“He shoots, he scores!”
“He shoots, he scores! Barilko! Barilko has won the Stanley Cup for the Leafs!”
– Foster Hewitt, Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster, 1951
Hockey’s roots go back centuries, to ancient stick-and-ball games and British field hockey. But the sport we know today evolved in Canada during the 1800s, heavily influenced by lacrosse, with the first organised game held in Montreal in 1875.
Hockey made its big Toronto debut in 1888 at the Granite Curling Club, a private social and athletic club that still exists today. The Toronto Granites were the city’s first organised hockey team, and they won that first game. The club would go on to represent Canada at the Olympics in 1924, and they brought home our country’s second hockey gold medal.
Hockey runs deep in Toronto. It’s been played in the city for more than 135 years and, as many can attest, it has led to some of our greatest celebrations and most heartbreaking disappointments.