It is a wonderful game, beautiful and graceful. (I was so charmed with it that I introduced it at St Leonards)". History of Lacrosse at St Leonards Scotland

School

Womens

Scotland  
1890 

British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association incorporated on March 22, 1890 with three teams:

Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster

Association BC  
1890 

Constitution and Rules British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association adopted March 22nd, 1890, revise April 8th 1899 

Includes Rules and Historical Information about early lacrosse in British Columbia Including Conventions and Officers of the BCALA ffrom 1890 through 1899 (image of each page may be scrolled through)

Asssociation BC  story
1890  New Westminster Salmonbellies Lacrosse Club Formed  Club BC  
1890 During the 1890 season, Johns Hopkins did away with the traditional long passes from defense to offense, opting instead for short passes and a greater emphasis on running while in possession of the ball.  College USA  
1890  First recorded lacrosse game in Maritimes; probably played at Saint John, N.B.  club N.B.  
1891 Literally days before Dr. James A. Naismith invented basketball in 1891, he tried out different sports in the Springfield College gymnasium including an attempt to play lacrosse indoors College USA  
~ 1890s

Nass River, O.M.S. Kincolith Lacrosse Team.

A photo showing an early Indian team can be found in the BC Archives here

First Nations Kincolith picture 
1896 Western Canada Lacrosse Association Formed, for Prairie provinces Association Canada  
1898  Johns Hopkins began changing their sticks to make them more position-specific: attackmen were given shorter sticks with small nets, defenders were given long sticks significantly lightened to improve speed and accuracy, and goalies were given sticks with very large nets.  equipment USA  
1892 The sport became quite popular in Bristol, Cheshire, Lancashire, London, Manchester , and Yorkshire, and the English Lacrosse Union was organized in 1892. Association England   
1896

Constitution and by-laws of the Capital Lacrosse Club : adopted May 15th, 1896, Victoria, B.C.

  • The Province
  • Victoria, B.C.
  • 1896
Association BC story
1900 Lacrosse Club, Montreal, QC, about 1900 club Quebec  
1900

Important lacrosse rules changes:

goal nets introduced

baggy" stick to permit easier catching and carrying of the ball

rules    
1901

Lord Minto, the Governor General of Canada, donated a silver cup to become the symbol of the championship of Canada for amateur teams. Within three years the cup became symbolic of professional Champions of Canada.

The Minto Cup, today the symbol of supremacy in the Junior ranks, remains one of the proudest prizes of Lacrosse.

Minto Cup (supplemental)

Trophy Canada story 
1901 The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary) were present at the first game played for the Minto Cup between the Capitals of Ottawa and Cornwall in 1901 (winners Ottawa Capitals) Royalty championship Canada  
1901 Ottawa Capitals defeated New York Crescents at Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo to win North American Championship  international

Canada

USA

 
1903  Kamloops Star Lacrosse Team (photo in British Columbia Archives)  Club BC picture 
1904 

Lacrosse was an Olympic sport in St. Louis (Canada, England, USA were the only participants)

Canada took the Gold medal (Shamrock L.C. Winnipeg)

Mohawk Indians (Brantford) took the Bronze 

Olympics

First Nations

Canada

USA

England

Mohawk 
 
1904

Shamrock Lacrosse Club, 1904. (with the Minto Cup) The Champions of the World.

[Centre: Thos. O'Connell. Inside group: J. Currie, P.F. Brennan, J. Kavanagh, H. Hoobin. Outside group: E. Robinson, J. Howard, W. Hennessey, P. O'Reilley, J. Brennan, Jos. Valois, J. McIlwaine, M. Kenny, J. Hogan, H. Smith.]

