A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. [1]
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wickets with three consecutive deliveries. Fans held a collection for Stephenson, and presented him with a hat bought with the proceeds. [2] [3] [4] The term was used in print for the first time in 1865 in the Chelmsford Chronicle. [5] [ non-primary source needed ] The term was eventually adopted by many other sports including hockey, association football, [6] Formula 1 racing, rugby, and water polo.
A hat-trick [7] [8] occurs in association football when a player scores three goals (not necessarily consecutive) in a single game, [9] whereas scoring two goals (in a single match) is called a brace. [10] [11] In common with other official record-keeping rules, all goals scored during the regulation 90 minutes, plus extra time if required, are counted but goals in a penalty shootout are excluded from the tally. [12] The fastest recorded time to score a hat-trick is 70 seconds, a record set by Alex Torr in a Sunday league game in 2013. [13] The previous record of 90 seconds was held by Tommy Ross playing for Ross County against Nairn County on 28 November 1964. [14] The record of the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick [15] was set by Ntinos Pontikas in 1996, [16] [17] while Pelé in 1958 became the youngest to achieve a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup. [18] [19]
After just 18 months and 17 days, the book on the greatest hat-trick of the 21st century was already closed.
— Rob Smyth of The Guardian on Rivaldo’s hat-trick for Barcelona against Valencia in June 2001. [20]
The first hat-trick [21] achieved in an international game was by Scottish player John McDougall, against England on 2 March 1878. [22] German Erwin Helmchen scored 141 official hat-tricks in his career with Pelé having 92. [23] American player Bert Patenaude scored the first hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup, against Paraguay in the inaugural event in 1930. Three hat-tricks have been scored in a World Cup final: by Geoff Hurst for England in the 1966 final against West Germany, [24] by Carli Lloyd for the USA against Japan in the 2015 Women's World Cup final and by Kylian Mbappé for France in the 2022 final against Argentina. [25] Lloyd's was, at 16 minutes, the fastest from kick-off in any World Cup match. However, the fastest World Cup hat-trick, as measured by time between goals, belongs to Fabienne Humm of Switzerland, who scored in the 47th, 49th and 52nd minutes against Ecuador in the 2015 group stage.[ citation needed ]
Traditionally, a player who scores a hat-trick is allowed to keep the match ball as a memento. [26]
Football has also extended the term, with a perfect hat-trick being when a player scores one right-footed goal, one left-footed goal and one headed goal within one match. [27] [28] [29] In Germany and Austria, the term (German : lupenreiner) Hattrick (flawless hat-trick) refers to when a player scores three goals in a row in one half without the half-time break or a goal scored by another player interrupting the performance. [30]
In the past, the term was occasionally used to describe when a player struck out three times in a baseball game, and the term golden sombrero was more commonly used when a player struck out four times in a game.
In recent years, hat trick has been more often used to describe when a player hits three home runs in a game.
For example, on 29 August 2015, Toronto Blue Jays fans celebrated Edwin Encarnación's third home run of the game by throwing hats onto the field, similar to the tradition in ice hockey. [31]
A hat-trick occurs in cricket when an individual bowler takes three wickets with consecutive deliveries in the same match.
In Gaelic football, a hat-trick can refer to goals or to points scored.
Eoin Liston scored a second-half hat-trick in the 1978 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. [32]
Michael Quinlivan scored a second-half hat-trick against Armagh in the final game of the 2017 National Football League to secure promotion to Division 2 for Tipperary. [33] [34]
Jack McCaffrey's total of 1–3 in the 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final (drawn game) involved a "classic hat-trick" of points, sent over the bar with fist and both feet. [35]
Cillian O'Connor's four goals (accompanied by nine points) in the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final at Croke Park broke the 5–3 record set by Johnny Joyce of Dublin in 1960 and matched with 3–9 by Rory Gallagher of Fermanagh in 2002 for the highest individual scorer in any championship football match. [36] [37]
David Clifford scored a hat-trick against Galway in the opening round of the 2021 National Football League. [38]
The term hat-trick is only occasionally used in gridiron football, usually for rhetorical flourish in sports writing. Usually an offensive player scoring three touchdowns in a single game is awarded a hat-trick.
