The Cradle of Hockey | Birthplace of Hockey | Long Pond, Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada

Site of First Hockey Evidence
LONG POND

Dr. Sandy Young, a well known sport historian and professor at Dalhousie University, is seen here with Gordon Hughes of Windsor back on October 28, 1988, looking over Long Pond after the NSSHC press conference at King's-Edgehill School which officially announced Windsor, Nova Scotia as the Birthplace of Canadian Hockey in the early 1800's. Historian Leslie Loomer, left, who wrote the book to commemorate the Bicentennial Anniversary of King's-Edgehill School in 1988, is seen here with former long time Windsor resident Bill Graham examining skates by early skaters at the Nova Scotia Sport Heritage Centre and King's-Edgehill School press release.
"My wife and I sat on a bench at one end of the Pond," said Carpenter. "The setting is just unbelievable... If someone wrote the whole thing as a script, people would say, "C'mon, who are you trying to kid?" It's a long way to Windsor, but it's worth the trip, just to sit where the Carpenters sat, never mind the added benefit of Dills' rich storytelling. Don't dare die a hockey fan without getting there. It's as close to Cooperstown as hockey gets, with barely a trace of commercialism. ( Ed Carpenter, Boston University's Sports Director vigil to Howard Dill's farm in Windsor, Nova Scotia to see Long Pond, August 3, 2000 ) "It seems quite evident that the first form of the game of hockey as we know it today originated from Long Pond behind the Kings College School grounds in Windsor, Nova Scotia." ( Terence V. Kelly, Director of Maple Leaf Gardens ) *"To Howard Dill, a hockey enthusiast and owner of Long Pond where hockey was born." Best Wishes ( Frank Mahovlich #27* ) "Is it the cradle of hockey? Perhaps it is. Perhaps it doesn't matter. But for one recent visitor, it felt right, if that makes sense." ( Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe, Oct. 3, 1991 )** "Finally, after more than half a century of bickering, we know where it began. The cradle of hockey is a short stroll back of Howard Dill's famous pumpkin patch outside Windsor, Nova Scotia, to a long slim pond in a protected hollow ... when frozen over, is very nearly the dimensions of an NHL rink." ( Roy MacGregor, The Ottawa Citizen, Nov. 20, 1993 ) *"Whether hockey was born on Long Pond, playing the game simply for the game's sake predominated there." ( Ted Barris, Playing Over-Time, 1993* )**