Putting it on ice : a social history of hockey in the Maritimes, 1880-1914

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of hockey in the Maritimes during the pre-World War One era. The emphasis of this thesis is on the class, gender, and racial relationships which influenced the nature of hockey and Maritime history in general. Indeed, Maritimers brought their own life experiences to the sport and fashioned hockey according to existing relationships: (1) Black hockey was segregated and players had limited opportunities to hone their skill in rinks. (2) Women's hockey was often encouraged by men, so long at it served as an affirmation of Victorian gender roles. (3) Middle-class athletic clubs organized the sport according to bourgeois sporting ideals and customs.

Having said this, lower and middle-class players, black teams, female spectators and "ladies" hockey clubs, were shaped and helped shape existing social relationships. This thesis argues that sports did not merely mirror or passively reflect prevalent relationships, but actively shifted them. Moreover, it is argued that the manner in which hockey evolved in the Maritimes was unique to the region. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)