A version of the team sport of lacrosse originated in North America in approximately what year?

The team sport of lacrosse is one of the sports in North America. There is strong evidence that a version of the sport of lacrosse originated in what is now Canada as early as 1100 AD. Native Americans played the sport (lacrosse) throughout modern Canada, around the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic seaboard, and Southern part of what is now the United States.

Most historians now agree that the precursor to modern day lacrosse was invented by the Huron and Iroquois tribes living around the St. Lawrence River, in what is now New York and Ontario. Baggataway, as the sport (lacrosse) was called by the Native Americans, was a highly spiritual and culturally embedded activity. It was used as a means for conflict resolution, healing the sick, and giving thanks to the Creator. In the early days of the sport, it was also used to train young Native American warriors in the art of battle.

The first steps the sport of lacrosse took to become a legitimate modern sport came when the Montreal Lacrosse Club (formed in 1856) developed the first set of written rules. In 1867, the sport was then standardized when it adopted a set of field dimensions, limited the number of players per team, and obtained other basic rules. W. George Beers, known as “The Father of Lacrosse,” also replaced the deerskin ball with a hard rubber ball and designed a stick better equipped for catching and accurately passing the ball.