What century did lacrosse originate?

Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball.

Lacrosse is based on games played by various Native American communities as early as 1100 AD. By the 17th century, a version of lacrosse was well-established and was documented by Jesuit missionary priests in the territory of present-day Canada.

French Jesuit missionaries working in the St. Lawrence Valley in the 1630s were the first Europeans to see lacrosse being played by the Native American Indians. One of them, Jean de Brébeuf, wrote about the game being played by the Huron Indians in 1636 and it was he who the named the game “lacrosse”.

Interest in the game of lacrosse began to develop in Canada. A Canadian dentist, Dr William George Beers, was responsible for founding the Montreal Lacrosse Club in 1856 and a decade later he drew up rules which included reducing the number of players, introducing a rubber ball and a redesigned stick.

By 1860 lacrosse had become Canada’s national game and in 1867 exhibition games were played in England. In 1876 Queen Victoria watched a game being played and remarked that “The game is very pretty to watch.”

More Info: worldlacrosse.sport

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26 Comments

Skip Hayden

Not correct answer. The tribes were playing lacrosse long before the white man appeared in North America

Albeck1994

Bad question, lacrosse originated centuries before, just because Europeans didn't see it until 17th century, doesn't make that the origin.

Christine Perfect

Canadian native Indians started the game in the 1100's!

Denise Currie

Wrong again Carol, it was much earlier. Native Americans were playing this game centuries before this

Ray Anderson

If it is based on a game played in the 1100s then 17th century can't be the correct answer can it?

Ken Putnam

This time, even the wiki is better acrosse is based on games played by various Native American communities as early as 1100 AD

Jillian Kearns

Interestingnas usual.

Char

Skip Hayden, that's what I figured too

Angeles Dembowski

Again an incorrect answer is given as correct!

earlepg

Since Carol was the author of this question, my answer, after eliminating the later periods, was the 17 century. However, since it was obviously the natives that invented it, it must have started some unkown centuries earlier.

Marianne

I didn't know the answer so I had to eliminate 20th and 21st centuries. There were no reports from the 9th century, therefore, it had to be the 17th. Nevertheless, I stand corrected. Lacrosse is far more ancient.

Becca Blackstar

Yes much earlier than the answer.

Dog001

All the white man rules did was destroy the game. The original game had no set goal posts or size of field. It was usually this tree to this cliff or river obstacle and the field could be 10 kilometers or more in length, it was the distance between two agreed upon settlements or well known geographical feature known to the local inhabitants. The teams could be 50 to 100 men in size. How long did the game last, Sun up to Sundown, and it was followed with a big feast and celebration. All the rules did was make it easier on the white man who could only run around for 15 to 20 minutes before needing a rest period.

Chris Braid

A poor and a poorly worded question!

David Stokes

The answer is a "whitewash". Native Americans (if that is the way to describe American Aboriginals, or First Nations Peoples) invented and played this "game" centuries before white settlement. How long is not known. As a game it was deadly serious, deadly being the operative word.