James G. Creighton Memorial Fund

While there is no specific father of hockey so to speak, James G. Creighton is hockey's equivalent to basketball's James Naismith and baseball's Alexander Cartwright.

Creighton grew up playing every frozen pond version of hockey known to Nova Scotia in the 1860s, he moved to Montreal and played in every hockey game reported in Montreal until the early 1880s. In 1882 he moved to Ottawa and established the game there.

While he was a top player, he will forever be remembered as hockey's first and perhaps most significant builder. He was behind the creation of the first set of published rules, and the formation of the first recorded hockey game, thus setting the standards for the sport across the country and later around the world. Later while working as a law clerk to the Canadian senate he was recognized as a great promoter of the game throughout Ontario.

Despite his contributions to establishing the game we now know as hockey, he remains virtually unknown. Even his grave at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa is unmarked.

The Society for International Hockey Research is trying to rectify that. They've started the James Creighton Memorial Fund, with the intent of raising enough money for the acquisition and erection of a proper grave marker for one of the most important people in hockey history.

The SIHR has a big backer for the project. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a SIHR member himself, has publicly applauded the SIHR effort.

Check out their website for more details. Legion Magazine also has a great article. If you're interested in donating to this cause send a check or money order to

SIHR
66 Gerrard Street East
Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 1G3

No PayPal account has been established as of yet, although I have urged them to do so.