Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively modified by European colonists, reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form.
Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor sport played with two opposing teams of ten players each. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Field lacrosse is one of three major versions of lacrosse played internationally. The rules of men's lacrosse differ significantly from women's field lacrosse. The two are often considered to be different sports with a common root. An outdoor six-a-side version, lacrosse sixes, was established in 2021 and features six players per team, reduced field size, and shorter duration to be conducive for daily tournament play. Another version, indoor box lacrosse, is also played under different rules.
Canada competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, United States. These Games were the second at which Canadian athletes participated. As in 1900 they did not compete under the Canadian flag, national teams not being introduced until the next Olympics. Unofficially, however, it was a very successful Olympics for Canada with Canadian competitors winning the fourth most medals. However, this was largely because most Europeans decided not to make the long trip to compete in the games. The Canadian athletes were a unified group for the first time and were unofficially regarded as a team.
The United States hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. American athletes won a total of 231 medals, setting a record for the most medals won at a single Olympics that still stands today.
Lacrosse has been contested at two editions of the Summer Olympic Games, 1904 and 1908. Both times a Canadian team won the competition. In its first year, two teams from Canada and one team from the United States competed at the games in St. Louis, Missouri. Only two teams, one from Canada and one from Great Britain competed in 1908 in London.
The 1899 CAHL season was the inaugural season of the Canadian Amateur Hockey League. Teams played an eight-game schedule. The Montreal Shamrocks were the league champion with a record of seven wins and one loss. Both the Shamrocks and the Montreal Victorias won Stanley Cup challenges to retain the Stanley Cup for the league.
The 1900 Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) season was the second season of the league. Teams played an eight-game schedule. Again, the Montreal Shamrocks were the league champion with a record of seven wins and one loss.
William Laurie Burns was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. In 1904 he was member of the Shamrock Lacrosse Team which won the gold medal in the lacrosse tournament.
Stuart Laidlaw was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was born in Ontario and died in Vancouver. In 1904 he was member of the Shamrock Lacrosse Team which won the gold medal in the lacrosse tournament.
Lawrence Henry Pentland was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was born in Manitoba and died in Winnipeg. In 1904 he was member of the Shamrock Lacrosse Team which won the gold medal in the lacrosse tournament.
George William Passmore was an American lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and died in Florissant, Missouri.
William Thomas Passmore was an American lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was born and died in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1904, he was member of the St. Louis Amateur Athletic Association which won the silver medal in the lacrosse tournament. His younger brother, George, was also in the team.
Joseph Élie Blanchard was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. Born in Montreal in 1881, he graduated as an engineer at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1902 before working for the city of Winnipeg in 1904. The same year, he was briefly a member of the Shamrock Lacrosse Team which won the gold medal in the lacrosse tournament on July 7, 1904, against the St.-Louis Amateur Athletic Association's team. Following the Olympics, in 1905, Blanchard became the chief engineer for the city of Saint Henri. Following the city's annexion by neighboring Montreal, he continued working as an engineer for the enlarged city. His work included the sewer division and the road divisions of the city starting in 1915 before becoming superintendent of the roads department in 1918 and chief engineer and director of public works in 1935. In 2004, 62 years after his death, Joseph Élie Blanchard was inducted along his lacrosse 1904 teammates in the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.
George Henry Bretz, later Brett, was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. In 1904 he was member of the Shamrock Lacrosse Team which won the gold medal in the lacrosse tournament.
Benjamin Jamieson was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. In 1904, he was a member of the Shamrock Lacrosse Team which won the gold medal in the lacrosse tournament.
Almighty Voice, also known as Jacob Jamieson or Jimerson, was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. In 1904 he was member of the Mohawk Indians Lacrosse Team which won the bronze medal in the lacrosse tournament.
Man Afraid of the Soap was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. In 1904, he was member of the Mohawk Indians Lacrosse Team which won the bronze medal in the lacrosse tournament.
Albert Lehman was an American lacrosse player.
Modern lacrosse in Canada has been a popular sport since the mid 1800s. Only field lacrosse was played until the 1930s, when box lacrosse was invented. In 1994 Parliament passed the National Sports of Canada Act which declared lacrosse to be "Canada's National Summer Sport", with ice hockey as "Canada's National Winter Sport".
Bill Isaacs was a Mohawk Canadian lacrosse player born near Brantford, Ontario on the Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest reserve of the First Nations. Box lacrosse was big in the 1930s and 1940s and Isaacs was identified as being perhaps its first superstar. He won the O.A.L.A. Senior A scoring title seven years between 1935 and 1942, and was on two Mann Cup winning teams in 1942 and 1948. He ended up prestigious as a standout amongst the most exceptional lacrosse contenders amid the 1930s and 1940s and a hotshot of box lacrosse, the indoor adaptation of the amusement. He won the Ontario Amateur Lacrosse Association Senior "A" scoring trophy 7 times in 8 years in the vicinity of 1935 and 1942 and in addition winning the 1938 MVP grant. His career statistics rank him 11th in senior Canadian and professional lacrosse. Former Canadian Football League commissioner Jake Gaudaur described Bill Isaacs as "one of the most outstanding players that ever played the game in the thirties and forties, when lacrosse was a very big sport in Canada." He has been inducted into various Canadian sports hall of fames.
