Hockey Club de Paris
Hockey Club de Paris was the first ice hockey team to be formed in France. The Club was created by Canadian figure skater and hockey enthusiast George Meagher on December 3, 1894, two years after the opening of Paris' first ice rink, the Pôle Nord.
History
They were initially known simply as Hockey Club and played inter-club games three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) from 5:30-6:00 PM. A game was reported by Le Figaro on December 4, 1894, to have taken place.
After encouragement by the Prince Charles Sagan, the club's honorary president and founder , practice sessions also began to be staged in early 1895 on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10:00-10:30 PM.
The motivations of the aristocrat were not necessarily to propagate the sport of hockey, but rather to gather around him all the gentry of the capital. In the late 1800s, few Parisians could afford the entrance to the rink. Hence, HCP consisted exclusively of wealthy merchants, Crown Princes or great Russian Dukes.
The club held its annual meeting on January 16, 1895 at the Pôle Nord, where it was decided that the organization should be renamed Hockey Club de Paris.
In February, HCP's training times were changed. They now practiced four times a week from Monday-Friday (with the exception of Thursday) from 5:00-5:30 on Monday and Wednesday and 10:00-10:30 on Tuesday and Friday.
The club went dormant for a while but was revived by George Meagher on November 9, 1897, after he returned to Paris.
A match between the English Princes Ice Hockey Club and HCP was staged in Paris in December 1897. It was played with hockey sticks and a puck, making it one of the earlier such games to take place in Europe.
On December 14, 1902, a match was organized by Club des Patineurs on Lake Enghien in collaboration with the newspaper L' Auto-Vélo and players from HCP. The club had mostly ceased activities since the closure of the Pôle Nord in 1898.
A thaw cancelled the match, but five days later HCP's captain, former French cycling champion Henri Couturier, known as Dickard, requested the club be merged with Club des Patineurs.
A match between HCP and HC Enghien was later played on January 15, 1903. Enghien won 4-3.
The merger of HCP and CdP was later approved on January 29, and the combined club became known as Club des Patineurs de Paris.
Sources
- Marc Branchu, Histoire du Hockey sur Glace en France, Alan Sutton, coll. « Mémoire du Sport », 2007, 221 p. (ISBN 9782849107195)
- Le Figaro newspaper
- Le Matin newspaper