Club Quebec picture 
1904 A photo in the British Columbia Archives shows a 1904 Kamloops youth lacrosse team    BC  picture
1907 Canadian Lacrosse Association's Ontario All-Star team, then playing across Canada on their way to Vancouver, as part of an around-the-world trip promoting the national game.      
1907  Australia's first international lacrosse match against Canada was played at the famous Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) before a crowd of 30,000

international

Australia   
1908  Alberta Lacrosse Association formed 

Association

Alberta   
1908  Lacrosse was an Olympic sport in 1904 in London (Canada, England were the only participants). This was the first truly representative Canadian Lacrosse team. Canada takes the Gold medal

Olympic

 

 

Canada 

England

 
1908  New Westminster wins its first Minto Cup (then given to the top senior team in Canada)  championship Canada  
1908 Photo of the New Westminster Salmonbellies "Champions of the World" is available on the BC Archives here  Club B.C. picture 
1910  University of Toronto lacrosse team won Intercollegiate Championship of North America (thos team on the same title in 1910)

College

International

Canada

USA

 
1910

The Mann Cup, donated by Sir Donald Mann, chief architect of the Canadian Northern Railway, donated a gold cup (valued at $2,500) to be awarded, as a challenge trophy for the Canadian amateur senior champion team. The first winners were Young Toronto Club.

Mann Cup (Supplemental) 

Trophy Canada story 
1910

In 1910, Glenn "Pop" Warner, Athletic Director at the Carlisle Indian School, (and now famous for the "Pop Warner Youth Football program) replaced baseball with lacrosse as the school's Spring sport because of the "evils of professional baseball" and the fact that many Carlisle Indian School students had been lured away from school into "temptations and bad company by professional baseball offers."

He is also quoted as saying "Lacrosse is a developer of health and strength. It is a game that spectators rave over once the understand it." The famed US Olympic hero James Thorpe played lacrosse at the School.

School USA   
1910 Squamish Lacrosse Team 1910-1930, 20th century  Photograph First Nations B.C. picture 
1910

Oxford University Lacrosse Team

ca. 1910 - 1911 / Oxford, England Canadians:

First row: Laurent Beaudry (right)

Second row: A. Yates (second from left), Gustave Lanctot (right), F.E. Hawkins (second from right)

Third row: S. Johnson, E.A. Munro, H.T. Logan (left to right)

College England picture 
1911 Vancouver Athletic Club wins the first of 4 consecutive Mann Cup Championships Championship Canada  
1911

The Vancouver Lacrosse Club

Front row: M. Barr, N. Carter, A. Adamson, B. Fitzgerald, E. Lalonde, D. Phelan, S. Nichols, S. Sumner, B. Allen. Back row: H. Cowan, H. Woodman, B. West, G. Matheson, F. Ion, H. Godfrey, C. Jones, H. Pickering, H. Griffith, B. Clark, P. Muldoon, L. Yorke.

Club B.C. picture 
1911 National Professional Lacrosse Union Formed professional Canada  
1912 North Shore Lacrosse Team About 1912, 20th century

First Nations

Squamish picture 
1912 The PCALA grew to four teams with the addition of Vancouver Fairview

League

B.C.  
1912 Canadian Amateur Lacrosse Association formed, as part of Amateur Athletic Union of Canada Association Canada  
1912 Dominion Lacrosse Association (professional union) formed professional Canada  
1913 High School Lacrosse in New Westminster School B.C.  
1913 John Robson High School (New Westminster) youth lacrosse team photo on the BC Archives here School B.C.  picture
1913 Girls lacrosse teams at St. Leonards have expanded to 12 a side by this time School Scotland   
1915 New Westminster Salmonbellies win the first of 3 consecutive Mann Cup Championships (after a two year break they would win another 6 in a row from 1920-1925 and then win once more in 1927 before going on a decade long drought) Championship Canada  
1925 C.A.L.A re-formed as central controlling body to re-introduce unified rules and national championships, in effort to revive amateur lacrosse. Association Canada  
1925 The Canadian Lacrosse Association ( l'Association canadienne de crosse), founded in 1925 is the governing body of lacrosse in Canada Association Canada  
1925 Mann Cup series became regular national amateur competition, alternating between east and west each year. championship Canada  
1926 Rosabelle Sinclair reestablishes women's lacrosse in the United States when she starts a team at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore. School USA   
1928 Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the Olympics in 1928 in Amsterdam. The New Westminster Salmonbellies field lacrosse club represented Canada with the result being a three-way, one win-one loss tie with each of the three competing teams having scored 12 goals. The U.S. suggested a three-way playoff to decide a single victor; Canada agreed but England refused. The Olympic committee then declared all three teams gold medal winners. Olympic

