Field Hockey · Interesting Facts
Chapter 1: History & Origins
10 parts · 10 tests · 100 facts · updated 31 October 2026 · markdown
Chapter 1 follows field hockey from its odd beginnings to its early international years. It starts on the Lancashire coast, where a public school played on the sand by the tide tables, drawing the lines afresh for every match because the next tide wiped them out. Play at Rossall goes back at least to 1867, six years before anyone wrote the rules down.
The written game changed slowly. The rules of 1876, copied into the Surbiton club's minute book, let a pitch run anywhere from 50 to 80 yards wide, and the rule book still described the ball by reference to a cricket ball into the 1970s. The Hockey Association's code of 1886 allowed no substitutes, demanded a wooden stick and put flags where the 23-metre line now runs. Later changes took the hand out of the game for everyone but the goalkeeper in the early 1980s, replaced yards with metres, and left behind quirks such as the 6.4 metre stroke spot.
The chapter also covers the people and tournaments around the sport: Constance Applebee, who came from England to America for a summer course in 1901 and lived to 107, and the early Olympic tournaments, where the FIH was founded in a year when hockey was missing from the Games.
The facts below cover Rossall's beach game, the Surbiton minute book, the 1886 code, umpires, penalty corners, the bully, hands, feet and sticks, the move from yards to metres, Constance Applebee and the early Olympic Games.
1.11Rossall's Beach Game
A public school on the Lancashire coast played hockey on the sand, by the tide tables.
Test 1Rossall's beach gameTake a test
The grass fields were too wet for rugby at that time of year, so they went down to the shore.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
The pitch vanished under the sea at high water, so the game ran by the tides.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
Each line was gone with the next tide, so it was drawn afresh every match.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
Play goes back at least to 1867, six years before anyone wrote the rules down.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
The rouge came from the school's early football, which imitated the Eton field game.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
With no forward passing allowed, close control was the whole of the attacking game.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
Association hockey arrived as an organised school sport only at the end of the 1960s.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
At least 1867, 1873, 1900, the end of the 1960s.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
3 yards, 6 paces, 20 paces, 80 paces.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · recall
As in rugby, the ball could not go forward by a pass, so dribbling ruled.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey) · applied
1.12The Surbiton Minute Book
The rules of 1876, as copied into a club's minute book, show a strange early game.
Test 1The rules of 1876Take a test
The extracts open the Hockey Museum's chronology of how the rules changed.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Right into the 1970s the rule book still described the ball by reference to a cricket ball.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Its width could run anywhere from 50 to 80 yards as well.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The roll came in at right angles to the line, and the roll-in lasted almost a century.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
That same 15 yards later became the radius of the marked striking circle.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
There was no menu of penalties yet, only the ball brought back and a bully.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
No measurements were given, so a committee's eye was the only test.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
7 feet, 6 yards, 15 yards, 50 yards.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1876, 1886, 1900, 1908.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The shoulder limit lasted a long time: the rule capping stick height was deleted only in the early 1980s.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · applied
1.13The Code of 1886
The Hockey Association's first code, with flags, three taps and white-painted balls.
Test 1The Hockey Association's code of 1886Take a test
Flags stood where the modern 23-metre line now runs.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Three taps stayed the ritual for over a century.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
No substitutes were allowed either, so the eleven who started had to finish.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It took until the 1970s before two were allowed, and even then a player could not come back on.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The stick itself had to be wood; towelling and rubber grips belong to much later days.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Field players could stop the ball with a hand or foot, but could not kick it away.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The code simply did not mention any goalkeeping equipment.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
One, two, three and five: the shape widens as it goes up the field.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
4 yards, 5 yards, 15 yards, 25 yards.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Traditional leather-covered cricket balls were simply painted white.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · applied
1.14Umpires Through the Years
From appeals and fixed halves to cards and signals: how the umpire's job changed.
Test 1How umpiring changedTake a test
From 1907 umpires could apply the rules without being asked.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It also made each umpire responsible for the whole of one side-line.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Its first meeting followed on 25 July that year.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It was formally written in as a rule only in 1927.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The 1886 code had allowed either two umpires or one with two linesmen.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
From the 1970s a temporary suspension had to last at least five minutes.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The Hockey Museum's chronology calls it a trip to the sin bin.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1907, 1936, 1959, the 1970s.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
April 1900, July 1900, 1927, the 1970s.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Green, yellow and red cards let umpires warn, suspend or dismiss a player; all three came in with the changes of the 1970s.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · applied
1.15Corners Before Today
The penalty corner began as a fix for defenders' fouls, and kept on changing.
Test 1How the penalty corner changedTake a test
The same year brought the penalty bully, for stopping a certain goal.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The attackers, meanwhile, waited outside the circle.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The rest of the team had to wait at the 25-yard line.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Before that they had needed only to get behind the 25-yard line.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The same year cut the defenders behind the back line from six to five.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The first common rule book for men and women tightened what had not been umpired rigorously.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
With no stop required any more, the corner became a quicker routine.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1908, 1961, 1987.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1908, 1987, 1996, 2003.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The corner is taken again one defender short, and in theory this could go on until the defence had gone.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · applied
1.16The Bully's Long Goodbye
Hockey's oldest restart faded out over a hundred years, one rule at a time.