Additionally, the term is applied to a defensive player, often an edge rusher, who in a single scrimmage play performs a sack which causes the quarterback to fumble, and then recovers that fumble. [39]
In handball, if a player scores thrice in a game, a hat-trick is made.
In field hockey and ice hockey, a hat trick occurs when a player scores three goals in a single game. A hat trick in ice hockey, as it is known in its current form, culminates with fans throwing hats onto the ice from the stands. The tradition is said to have begun among fans in the National Hockey League around the 1950s, [40] with several conflicting legends from the Canadian cities of Toronto, Montreal, and Guelph of various hatmakers offering a free hat to players who scored a hat trick. [41] [42] [43] [44]
In 1944 the Winnipeg Free Press (29 November 1944, p. 14)[ full citation needed ] reported that "hockey's traditional ‘hat-trick’ – the feat of scoring three goals in a single game – will receive official recognition from the Amateur Hockey Association" of the US by awarding a small silver derby hat to players to mark the accomplishment.
In 1946, the Biltmore Hat Company in Guelph, ON sponsored the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters, a junior affiliate team of the NHL's New York Rangers. When a Mad Hatters player recorded a Hat Trick, hats were thrown on the ice and the player received a new Biltmore fedora after the game to honor his accomplishment.
Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for the most hat tricks in a career with 50. Harry Hyland scored the league's first hat trick, in the league's first game on 18 December 1917, in which Hyland's Montreal Wanderers defeated the Toronto Arenas 10–9. [45]
In ice hockey, a natural hat trick occurs when a player scores three consecutive goals, uninterrupted by any other player scoring for either team. [46] The NHL record for the fastest natural hat trick is 21 seconds, set by Bill Mosienko in 1952 for the Chicago Blackhawks. [47]
A Gordie Howe hat trick is a tongue-in-cheek play on the feat. It is achieved by scoring a goal, getting an assist, and getting into a fight, all in the same game. Namesake Gordie Howe himself only recorded two in his NHL career. Rick Tocchet accomplished the feat 18 times in his career, the most in NHL history. [48]
In October 1995, Florida Panthers captain Scott Mellanby scored a rat trick, the term coined by teammate John Vanbiesbrouck. Prior to the game, Mellanby killed a rat in the Panthers' locker room with his hockey stick, and proceeded to score a pair of goals later that night. [49] When Mellanby scored a hat trick in a later game, some Florida fans threw plastic rats onto the ice, a tradition that continued for all Panthers' goals throughout the 1996 playoffs. Due to the resulting game delays caused by the necessary clean-up of the plastic rats, the league eventually banned the activity and modified Rule 63 to impose a minor penalty against the home team for a violation. [50] The more traditional practice of fans throwing hats onto the ice following genuine hat tricks remains exempt from this penalty.
In lacrosse, like other sports with goal scoring, hat tricks occur when a player scores three goals in one game. Fans rarely throw hats onto the playing surface to acknowledge them due to their frequent occurrences in a game. When a player scores six goals in one game, it is referred to as a sock trick [51] .
In motor racing, three successive race wins, winning the same event three times in a row, or securing pole position, fastest lap and race victory in one event may all be referred to as a hat-trick.
In both codes of rugby football (rugby union and rugby league) a hat-trick is when a player scores three or more tries in a game. In rugby union, a related concept is that of a "full house" (scoring a try, conversion, penalty goal, and drop goal) in a single game. When a player scores two tries, this is often referred to as a brace. As with association football, it is common to award the match ball to a player who scores a hat-trick.
Ken Irvine and Frank Burge both scored 16 hat-tricks in Australian first grade rugby league. [52]
Shaun Johnson scored a hat-trick in under 6 minutes against the Canberra Raiders in 2013, and in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, Valentine Holmes scored a double hat-trick (6 tries) against Fiji.
In water polo, if a player scores thrice in a game, a hat-trick is scored.
A Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on ice hockey's hat-trick. It is accomplished when a player collects a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game. It is named after Hall of Famer Gordie Howe.
In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck entirely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to. Typically, a player on the team attempting to score shoots the puck with their stick towards the goal net opening, and a player on the opposing team called a goaltender tries to block the shot to prevent a goal from being scored against their team.
