Mr. Blackburn
English 1
1 April 2012
History of Lacrosse
Lacrosse is an ancient sport that was used to pass time and was played to practice and improve the Native American people’s skills. The way lacrosse was played then is a lot different than how is played today. Also, the rules have changed a lot over the years regarding positions, equipment and even how the game is played. The history of lacrosse can be traced all the way back to our ancient ancestors, the Native Americans. Lacrosse is an old, Native American, and highly technical sport which is played today by elementary school students through professional leagues. Lacrosse is a very old sport and can be traced all the way back to the Native Americans. Back in 1636, a French missionary named Jean de Brebeuf had first recorded the game of lacrosse. Lacrosse had soon become a very popular game around the world. Queen Victoria of England had watched and even “endorsed” a lacrosse game in Windsor, England. Sometimes, this sport was even used to settle disputes over land and other things to avoid war and bloodshed. Dr. William George Beers, who is also known as “the father of modern lacrosse”, had finalized the first set of playing rules in 1867. Twenty-four years later, in 1881, the very first college tournament was held in New York. Lacrosse has continuously evolved into what it is today. Lacrosse was played differently back then compared to how it is played today. The most major change is the field size. At first, when the Indians started to play it, the fields could be as long as 15 miles in length and today the fields are only 110 yards long and 60 yards wide! In some early games, there could be as many as 1,000 players on each side from the same or different tribes. Today, a team is only allowed to have 9 players and a goalie. Another major change is the equipment. Back then, southern tribesmen used two, two and a half foot sticks while northern tribesmen used one, three foot stick