Canada

England

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1928 The Salmonbellies Olympic team toured Holland, France, Germany, Belgium, England, Scotland and the Eastern United States international    
1930 North Shore Athletics Lacrosse team Photograph Gift of Squamish Indian Band Office First Nations Squamish  
1930 Joseph Lally Trophy, emblematic of North American Amateur field lacrosse championship, presented first time: won by Oshawa, Ontario team.

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1930 First box lacrosse ("boxla") league formed with 2 Ontario and 2 Montreal clubs box

Ontario

Quebec

 
1931

Although its origins are somewhat shrouded, Box Lacrosse was first played about this time. Some maintain that the game just naturally evolved around 1929 0r 1930 in Ontario when some lacrosse players in Ontario noticed hockey rinks sitting empty in the summer an moved in just to shoot the ball around. However according to Cleeve Dheenshaw (Lacrosse 100: One Hundred Years of Lacrosse in B.C. 1990. Victoria: Orca Book Publishers) some sources give the credit to a British Columbian, Jim McConaghy:

...[Jim McConaghy] apparently read a newspaper account of lacrosse being played in Australia with just seven men a side instead of the twelve men used in Canada, and that the Australians were playing the game in an enclosed indoor box instead of outdoors. Strangely enough, the story turned out to have no shred of truth in it whatsoever, but some old-timers insist it gave McConaghy the idea to go to the Canadian Amateur Lacrosse Association in 1931 with the idea for box lacrosse,

box Canada  
 1931 The first box lacrosse games in BC were played at the PNE (in the old Horse Show Building) and at Queens Park Arena. box B.C.  
 1931 C.A.L.A adopted box lacrosse as its official game

box

rules

Canada   
1932 Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Teams from Canada and the United States played three games, with the team from the United States winning the series 2 games to 1. Games were played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of large crowds of about 75,000 people. Olympic

USA

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1932 The NY Times, in its May 10th edition, reports under the title "The Gentle Pastime of Box Lacrosse" that a game will be played at the Gardens between Newsy Lalonde's professional champions, the Canadians of Montreal and the Maple Leafs of Toronto.

professional

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Canada  
1932 80,000 people watched a lacrosse match between Johns Hopkins University and Canada international

USA

Canada

 
 ~ 1930's Promoters in Canada married the two most popular games, Lacrosse and Hockey, and created Indoor Lacrosse, also known as Box Lacrosse or Boxla. By the mid 30's the field game had been almost completely replaced by Boxla and the box version became the official sport of the Canadian Lacrosse Association.  Box Canada  
1933  Interest in the final game of the Mann Cup championship was so high that the final game (won by the eastern champion Hamilton Tigers) had to be moved by the Host New Westminster Salmonbellies to the Denman Arena of Frank Patrick where 11,000 fans took in the boxla match. The display of talent in this series is said to have cemented the position of Box Lacrosse in British Columbia. Championship

Canada

B.C.

 
1933 

Leo Nicholson made first radio broadcasts of box lacrosse in Vancouver 

Leo Nicholson (supplemental)

Box B.C.  story
1936  North Shore Aboriginals lacrosse team. Photograph North Shore Aboriginals lacrosse team 1936, 20th century  First Nations Squamish  picture
1937 Robert Pool introduces the first double-walled wooden stick, an early prototype for today's plastic sticks. equipment    
1937 Pamphlet Official Box-LaProgram - Inter City League Hastings Park Vancouver 20 July 1937, 20th century Box B.C.  picture
1937 Minto Cup placed in junior competition Championship    
1939 Box Lacrosse professional International League formed, with teams from Vancouver, New Westminster, Seattle plus an Indian team.

