Chapleau Trappers of 1949 supported by Mrs. A.W. Moore but local hockey team made road trip to Sudbury in 1893

The Chapleau Trappers of 1949 were primarily sponsored by Mrs. A.W. "Mrs Hockey" Moore, after whom the arena in the Chapleau Recreation Centre is named.

Most of the players were from some of Chapleau's oldest families, and many had returned home after serving in the Canadian forces in World War II.

But Chapleau had hockey teams long before 1949.. I have just learned that a Chapleau team travelled to Sudbury in 1893 and played  in the city's first enclosed skating facility in the area, Martin's Rink, built in 1892 and during that year, a group of men formed teams for the first game of hockey in Sudbury during the winter carnival.


The first inter-town hockey game played in Sudbury was on March 13, 1893 against Chapleau. Sudbury won the match with a score of 2-1.

The early hockey games were much different than today's style. The first games were played by teams of seven with no player substitutions. Instead of three periods, there were two halves and scoring a goal was called "taking a game". There were no linesmen and only one referee, an amateur who knew the basic rules of the game and volunteered for the task.

The first indoor rink in Sudbury was nothing like what we are accustomed to today. These were unheated, wooden buildings that were numbingly cold in the winter. There was no artificial ice, which meant that in the spring, the ice would turn to slush, making it almost impossible to play hockey (although efforts were still made).  Brings back memories of Chapleau winter carnivals when thaw would hit before artificial arrived -- which Mrs. Moore in large part made possible.


I am looking for Chapleau hockey stories. If you played, coached, managed, refereed, served on executive, or have simply supported hockey in Chapleau between 1885 and now, I would like to hear from you, and if you have photos, super bonus.

My email is mj.morris@live.ca or contact me on Twitter at michaeljmo or on Facebook at michaeljmorris2

Thanks..MJM