Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2012
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/30/2012
Actual on-site program from Montreal's second Winter Carnival held in 1884 is what we believe to be the earliest hockey-related program ever offered. We previously sold the only other one that we know of! The "Programme" lists all of the games of the "Grand Hockey Tournament" featuring McGill, winners of the previous year's first ever "unofficial" World Hockey Championship, as well as Montreal's Victorias, Wanderers, and Crystals, and Ottawa's Rideau Hall Rebels. Led by McGill graduate R.F. Smith, the Victorias won the mythical "Canadian Championship", defeating the Rebels. The first ever organized Ottawa team was assembled specifically to take part in this tournament by none other than Canada's "Father of organized hockey"; James Creighton who later became friends with teammates Edward & Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley's sons. This treasure, with its beautiful, thought-provoking graphics, measures just over 5" by 8" and has been miraculously well preserved. Mind-boggling historical program is a marvel and a museum piece - we wish we had more space to rave! (And we do, online.) The names of “Our Party” are handwritten in pencil vertically on the right edge of the first page inside the front cover.
This 118-year-old program is from a time when hockey was in its infant stages and from an event that saw the first ever photo taken of a hockey game in progress.
Held from February 4-9, the carnival featured hockey matches played on both the outdoor skating rink and the Victoria Skating Rink.
Smith founded the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association team the following year and entered it into the tournament, but because he had only seven members, he successfully pleaded with the committee to reduce team sizes from nine to seven. The Montreal AAA team would become the first winner of Lord Stanley's Dominion Challenge Cup in 1893, with Ottawa’s Hockey Club being the runner-up - eight years LATER!
Other interesting info to consider is that Lord Stanley, Lady Stanley, their son Edward and their daughter Isobel witnessed their very first hockey game at the Montreal Winter Carnival on February 4, 1989 - five years after this program was printed! Other carnival attractions included snow-shoe, skating and trotting races, attack and defence of the Ice Palace, a curling bonspiel and lacrosse on skates.
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