Box professional international

Canada USA  
1947 The men's field game positions change from goalkeeper, point, cover point, first defense, second defense, center, second attack, first attack and in home to goal keeper, attack, midfield and defense. rules    
1948 Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the Olympics in 1948 (London). Only England and the United States participated. Olympics

England

USA

 
1954  Peterborough Trailerman set Mann Cup record by being the first team to win 4 Nabb Cup titles in a row. championship    
1957 Ontario Minor Lacrosse Association formed, to develp and administer age categories association Ontario  
1960 Development of Minor Lacrosse Youth Canada  
1961 The only shutout in the history of Mann Cup play -- Don Hamilton's blanking of Brampton 13-0 on September 23, 1961 championship Canada  
1967

First International Lacrosse Foundation (ILF) sanctioned World Cup held in Toronto. Won by USA, Canada placed third.

This World Feld Lacrosse Championship really began the concept of international play.

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USA

Canada

 
1967

The Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame was the brain child of Tom Gordon. He was ably supported by Jack Fulton, Harry McKnight, Art Daoust, and Bill Ellison. It was first proposed in 1963 at a Canadian Lacrosse Association Annual Meeting, and adopted at the next CLA AGM. It was registered with the BC Societies Act in 1965. At the CLA AGM in Montreal on January 19, 1966, forty-eight first members were inducted to the Hall.

As a result of continued effort by Jack Fulton, supported by Harry McKnight and Don Benson, the official opening of the Hall as part of New Westminster Parks Board, took place on May 17, 1967.

History of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame

Association Canada  story
1968 Professional lacrosse league formed with 8 teams League

Canada 

USA

 
1969 First National PeeWee Tournament Youth Canada  
1969 For the first time, organized lacrosse leagues in all provinces and both territories League Canada  
1969

Oshawa, Ontario, team won Minto Cup for record seventh consecutive year. Perhaps no team at any level has so dominated its sport as the Oshawa Green Gaels did from 1963-1969 with its 7 consecutive Minto Cup Canadian Championships.

The Green Gaels definately not only achieved a high level of achievemen but also brought recognition of the sport at the national level. 

Oshawa Green Gaels 1963 - 1969 (supplemental)

Championship Canada  story
1974 Second ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Melbourne Australia. Canada tied second (with Australia and England) Championship

USA

Canada

Australia

England

 
1974 Eagle Professional Box Lacrosse League Formed Professional ????  
1977 First official Canadian Girl's Lacrosse Championship held in Toronto Championship Canada  
1978 Box Lacrosse was the demonstration sport at the Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton with Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand participating. Canada placed first international

Canada England New Zealand Australia

 
1978

Third ILF Sanctioned World Cup Held in Stockport, England.

In the finals, in what the international lacrosse community dubbed "...what must be ranked as one of the most surprising comebacks since Lazarus strode from the crypt" Team Canada captured the Championship with a 17-16 double overtime win over the U.S. team.

Canadian team wins its first World Lacrosse Championship in Stockport, England (Changed the future of international lacrosse and the creation of Pro Leagues)

Team Canada - Field 1978 (supplemental)

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England

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story 
1980

First World Box Lacrosse Championship - 'Nations in 80 held in Vancouver. Canada West (Coquitlam Adanacs) placed first

Down Memory Lane - The Nations in 80

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Canada Australia story 
1982

Fourth ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Baltimore, Maryland. Canada placed third

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Canada

 
1982

First Senior Women's World Cup held in Nottingham, England. Canada placed third

Canada sends its first Women’s Field Lacrosse National Team to first World Championship tournament in Nottingham, England.

