Figure 1.-- This is the Moncton Red Sox, from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The portrait was taken during the 1922-23 season. Almost unbeaten in 1922, just one loss! The boys all had French names.

The most popular sport in Canada is ice hockey and many Canadian boys play the sport. The Canadians maintain that ice hockey actually originated in Canada. Despite the fact that Canada was a British colony, Canadians appear to have pursued American sports like baseball, basketball, and football more than British sports like cricket and soccer. We notice both French-Canandian as well as English-Canadian boys playing sports like baseball. A Canadian reader writes, "Notice, that even at the height of the British Empire, Canada had North American sports." We do not know if there was any difference between the French and English community as to sports. We do not know if experiences such as Little League Baseball and beginning in the 1970s soccer leagues were also common in Canada. A Candian readerwrites, "Soccer has overtaken baseball in popularity as a summer sport in Canada in recent times. Rugby is also becoming very popular, being played in most high schools. Even cricket is catching on a bit with the influx of Commonwealth immigrants into large Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Toronto. Canada now has national rugby and cricket teams. However, hockey remains the number one sport." [Alcock] One sport that is uniquely Canadian is lacrosse. The origins of the came appear to be Native american. I am not sure to what extent lacrosse is played in Canada. It is played in America, but is primarily played in the northeast at the college level.

Chronology

Sports have a long history. But for most of history were the province of elites. This began to change (19th century). The rise of the middle class was important in the development of sports as well as the increasing prosperity of the working class. Britain and France were espilly important in he developmnt of modern sports. The modern popularity of sports began to devlop in the 20th century, espcially after mid-century. Urbanization and public education. Prfessonal teams began to appear after mid-century, but it would not until the 20th century that sports became a major activity and a big time aspect of culture. What was very imporant in the 19th century was gymnastics. There were gymnastic clubs. We note Montreal had an annual Gymnastics Congress. Gynastics is what many schools focused on in the 19th century and not the team games that now dominate modern sports. The big developments were in the United States, but Canada usually followed American developments.

Specific Sports

We have some limited information on specific sports in Canada. Several sports are played. Here there is both an American and British influence. Canada is one of the several northern countries where ice hockey is a passion. The most popular sport in Canada is ice hockey and many Canadian boys play the sport. Many Canadians maintain that ice hockey actually originated in Canada. Hockey is considered by most Canadians as the national game and its most important contribution to international athletics. It has been a major interest in Canada since the early 20th century.

Ethnic/National Differences

Despite the fact that Canada was a British colony, Canadians appear to have pursued American sports like baseball, basketball, and football more than British sports like cricket and soccer. We are not sure about differences between English anf French speaking Canadians. A Canadian reader writes, "Notice, that even at the height of the British Empire, Canada had North American sports." We do not know if there was any difference between the French and English community as to sports. We do not know if experiences such as Little League Baseball and beginning in the 1970s soccer leagues were also common in Canada.

Sources

Alcock, James. E-mail message, November 26, 2003

Created: November 26, 2003
Last updated: 1:39 PM 2/23/2025