Early Swiss Hockey

This article details the early bandy and ice hockey activities in Switzerland.

History

Bandy was first played in St. Moritz and Davos in the 1880s, largely due to the influence of English tourists. The 1885 Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge is said to have been played in St. Moritz. 100 years later, the International Ice Hockey Federation formally recognized the 1885 game as having been the first ice hockey match played in Europe. However, there is no contemporary evidence that the 1885 match took place, and Oxford now claim that it was a bandy match.

An annual series soon begun, pitting a team from Davos against one from St. Moritz. The first of these games were played in January 1895. Only Englishmen participated in the 1895 game, played at Davos-Platz. St. Moritz was victorious, 5-1. There were some interesting personalities on the Davos team, including cricketer Teddy Wynyard, international speed-skater Charles Edgington, and the author who created Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Another rink, known as the "English rink", was erected in Davos in 1896. Great hockey propagator George Meagher participated in a Davos-St. Moritz game on January 16, 1898 and helped organize another game between the two sides that December. The games often resembled a mixture of bandy and hockey, and it wasn't until 1901 that Davos and St. Moritz agreed on mutual rules when facing one another.

Later, the Pawson brothers, Wynyard, Fleming, Scoones etc. continued with the tradition of annual games between Davos and St. Moritz. The Times (London) wrote in 1908 that St. Moritz won the first five competitions against Davos. The prestigious Davos International Bandy Tournament and Grindelwald Cup were played in Switzerland during the first decade of the 1900s.

Davos also had many North American visitors, and they picked up hockey with a puck much earlier than St.Moritz who predominantly played bandy on the larger ice surface using a ball and larger goals, playing eleven aside. This was popular up until the outbreak of World War I.

The first "real" ice hockey games were played in Switzerland in 1902. By 1907, most of the Swiss resorts played the "Canadian" style of ice hockey, on a smaller ice surface, with smaller goals and a puck. HC Les Avants played two games against SC Lyon on December 17, 1904, and January 22, 1905, losing the first 3-1 and winning the second by the same score.

The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation was formed on September 27, 1908. The country later became a founding member of the IIHF on November 23 of the same year. The national championship in ice hockey was first contested in 1908-09.

Game results

1895

January

St. Moritz - Davos 5:1 @ Davos

1898

January 16

St. Moritz - Davos 6:5

1901

Games @ Davos - Jan 14

Berlin Club - Anglo-American Club 5:1
Berlin Club - Anglo-American Club 2:6
Berlin Club - Anglo-American Club 4:4

January 22

St. Moritz - Davos 9:2

1902

March 8

Princes Ice Hockey Club - Davos-Platz 8:1

1903

The January 3 edition of the Prager Tagblatt reported that some of the best teams in Europe would be playing in Davos from January 10-12 against Haarlem (Netherlands) and Lausanne.