What is the origin of the phrase “hat trick” ?
i. An ordinary hat trick is where the same player scores three goals in a game but another player or players from the same side scores in between. In North America, and the NHL in particular, the player is normally said to have had a 3-goal-game. ii. A natural hat trick is where three goals are scored consecutively by the same player in the same game. iii. In ice hockey circles, the term is generally accepted to derive from the habit of a Toronto haberdasher presenting a new hat to any three-goal scorer in Maple Leaf Gardens – although it is also said that the originator was the Biltmore Hat Company, who sponsored the Guelph Biltmores of the Ontario Hockey League. In truth, it seems to originate from the English game of Cricket and refers to a bowler taking three wickets with three successive balls – a very unusual achievement. Similar to the ice hockey version of events, the 19th century custom of a cricket club awarding a new club hat to mark the success, gave rise to the phrase whic