This  signifies the beginning of Women’s Field Lacrosse in Canada

championship

England

Canada

 
1984 Major Indoor Lacrosse League formed in eastern USA League USA  
1986 Fifth ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Toronto. Canada placed second Championship Canada  
1986 Second Senior Women's World Cup held in Philadelphia, USA.Canada placed fourth championship

USA

Canada

 
1987 Beginning of National Lacrosse League (box) which led to the MLL and other leagues league    
1988 First International Junior Men's World Cup held in Adelaide, Australia. Canada placed second championship

Australia

Canada

 
1989 Third Senior Women's World Cup held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Canada placed fourth. championship

Scotland

Canada

 
1990 Sixth ILF Sanctioned World Cup held in Perth, Australia. Canada placed second. Championship

Australia

Canada

 
1992 Second International Junior Men's World Cup held in New York Championship

USA

Canada

 
1992 National Lacrosse League (NLL) four team circuit formed in Ontario League Ontario  
1993 Fourth Senior Women's World Cup held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Canada placed fourth Championship

Scotland

Canada

 
1994 Parliament proclaims Lacrosse Canada's National Summer Sport (Bill C-212)   Canada  
1994 Field Lacrosse was the demonstration sport at the Commonwealth Games (held in Victoria) international

England

Canada

 
1994 Seventh ILF Sanctioned World Cup held in Manchester, England. Canada placed third championship

England

Canada

 
1995 Fifth Senior Women's World Cup held in Haverford, USA. Canada placed fourth Championship USA Canada  
1996 Third Junior Men's World Cup held in Tokyo, Japan. Canada placed third. championship

Japan

USA

Canada

 
1998 ILF sanctioned World Cup held in Baltimore, Maryland, Canada placed second (losing by one goal in overtime) championship USA Canada  
1998 At NCAA tournament Gary Gait first took his famous "Air Gait" shot college USA  story
2001 The IFWLA World Cup is played in High Wycombe, England where the U.S. defeated Australia for the cup championship

USA

England

Australia

 
2002 The International Lacrosse Federation World Championship is played in Perth, Australia. The U.S. defeats Canada for the championship.

championship

international

USA

Canada

Australia 

 
2003 The ILF and IFWLA U-19 World Championships are held in Towson, Maryland. championship USA  
2003

The World Indoor Lacrosse Championship 

Canada hosts first ever sanctioned FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship was contested by six nations at four sites in Ontario, Canada.

Canada won the championship in a final game against the Iroqouis, 21-4.and wins Gold. Canada has won all of the Indoor Championships including 2007, 2011 and 2015.

(6 Countries then - 20 countries by 2017)

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Canada

Iroqouis

 
2005 The IFWLA World Cup is played in Annapolis, Maryland (U.S.) and won by Australia, which defeated the U.S. 14-7 in the gold medal game.

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international

Australia USA  
2006

The International Lacrosse Federation World Championship is played in London, Ontario (Canada).

Canada wins the title with a 15-10 victory over the U.S. in the gold medal game, snapping the American men's 38-game winning streak, dating back to 1978.

This was the Canadian Men’s Field Lacrosse Team second FIL championship (Not a miracle like in 1978 - a coming of age for our field lacrosse program)

Team Canada Men\'s Field 2006 (supplemental)

championship

Canada

USA

story 
2007

The 2007 WILC was held in Halifax, Canada. Teams from Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Iroquois Nationals, Scotland and the United States competed. 

The Canadian team beat the Iroquois Nationals, 15-14 in overtime for the championship

championship

Canada

Iroquois

USA 

 
2014 Canadian Men’s Field Lacrosse Team wins its third FIL championship (Shut down and dominated US in championship game)

Championship

International

Canada

USA

 
2015

Lacrosse Comes Home: FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship hosted by HaudenosauneeNation.

Gold Medal - Canada; Silver Medal - Iroquois

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Canada

Iroquois

USA

story
2015  Canada wins its first FIL Women’s U19 World Championship in Edinburgh, Scotland. (The first international gold medal for Canadian Women.)

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international