Everybody's Hockey Book

THE H ISTORY OF HOCKEY<br >HURLEY， SHINNY， AND HOQUET<br >Pinpointing the precise origin of the modern game of ice hockey is no easier than<br >defining the infinite number of moves Wayne Gretzky employs when he confronts<br >a goalkeeper. Even the most knowledgeable hockey historians have found them-<br >selves lost in a sea of mythology， quasi-fact， and fancy as they probe the puck<br >chasers past.<br > One of the more appealing hoaxes was perpetrated by John H. (Jack) Filman， a<br >jovial gentleman who had been the public address announcer at Madison Square<br >Garden hockey games in the 1930s， as well as publicist for the New York Rangers.<br >It was Filman s job， among other things， to fill the pages of the Garden program<br >with interesting tidbits about the ice game， then still a novelty to many New<br >Yorkers.<br > In a fit of fancy one day， Filman credited the Indians of the Six Nations with in-<br > venting hockey in North America. As Filman put it， explorers penetrating the St.<br > Lawrence Valley in 1740 discovered the Iroquois playing a well-organized game<br > called baggataway， or lacrosse. During the course of action braves would frequently<br > be whacked in the shins， Filman noted. When that happened the Indian would<br > grunt \"ho-Gee，\" or as we might put it today， \"ouch.\" Filman insisted that the<br > white men quickly translated \"ho-Gee\" to \"hockey.\"<br > Filman added， \"The surviving saclmms of the Six Nations tell how the game was<br >played on the plains in summer and on ice-covered ponds and rivers in winter.\"<br ><br >