Founded in 1885, the Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club is one of the oldest hockey clubs in existence. The first Varsity Match was played in 1885 at St. Moritz in Switzerland, and the annual Cambridge-Oxford match has been recognised by the Hockey Hall of Fame as the oldest ongoing hockey rivalry in the world.

The Early Years

After getting its start in Switzerland, hockey remained dormant in Europe until some ten to fifteen years later. In 1900, the second Varsity Match was played, this time in London, by a Cambridge University squad led by captain J.J. Cawthra who later represented England internationally. Cawthra is credited by Major B.M. Patton, an early historian of hockey in England, as being the founder of the current series of Varsity hockey matches.

Ice hockey slowly expanded in both the United Kingdom and in Europe, propelled in part by the efforts of the Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club. Regular tours onto the continent (and once even down to South Africa!) helped to popularise the sport, and the annual Varsity Match became a significant fixture on the hockey calendar. By the 1930's, professionalism had entered the sport, and amateur university students were no longer among the leading practitioners of hockey. However, in 1936, the English national team won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics, and ice hockey reached its peak in the United Kingdom.

Post-War Hockey

Although by 1939 well over 10,000 people were attending the annual Varsity Match, the Second World War interrupted hockey in England. Not until 1949 was another Varsity Ice Hockey Match scheduled, and the popularity of the sport in England never returned to its pre-war levels. Nevertheless, hockey in Cambridge continued to grow and prosper. By the 1960's, the hockey club had been awarded half-blue status. Currently, the Club has expanded to its largest size ever, with roughly fifty students playing regularly. With a new rink on the way, things are looking great.

Remembering the Past

On the 100 year anniversary of his captaincy, the 2000-2001 Blues proudly commemorated his achievements and service to the game with the inception of the J.J. Cawthra Memorial Trophy for the "Cambridge University Varsity Man of the Match." The team has started a new legacy, may the next generation of players read the trophy's inscription with the same conviction and determination as J.J. Cawthra demonstrated throughout his life. The inscription on the trophy reads:

"May those who raise this trophy do so in victory." (2000-2001 Blues)

In 2003 the Varsity match trophy from 1910 was discovered after 90 years shut away in an attic. The trophy had been lost at the outbreak of the First World War after Cambridge's victory in the 1913 game. On the 23rd July 2003 the trophy was presented to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, where it has remained proudly displayed to this day. The full story behind the trophy is documented in the press release.