What is the origin of the hockey term “hat trick”?
Watching a hockey player charge down the ice and slap the puck past a floundering goalie for his third goal of the game is one of the most exhilarating plays in all of sports. The term used to describe such a feat, “hat trick,” has long been linked to hockey, and, after a bit of searching, we discovered its unusual origin. We first visited the Word Detective, the online version of the popular newspaper column written by Evan Morris. He says the term came from the English game of cricket and cites The Oxford English Dictionary, which explains: “The feat of a bowler who takes three wickets by three successive balls: originally considered to entitle him to be presented by his club with a new hat or some equivalent.” We next checked out an article titled “Puck talk: A guide to hockey lingo” from The Dallas Morning News. In addition to learning that the te
