History
By 1886, the game was sufficiently played in England for it to be organized with a set of rules and the Hockey Association was formed in England. It didn’t take long for the game to make its way to Malaya, and the first formal match played was between Harris’ XI and Whitley’s XI on Nov 30, 1898 in Kuala Lumpur. Inter-Club matches were played between Selangor and Singapore as early as 1904, and other British-dominated clubs in Malacca, Ipoh and Penang also had their matches. By the 1920s, there were more Malays playing the game. The Federated Malay States versus Colony series was started in 1925.
Penang claim to have formed the first State Hockey Association, though all records were lost during the World War II, the “memory of the old-timers” says the association took shape about the 1924-25 season. Perak, however, were the first to officially form a State Hockey Association in October 1927, and so too Negeri Sembilan. And in Perak, the Constitution was amended in 1936 to provide for District Hockey Association. Six districts formed their Hockey Association the same year. Records show that the game was played at the club level in 1931 by Tamilians’ Physical Cultural Association, Selangor Malays and Selangor Chinese Recreation Club in Kuala Lumpur. The game went “international” with the visit of the Indian Olympic team in 1932. The Indians treated the local fan to a delightful display of hockey on their way to a 7-0 win over the Malayan XI.
By the 1930s, regular Inter-State matches were held. The 1939 records show that Selangor were a hot number, beating Negeri 9-0 on Nov 4, Malacca 2-0 on Nov 18 and Penang 1-0 on Dec 2. Hockey was up and running in the country and the game was played at club and district levels nationwide by the late 30s (Taiping HA organized the first district league in the country in 1946-47) with Hockey Association having been formed in many states. The Quadrangular hockey matches over three days were regular features of Malayan hockey and it “made possible for teams situated in the extremities of the country to meet each other in friendly matches”. The hockey season ended with the classic North v South match. North was made up of Kedah, Penang, Perak, Pahang and Selangor while South had Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Singapore.
In the first season 1940-41, North beat South 4-1 in Kuala Lumpur. When the series resumed after the War, North and South drew 0-0 in Kuala Lumpur. North either won or drew the next six in the series, with South posting their only in, by 3-2, in 1953-54 in Singapore. After the North v South Hockey Match at the end of the 1947-48 season in Kuala Lumpur, delegates from the Hockey Associations of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Singapore met.
Singapore HA President Sir George E.N. Oehlers formally proposed, “That a body governing the game of Hockey in the Federation of Malaya and in the Colony of Singapore be formed and that such a body be called the Malayan Hockey Council”. Sir George was elected the first president. Regular Quadrangular Hockey over the weekend during the hockey season and the introduction of the Malayan Championships in 1951 put the game on a higher level in the country.
The exploits of the legendary Indians in the Olympics – they had won five titles since the 1928 Amsterdam Games, and the fifth was at the 1952 Helsinki Games – fired the Olympic imagination of hockey enthusiasts in Malaya. Olympic participation is through the Olympic Council and the Malayan Hockey Council did the needful, with the Amateur Athletics Union of Malaya. They met at the PWD Sports Club in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 15, 1953 at 11.20am. The meeting ended 35 minutes and the Federation of Malaya Olympic Council was formed.
The Malayan Hockey Federation, with Singapore going their separate way, was formed in 1954 with Herman Marie De Souza was elected president and Kandiah Aryaduray the secretary. Sir Gerald Templer, the supremo of Malaya and Sir Donald MacGillivray the High Commissioner of the Federation of Malaya, were roped in as Patrons. Malaya were ready for their first international outing, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and have never looked back since.
Read more about this topic: Malaysian Hockey Confederation
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