Watch Hockey A Peoples History online: Episode 1 A Simple Game (1875-1905)

The origins of hockey can be traced back to the ancient pyramids, but when the puck is dropped on a strange new game one winter's night in 1875, a young country has a new passion that explodes across class and gender. At first it's played by the wealthy. It's in these circles that hockey finds its first patron - Lord Stanley of Preston, who gives the sport its Holy Grail. The game eventually breaks out across the country, played by women, plumber's helpers, university students and countless other groups. As the game struggles to deal with its growing reputation for violence, it faces its greatest challenge: the onset of professionalism.

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