1900 Varsity Match

The first official Ice Hockey Varsity Match was played at Prince's Skating Club on March 16, 1900. Previously an unofficial bandy match had been held in 1895. There was also a game said to have been played 10 years earlier, in 1885.

The official title of the 1900 Varsity Match was Mr. B.J.T. Bosanquet's Oxford team v. Mr. J.J. Cawthra's team.

Results

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location
March 16, 1900	Oxford University	7-6 (6-4, 2-1)	Cambridge University	Prince's Skating Club
Referee: H.W. Page. Goal judges: B.H. Hodson, J.G. Bishop, B.M. Patton, J.K.L. Ross.

• Oxford roster: B.J.T. Bosanquet (captain), E.C. Lee, J.G. Stevenson, A.E. Severn, F.H. Latham.
• Cambridge roster: J.J. Cawthra (captain), E. Northern, G.C. Glenny, F.S. Kidd, H. Banbury

Match report

An excerpt from B.M. Patton's 1936 Ice Hockey book:

"Oxford were insistent that the match should be played with bandy sticks or hockey sticks cut down to a similar length, also that a lacrosse ball should be used. 'For the sake of peace and the fun of the game, we gave way to them,' the Cambridge skipper wrote in the 'Log' of the match.

The respective captains were the 'star' players on each side, but J.J. Cawthra was much the better of the two, and of his own team stood out 'head and shoulders' above all the others. If he had received better support he would have turned a very narrow defeat into a victory."

Sources

• B.M. "Peter" Patton (1936), Ice Hockey.