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penalties are called and enforced by the referee, or in some cases, the linesman. The offending team may not replace the player on the ice, leaving them short-handed as opposed to full strength. When the opposing team is said to be on a power play, they will have one more player on the ice than the short-handed team. The short-handed team is said to be "on the penalty kill" until the penalty expires and the penalized player returns to play. While standards vary somewhat between leagues, most leagues recognize several common varieties of penalties, as well as common infractions.
Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Ovi" and "the Great Eight" in reference to his jersey number, Ovechkin is widely regarded as one of the greatest goal scorers and players of all time. Second only to Wayne Gretzky for all-time goal scoring, Ovechkin also holds many records, including the most power play goals, most goals in away games, most overtime goals, and most goals with the same team in NHL history. He is the third NHL player, after Gordie Howe and Gretzky, to score 800 goals in the regular season.
Alexander George "Killer" Kaleta was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers between 1941 and 1951 and is best known for his part in originating hockey's hat trick tradition.
Enforcer is an unofficial role in ice hockey. The term is sometimes used synonymously with "fighter", "tough guy", or "goon". An enforcer's job is to deter and respond to dirty or violent play by the opposition. When such play occurs, the enforcer is expected to respond aggressively, by fighting or checking the offender. Enforcers are expected to react particularly harshly to violence against star players or goalies.
Scott Wesley Hartnell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets. Hartnell was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Lloydminster, Alberta.
Johan Marcus Gunnar Franzén is a Swedish former professional ice hockey winger who played 11 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). His career ended early in the 2015–16 season due to post-concussion syndrome. He also played for Linköpings HC in the Elitserien.
Jordan Staal is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is regarded as a premier penalty-killer and skilled two-way forward. In 2007, he became the youngest player to score a hat trick in league history.
Scott Edgar Mellanby is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He primarily played right wing throughout his NHL career, on occasion shifting over to the left side. He is the son of former Hockey Night in Canada producer Ralph Mellanby.
The Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1940 to 1942, and 1947 to 1960. The team was often known as the "Biltmores" and sponsored by the Guelph Biltmore Hat Company, and played home games at the Guelph Memorial Gardens.
John Tavares is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected first overall by the New York Islanders, for whom he played nine seasons and served as captain for five seasons.
This is a list of common terms used in the sport of ice hockey along with the definitions of these terms.
Wayne Simmonds is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs between 2008 and 2023. During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Simmonds played in Europe with ETC Crimmitschau and HC Bílí Tygři Liberec. He is known to his teammates and fans by the nickname "Wayne Train".
The rat trick was a celebration performed by fans of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) during their 1995–96 season, in which plastic rats were thrown onto the ice to celebrate goals. The term, a play on hat trick, was coined by Panthers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck after teammate Scott Mellanby killed a rat in the locker room prior to the team's home opener with his stick, then scored two goals with the same stick. By the time the Panthers reached the 1996 playoffs, thousands of rats hit the ice after every Panthers goal, resulting in an off-season rule change by the NHL that allowed for referees to penalize the home team if fans disrupted the game by throwing objects onto the ice.
Mika Zibanejad is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Zibanejad was selected sixth overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He made the Senators lineup out of training camp to start the 2011–12 season, but was returned to Djurgårdens IF in Sweden after scoring one point in nine NHL games with Ottawa. On 18 July 2016, after five seasons within the Senators organization, Zibanejad was traded to the Rangers.
Connor Andrew McDavid is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers selected him first overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Robert Fabbri is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 21st overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Kirill Olegovich Kaprizov is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and alternate captain for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before joining the Wild, Kaprizov played for Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Salavat Yulaev Ufa and CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Kaprizov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2021, becoming the first Wild player to win the award. Fans have nicknamed him "Dollar Bill Kirill" and "Kirill the Thrill".
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Mr Biddell...with his second ball bowled the Romford leviathan Mr Beauchamp and afterwards effected the hat-trick by getting three wickets in the over.
We had the classic hat-trick of points - via fist, left foot and right.
WHAT IS A SOCK TRICK? … A sock trick is when a player scores six goals in a game. The legend goes that the Colorado Mammoth started the sock trick in 2004 when Gary Gait scored six goals in a game and the fans started throwing their socks on the turf.