Welcome back to Peculiar Side of Sports. Every so often something in sports perplexes me. So, I do what any normal, sane sports fan does – I search ad nauseam for the answer by any means necessary. The good news is that I take all my hard work and relay the results to you. If you are a fan of Sports History, check out the other articles I have written – “Sports History” covering virtually all major sports.

Most hockey fans will call to mind that the letter “C” on a player’s jersey stands for “Captain”. They should also know that a jersey with an “A” on the chest denotes an “Alternate”, a player who, when on the ice, can speak on behalf of the team when the captain is unavailable. Obviously the term has been used in sports much older than hockey, but what I wanted to discover is when those terms and letters became a part of our game.

Have they been used since the league’s inception? Perhaps they were used before the formation of the National Hockey League? What if it was used at amateur levels first before being adopted by the professionals? Were the roles the same as they are now?

To begin the search, I naturally looked first through the history of the league’s oldest team, the Montreal Canadiens, to determine their first “captain”. The first team captain was Jack Laviolette, who also served as coach and general manager. Laviolette, who was a member of the Montreal Canadiens when the NHL was formed in 1917, was also captain of the team prior to the formation of the NHL when the Canadiens played in the defunct NHA (from which the NHL is derived).

While it raises other questions, one thing we can establish is that the term “captain” predates the NHL. (Check my article on the History of the “C H” on Habs jerseys)

Rather than sifting through rosters of each team beginning with the 1917 formation of the NHL and working backwards, I decided to by-pass several leagues entirely in hopes of finding enough information about the very earliest leagues.

While I lack some primary evidence that would have certainly made the quest entirely simpler, I was able to uncover a rule book from a league that began in 1886 – Amateur Hockey Association of Canada. Within the rules, there is discussion of players’ roles, and team “captain” was included. Interestingly, the captains of each team had the duty of assigning a referee as well as goal judges to monitor each net. The captain was also assigned the task of determining a player’s health, and if the player was deemed unfit, they would assign a player from the reserves to take his spot. Bench players were originally reserves, but not in the same way as today where they are assigned shifts and changed on the fly. Typically the 7 players on the ice (this was the time of “rovers”, would play the vast majority of the game).

While I had evidence that the very first leagues had captains — the first two teams were the Montreal Victorias and McGill College, and each chose a team captain — there was no mention of an alternate captain, nor did I find early use of letters as they are used today to distinguish the captain and alternates from other players.

Perhaps one of the more fascinating reads in my search was a handbook published in 1899 called, “Hockey: Canada’s Royal Winter Game”. The over-100-page handbook is an incredible guide to hockey at the turn of the previous century. In it, there is mention of the word captain, but nowhere does it mention the letter “C” distinguishing the player from the rest. I also could not find mention of an an alternate to replace the captain.

One interesting tidbit; you know how some get confused with the meaning of the “A” and assume it means “assistant”? It appears that, at least in its original intended use, they aren’t entirely wrong. In the same hockey handbook from 1899, a captain had assistants. The role wasn’t clearly defined as the captain’s role was, and it seems they didn’t replace a captain, but instead was someone the captain could consult when needed. Perhaps it can be said that there is evidence that the word “assistant” predates “alternate” in hockey.

Frustrated in not having found evidence of when letters began appearing on jerseys, I started the arduous task of looking through team photos to narrow down the first instances where I found letters on jerseys. My hope was that the letters might correspond with the adoption of “alternate” as a role. It so happen that letters started to appear after WWII in the 1946-47 season. Rules were clearly changed for that season and dictated that all teams were to distinguish captains with a “C” and alternates with an “A”(Duplacey, 1996). Finally a concrete answer.

Notes:

Steve Yzerman is the longest serving captain in NHL history, captaining the Red Wings for 1303 games

The youngest captain in history is Brian Bellows, who filled in as an interim in 1984 for the North Stars

Gabriel Landeskog is the youngest permanent captain, having been so named by Colorado at 19 years, 131 days

Teams today can choose one captain and two assistants or they can opt for three assistants. Some, such as the current Canadiens, have four alternates, but only three may wear the “A” during the game

The “Durnan Rule” was established in the 1940s to prevent goalies from being captains. Bill Durnan, goalie and Habs captain, often left his crease to talk to referees, which gave the team unofficial timeouts whenever it needed – no goalie has been an on-ice captain since, though several have held the role in an unofficial capacity

The “A” was not displayed on jerseys between 1976/77-1985/86

From the current NHL Official Rules (NHL.com)

Section 2, Rule 6 – Captain and Alternate Captains

6.1 Captain – One Captain shall be appointed by each team, and he alone shall have the privilege of discussing with the Referee any questions relating to interpretation of rules which may arise during the progress of a game. He shall wear the letter “C,” approximately three inches (3”) in height and in contrasting color, in a conspicuous position on the front of his sweater. No co-Captains are permitted. Either one Captain and no more than two Alternate Captains, or no Captain an no more than three Alternate Captains are permitted (see 6.2). Only the Captain, when invited to do so by the Referee, shall have the privilege of discussing any point relating to the interpretation of rules. Any Captain, Alternate Captain or any player who comes off the bench and makes any protest or intervention with the officials for any purpose shall be assessed a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct under Rule 40 – Abuse of Officials. Should this protest continue, he may be assessed a misconduct penalty, and if it further continues, a game misconduct penalty shall be warranted. A complaint about a penalty is NOT a matter “relating to the interpretation of the rules” and a minor penalty shall be imposed against any Captain, Alternate Captain or any other player making such a complaint. The Referee and Official Scorer shall be advised, prior to the start of each game, the name of the Captain and the Alternate Captains of both teams. No playing Coach or playing Manager or goalkeeper shall be permitted to act as Captain or Alternate Captain.

6.2 Alternate Captains – If the permanent Captain is not on the ice, Alternate Captains (not more than two) shall be accorded the privileges of the Captain. Alternate Captains shall wear the letter “A” approximately three inches (3”) in height and in contrasting color, in a conspicuous position on the front of their sweaters. Only when the Captain is not in uniform, the Coach shall have the right to designate three Alternate Captains. This must be done prior to the start of the game. Source: Duplacey, James. “The Annotated Rules of Hockey”. Lyons & Burford: Toronto. 1996. Main Photo: