Do you want to know the real story of modern Ice Hockey’s birth and early evolution? If so, remember the four flags that we raised at Montreal’s Victoria Skating Rink. They represent four communities that we call “Stars” because their contributions to your modern ice hockey are truly in a league of their own.
Hockey historians know that these Stars are the real deal. You can‘t hope to understand the origins of modern Ice Hockey without knowing their backstories, actually. Things fall neatly into place when you do: left-to-right they tell the story of Ice Hockey’s “early” era.
And here’s why you might want to know about the Fab Four of the Early Game: It’s because these days, the hockey history narratives that dominate search engines almost always suggest that the origins of modern hockey are “mysterious.”
There is no mystery.
Here’s the reason for today’s widespread confusion regarding the origins of Ice Hockey: it is because all of today’s dominant narratives either ignore or downplay the contributions of the first two Stars.
Ice Hockey’s ‘early’ lineal narrative is restored in the free PDFs below.
We have also embedded our book and essay with vitally important primary documents that had previously gone lost to the general public. By making them freely available to hockey fans worldwide, we aspire to preserve the true story of early game for future generations.
Mark Grant: The Four Stars of Early Ice Hockey
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These PDFs are best for desktops. For the best reading experience on cell phones, open these documents using a free app such as OpenDocument Reader or any PDF viewer. https://play.google.com/store/games
1 of 6 : Our HOCKEY HISTORY TIMELINE The Four Stars model explained on one shareable page. Here we detail the journey of the stick game that conquered all others on its way to becoming the foundation of your ‘modern’ Ice Hockey.
2 of 6 – Our ESSAY Crafted with classrooms in mind, this 30-minute essay summarizes the Four Stars thesis while preserving vitally important primary source documents that have gone lost to the general public.
3 of 6 – The Birth of Montreal hockey Arguably, the most important, least discussed episode in 19th-century ice hockey. See how the 1943 testimony of one participant exposes many unnecessary “mysteries” regarding Ice Hockey’s pre-Montreal origins.
4 of 6 – : A Viewer’s Guide to Ice Hockey. This print-ready guide explains the origins of many modern Ice Hockey fixtures.
5 of 6 – Our FREE BOOK: This Encore version of The Four Stars of Early Ice Hockey includes the Four Stars book. For those who want the deep dive – as well as more primary documents.
6 of 6 – A MUSIC PIECE . 1972: Ode to the Original Team Canada: Foster Hewitt and Phil Esposito sing lead, Brian Conacher on back-up.
The History of Early Ice Hockey 