Local History & Genealogy

People who follow Canadian history might check in with the “Today in Canadian History” feature as part of the Canadian History Timeline on the canadachannel.ca website to find out what happened on a particular date in a particular year in Canadian history. Scanning the historical listings for February 16, the entry for February 16, 1888 offered interesting reading to those who follow Toronto history:

“Hockey – Granite Curling Club beats the Caledonians 4-1 in Toronto's first organized hockey game, involving proper sticks, two set teams, coded rules, an indoor venue and most notably, newspaper verification. Toronto, Ontario”

Read Lance Hornby’s article “First hockey game in Toronto history” from the February 14, 2015 issue of the "Toronto Sun" in which he described the research efforts of Len Kotylo, a Toronto lawyer and chairperson of the Toronto chapter of the Society for International Hockey Research. Kotylo found a reference to a February 17, 1888 article (see page 2) in the "Globe" newspaper that referred to an organized hockey game between the Toronto Granites and Toronto Caledonians that took place on February 16, 1888, resulting in a 4-1 win for the Granites. Under the headline “HOCKEY. GRANITES DEFEAT CALEDONIANS”, here is an excerpt from that "Globe" article:

“The first hockey match of the series was played at the Granite Rink last night between the following teams…Mr. W. Johnson was referee and Messrs. J.W. Carroll and Totten, umpires. The play was very exciting, and this sport is sure to become popular. Crawford scored the first goal for the Granites in five minutes after play began. Littlejohn and Donaldson also scored for their side…In the second half-time the Caledonians scored their only goal…by McGee. The Granites won another…”

Kotylo compared and contrasted the start of organized hockey in Toronto with other Canadian cities. Montreal got the nod for being the first city with an organized hockey games on March 3, 1875 at the Victoria Skating Rink. Ottawa began organized hockey in 1883 and Winnipeg in 1890 (with the Winnipeg Victorias winning a Stanley Cup in 1896). Why did it take Toronto so long to get in the game in 1888? According to an 1893 edition of "Dominion Illustrated" magazine, it turned out that in 1888 Montrealer Tom Paton visited curling friends of his who belonged to the Toronto Granite Club. Attempting to kick-start hockey in Toronto given its popularity in Montreal, he telegraphed an order for 18 hockey sticks (carved from sturdy hornbeam trees by members of the Mi’kmaq Nation) which arrived the next day by train. The Toronto Granite Club’s location on Church Street with its high timbered roof and its capacity of six curling rinks coupled with the exposure to cold air from outside ensured a suitable venue for an ice hockey game.

Read also Mike Filey’s article “Toronto’s hockey history ain’t what some say it is” from the January 7, 2017 issue of the "Toronto Sun" in which he continued the historical detective work by finding an article from the January 23, 1888 issue (see page 2) of the "Globe" newspaper that began with the following headline “HOCKEY. TWO TEAMS IN TORONTO”, another clue in piecing together the history of organized hockey in Toronto. Here is an excerpt from that article:

“Hocky [sic – should read Hockey] is a game in Montreal which holds the same public place in the hearts of the people in winter that lacrosse does in summer. During the past week two teams have been organised by well-known athletes to introduce to the Toronto public this fine sport. The Caledonia rink team practice in the Caledonian rink, on Mutual st., and the “Granites”, in the Granite rink, on Church st…”

To view the referenced articles from 1888 in full, please access the Globe and Mail Historical Newspaper Archive database with a valid Toronto Public Library card.

The ice hockey tradition continued with the Toronto Granite Club as an offshoot from the curling club. The Toronto Granites won'the gold medal in ice hockey for Canada at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. The Toronto Granites were members of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1890 to 1924. 

Consider viewing the following reference item at the Toronto Reference Library:

Readers interested in the history of the Toronto Granite Club might find the following article, The Toronto Granite Club by James Hedley, to be of interest as reference is made to the Toronto Granite Curling Club, to ice-making and ice skating but alas, not to hockey.

The Granite Club has changed location a couple of times since the early days on St. Mary’s Street and Church Street, moving to the St. Clair Avenue West and Yonge Street area, and then to North York in the Bayview Avenue-Lawrence Avenue area.