Test 1The disappearing bullyTake a test
It lasted until 1963, when the penalty stroke took its place.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It is the ancestor of the free hit defenders now take after a ball goes over the back-line.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It was first taken from a spot 8 yards from the goal.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It became a centre pass that could go in any direction only in 1996.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It still turns up today after, say, an injury stops play.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The rewrite of that year kept the idea of the bully but simplified the ritual.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
That one change was made in the same year offside went experimental.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1957, 1963, the early 1980s, 1996.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1886, 1908, 2004.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It looks the same as in the 1880s, except that the sticks now touch only once.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · applied
1.17Hands, Feet and Sticks
What players could once do, and what they can do now that their grandparents could not.
Test 1Hands, feet and sticksTake a test
Use of the hand by anyone but a goalkeeper went only in the early 1980s.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The same rule stopped players using any part of the body except the hand to stop the ball.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Lifting the ball had to be done by the safe scoop, not by chopping under a hit.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
That is roughly 790 grams; today's limit is lower.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
A hard forehand hit with the edge was banned again in 2007.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Before then a shot at the head could not legally be stopped with a raised stick.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
A side could now play with eleven field players, a choice still seen at the very end of matches.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1904, 2002, 2007, 2009.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1904, 1938, the early 1980s, 2007.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It came more than a century after the first code, which had not mentioned any goalkeeping kit.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · applied
1.18From Yards to Metres
How a game once measured in yards, feet and ounces went metric, and what shifted on the way.
Test 1From yards to metresTake a test
A conversion table for imperial users was put at the back of the book.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
That is why the stroke spot sits at an awkward-looking 6.4 metres today.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The later fixed figure of 60 yards is about 55 metres, the width played on today.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The same year let umpires advance a free hit by 10 yards for dissent.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It is the dotted line you still see around each circle.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
The new limits were 9 inches long and 14 inches wide.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
It starts opposite where the ball went behind the goal-line.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
1886, 1905, the 1970s, 1998.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
9 inches, 14 inches, 36 inches.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · recall
Attacking free hits had to be kept away from the circle, and the dashes made the distance easy to see.
Source: The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books · applied
1.19The Apple
An Englishwoman who went to America for a short course in 1901 and stayed for the rest of her 107 years.
Test 1Constance ApplebeeTake a test
She was born there on 4 June 1873.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
Bryn Mawr's alumnae magazine told stories about her under that very name.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
She had come for a summer course and showed the game at a seminar there.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
She began in 1904 and stayed into the late 1920s.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
She had lived through the whole rise of the game she brought across the Atlantic.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
The association became the national voice for a sport that was then almost all female.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
It finally closed after the 1994 season.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
1873, 1901, 1904, 1922.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
1901, the early 1920s, 1981, 1994.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · recall
To this day American field hockey is played overwhelmingly by women, unlike nearly anywhere else.
Source: Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 1901 · applied
1.20Olympic Comings and Goings
Hockey dropped in and out of the early Games, with some very odd tournaments.
Test 1Hockey's early Olympic odditiesTake a test
Its absence pushed a French official to found the FIH that very year.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales each entered and each won a medal.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
Uhlenhorster HC went over as a club and represented the country.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
Japan took silver all the same, since only three teams had entered.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
The team trained on the deck on the way there.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
Practising on deck meant balls regularly flew into the sea, and hundreds were lost before the team reached Germany.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
It was the condition that eventually folded the IFWHA into the FIH.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
Three, four and six.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
1908, 1924, 1936, 1980.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · recall
India scored 38 and let in just one, in the final against Germany.
Source: Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments' · applied
Questions people ask
- Why did Rossall School play hockey on the beach?
- The grass fields were too wet for rugby at that time of year, so the boys went down to the shore. The pitch vanished under the sea at high water, so the game ran by the tides, and the lines were drawn afresh every match.
- What was different about the rules of 1876?
- Pitch width could run anywhere from 50 to 80 yards, no measurements were given, and there was no menu of penalties, only the ball brought back and a bully. The rules survive because a club copied them into its minute book.
- What did the 1886 code say about substitutes and sticks?
- No substitutes were allowed, so the eleven who started had to finish. The stick had to be wood, and the balls were traditional leather-covered cricket balls painted white.
- When could umpires first apply the rules without being asked?
- From 1907. The 1886 code had allowed either two umpires or one with two linesmen.
- Since when have only goalkeepers been allowed to use their hands?
- The use of the hand by anyone but a goalkeeper went in the early 1980s. The same rule stopped players using any part of the body except the hand to stop the ball.
- Why is the penalty stroke spot 6.4 metres from the goal?
- It is a leftover of the move from yards to metres. The conversion left the stroke spot at an awkward-looking 6.4 metres, and it sits there today.
- Who was Constance Applebee?
- An Englishwoman who went to America for a short summer course in 1901 and stayed for the rest of her life. She was born on 4 June 1873 and lived for 107 years.
- Why was the FIH founded?
- Hockey's absence from an early Olympic Games pushed a French official to found the FIH that very year. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales each entered an early Games and each won a medal.
Sources
Primary/official sources only, no Wikipedia citations: the FIH and its continental federations, national associations, The Hockey Museum, the Olympic Channel and Olympedia, Guinness World Records, clubs' and makers' own histories, museums and named reputable media.
- The Hockey Museum, 'History of the Rules of Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org), from the Surbiton Hockey Club minute book and later rule books70
- The Hockey Museum, 'Rossall Hockey' (hockeymuseum.org/rossall-hockey)10
- Britannica, 'Constance Applebee'; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin, 'Lore: The Apple'; Vassar Encyclopedia chronology, October 190110
- Olympedia, 'Hockey' (olympedia.org/sports/HOC) and its edition pages; bharatiyahockey.org, 'Golden Olympic Moments'10