It started in Canada in the late 1960s. This comes from the international and street ball hoceky federation website (see the related link) which says " Formally organized street or ball hockey leagues, in its modern form, grew independently in several countries, Canada (late 1960s), the USA (early 1970s), Austria, Czech Rep, and Slovakia (1980s), Finland, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland (early 1990s), and more recently in other countries. "
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1896The NHL began with the 1917-18 season. It had been formerly called the National Hockey Association, which had lasted only from 1910 until 1917, as the owners needed to rid themselves of the Toronto Blueshirts "troublemaker" owner, Edward Livingstone. Their solution was to dissolve the NHA and form a new league, the NHL. The Stanley Cup originated in 1893, and was a challenge cup whereby certain leagues' champions could challenge the champion of whichever league held the cup. This actually continued until 1926, meaning that for the first 9 years of the NHL's existence, the league championship did not guarantee a Cup! However, the NHL finalist won all but one Cup during this time. 1896 marked the first time the Stanley Cup was won by a team from outside of Montreal, Quebec. That first Western Canada Cup winner? The Winnipeg Victorias of the Manitoba Hockey Association.
Ice Hockey became a professional sport in 1904. The United States formed the first professional league. Canada followed quickly in 1905.