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Did you know …

that the second organized hockey team in history was the Montreal Victorias, which debuted in 1881 and later went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1895, holding it from that year until 1899 (except for a challenge loss to the Winnipeg Victorias in 1896) when they lost it for good to the Montreal Shamrocks?

When was the first game in the National Hockey League played?

The first two games in the spanking new National Hockey League were played on December 19, 1917. The Montreal Wanderers edged the Toronto Arenas 10–9 and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 7–4. The Wanderers’ match only attracted 700 fans. Unfortunately for the Wanderers, once one of the greatest hockey teams and winners of the Stanley Cup four times, their arena burned down two weeks later and the franchise folded.

What was the first hockey book?

Montrealer and Hockey Hall of Famer Arthur Farrell was a star forward with the Montreal Shamrocks, winners of the Stanley Cup in 1899 and 1900. Farrell published the first known hockey book in 1899. It was called Hockey: Canada’s Royal Winter Game and was more of a manual for the sport than a meditation about it, but at least it was a start. Farrell subsequently produced two other hockey publications. The third outlined the origins of the game, detailed the rules in Canada and the United States, and featured comments by Canadian hockey stars on the art of playing various positions. You might say Farrell was an early precursor of the likes of superstar goalie Ken Dryden and the celebrated hockey journalist Roy MacGregor, but combined in one person.