Historically 4,000-year-old drawings found in the Beni Hasan tombs, in the Nile Valley, Egypt depicted men playing the sport. However the modern game called hockey was being played in English public schools in the early 19th century. Lord Lytton wrote in 1853 that On the common some young men were playing at hockey. That old-fashioned game, now very uncommon in England, except at schools…. Hockey’s popularity increased with that of other team games. A version of the game played in south-east London was rougher than the modern version, played on a very large field (247m by 64m), and used a cube of black rubber and rough sticks planed on one side.
The modern game was developed on the other side of London by Middlesex cricket clubs, especially Teddington Hockey Club . The members of these clubs were looking for winter exercise, but did not particularly care for football. From these beginnings field hockey has flourished worldwide to become a highly skilled, game for participants of all ages and both genders. In fact it could be arguably marketed as the ‘true’ family sport.
