“Honour our past. Grateful for the present. Excited for the future.”

On Saturday 18 June 2022, USA Field Hockey (USAFH) celebrated its centennial with a dinner at The Union League of Philadelphia. The event, postponed from earlier in the year due to the ongoing pandemic, brought generations of individuals who have contributed to and supported the game of field hockey across the United States – in America, hockey (as it is known in Britain) is referred to as field hockey to distinguish the sport from ice hockey. The USAFH centenary event also recognised the 2021 Annual Award Winners and served as the 2022 USAFH Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Pam Stuper, a former USA international player, former Yale University head coach, and current USA Field Hockey Foundation Executive Director, hosted the event.

Constance Applebee, a British woman who actively promoted the sport in the United States, played a key role in founding the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA) in 1922. Unlike most national governing bodies around the world, in the United States it was a governing body for the women’s game that preceded a governing body for men. Six years after Applebee established the USFHA, the Field Hockey Association of America formed to govern men’s field hockey in the United States. These two organizations coexisted for more than 60 years, only merging in 1993.

Constance Applebee circa 1903.

Recently appointed Trustee of The Hockey Museum (THM) Dr Heather Dichter attended USAFH’s 100th anniversary dinner to demonstrate the continued support of British hockey to the game in the United States. Although she is an associate professor at De Montfort University in Leicester, Heather is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, home of Spooky Nook (USA women’s national training centre) and numerous US Women’s National Team (USWNT) players. Heather’s guest was Savannah Graybill, who played collegiate field hockey at American University before representing USA as a skeleton athlete. They were seated with Pam Stuper, USAFH Executive Director Simon Hoskins, and USA Field Hockey Foundation Chairperson Patrick Durbin and his family.

Dr Heather Dichter with her guest Savannah Graybill.		USAFH Executive Director Simon Hoskins with Dr Heather Dichter.

The evening’s keynote speakers were 1984 Olympic bronze medalist and Pennsylvania State University head coach Charlene Morrett-Curtiss and 1996 Olympian and American University head coach Steve Jennings. Charlene focused on the development of the women’s game and Steve on the men’s game.

Charlene Morrett-Curtiss and other individuals throughout the evening emphasised Constance Applebee’s legacy of promoting and spreading the sport across the country. Hall of Fame (honorary member) inductee Barbara Longstreth spoke fondly of her interactions with ‘The Apple’, as many people called Constance Applebee. Barbara was a member of the USWNT in the 1960s and competed in the Wembley match in 1962 – a 3-3 draw in front of a crowd of 52,000. She contributed to the sport’s growth in California, later selling hockey sticks out of her car before establishing Longstreth Field Hockey, perhaps the USA’s most well-known establishment for field hockey equipment.

The USA Field Hockey centenary dinner was held at the Union League of Philadelphia.

The evening also celebrated the organisation’s contributions to the international game. The USFHA was a founding member of the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) in 1927, hosting its Conference and Tournament in Philadelphia a decade later in 1936. Aaron Sher, who held numerous roles within the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF), was also inducted into USAFH’s Hall of Fame (honorary member) that evening.

The other three Hall of Fame inductees were former national team athletes Larry Amar (1972-2020), whose widow accepted his induction, Rachel Dawson, and Lauren Crandall Liska. Pan American Games gold medals in 2011 and 2015 are only two of the accolades that both Dawson and Crandall Liska have earned. The photographs and videos of past teams and international tournaments drew cheers from the audience all evening, particularly from those who saw their younger selves on screen.

Although the evening celebrated one hundred years of field hockey in the United States, many of the speakers provided encouragement for the future – of the game’s continued growth in the country as well as the national teams’ success at the international level. USAFH is excited for the next hundred years of field hockey across the United States, but also for gold medals at all levels. Perhaps on home soil at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games?

Re-watch the Facebook live stream of the USAFH centenary dinner: 100th Anniversary & Hall of Fame Celebration | (facebook.com)

The historical segments are:

• 06:30-14:02 -- poem and Jennifer Shillingford history speech.
• 01:10:46-01:32:52 -- centenary film.

The Hockey Museum’s Research into the History of the USAFH

Further details of the origins of the founding of the USFHA are emerging from research being undertaken by THM volunteer Dr Jo Halpin, ably supported student researcher Ana Brown. Jo has been examining archive material and scrapbooks at the Museum and in the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) Collection at the University of Bath. These detail the numerous England and USA hockey trips across the Atlantic post World War 1. In particular, the visit of an All Philadelphia team to England in 1920 and the subsequent AEWHA tour to the USA in 1921. The links made during these early events were undoubtedly a substantial influence in the formation of the USFHA in 1922. THM, in collaboration with the USFHA and the FIH, hopes to share the full story of these tours and their impact on the development of US women’s hockey with a webinar later this year.

Read more about Ana’s volunteering experience with THM, which also explores some of the tours following the founding of the USFHA: USFHA to England (1924), AEWHA to USA (1928), USFHA to England via Copenhagen for the first IFWHA tournament (1933); AEWHA to USA for the second IFWHA tournament held in Philadpelphia (1936).

Researching The USFHA Tour To The UK In 1924 | The Hockey Museum

The United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA) touring team at Edinburgh Castle in 1924. From the Marjorie Taylor collection, The Hockey Museum.