Were kids allowed to attend NHL games back in 30s, 40s?

[alko]

Looking to this picture, it seems, that no kids were allowed. Its that true?

Click to read more...

 

[The Panther]

Looking to this picture, it seems, that no kids were allowed. Its that true?

NHL hockey tonight!!

- No kids
- No non-white people
- No one under 40
- No one without a hat
- Bring your own pipe, get a free glass of water!

 

[stephenlaroche]

I had a conversation with Leo Reise Jr. a few years ago, and if I recall correctly, he did watch his father play later in his NHL career.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Looking to this picture, it seems, that no kids were allowed. Its that true?

Yes, kids were allowed. But there was much less of a culture of bringing an entire family to the game. There was no video screen, no t-shirt toss, no concourse face-painting station, no team store. Children generally weren’t brought to a game until they were old enough to sit and watch it themselves, just as a practical matter. Certainly the people sitting in the front rows would have rather paid for childcare than drag a child into the expensive seats just to hear it whine from boredom.

Outside of the privileged front row, this was the Depression. Ticket were cheap but middle-class folks weren’t eager to buy them for a whole family. What kids were in the building that night were likely teenagers up in the cheap seats, or giveaways for Boy Scouts, etc.

 

[tarheelhockey]

One other thought, and this gets more into the realm of speculation on my part:

Hockey like other pro sports always had a male-dominated culture, but by the 1920s it was notably more female-friendly than it would be in future decades. It’s hard to quantify, but general commentary gives the impression that there were more women in the stands for a hockey game than for other sports. Venues like MSG and MLG explicitly attracted a fashionable female clientele.

My speculation is that as the Depression persisted and a more conservative culture emerged, women were gradually squeezed out of the picture. Financial realities eroded the practice of having big nights on the town as a couple, let alone paying for childcare to boot. A man who wanted to see the game would have found it more feasible to simply buy a ticket for himself, and leave his wife at home to watch the kids. Certainly by the time we get to the 1950s we see a culture that’s much more inclined to put men and women in their own separate spheres.

That being the case, it would make sense if the number of women and youngsters found at NHL games declined post-1930.

 

[Michael Farkas]

no t-shirt toss

T-shirt toss is for amateurs...the allure of going to a game in 1920's is the opposite, you get to bean Hap Holmes's cue ball head with a rotten tomato...

A direct shot is probably how they decided the winner of the 50/50 raffle too...

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i feel like that long ago there probably weren't many things that you weren't allowed to bring kids to and they just let families make their own decisions. age restrictions probably became a thing during the baby boom i'm guessing.

as tarheel alludes to, in the 30s and 40s there were probably a lot more places a ten year old boy could freely enter that his mom couldn't. not hockey games, necessarily.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

According to family history, my maternal grandfather and his brother snuck into NY Rangers games and ran around in the upper bowl at MSG 1.0 during their time there in the twenties. So... apparently yes

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

Correction, MSG 3.0

 

[ChiTownPhilly]

NHL hockey tonight!!
- No one without a hat

Aaahh- the memory of taking in the game wearing your "nine-lid" [back-up chapeau] in the hope of being able to pitch it in the event of a hat-trick!

 

[MS]

Looking to this picture, it seems, that no kids were allowed. Its that true?

Two points :

1) there are definitely children in that photo. Immediately below the pillar in the middle of the photo is someone who is probably a child, and immediately below that person is a very small human who is definitely a child.

2) that said, yes, the whole culture of going to games was different up through probably the 1960s. It seems to have been more of a 'night out' for men or couples, maybe more of a 'manly' thing than going to the theatre to watch a play but not entirely different as a night on the town you got dressed up for sort of thing. Definitely not the 'bring all the kids dressed up in team colours and wave at the mascot' vibe of today.

 

[sr edler]

This piece from the January 5, 1920 issue of the Victoria Daily Times claims the sport was quite popular among women.

 

[VanIslander]

... there are definitely children in that photo. Immediately below the pillar in the middle of the photo is someone who is probably a child,...

That looks like an old woman!

 

[Dingo]

One other thought, and this gets more into the realm of speculation on my part:

Hockey like other pro sports always had a male-dominated culture, but by the 1920s it was notably more female-friendly than it would be in future decades. It’s hard to quantify, but general commentary gives the impression that there were more women in the stands for a hockey game than for other sports. Venues like MSG and MLG explicitly attracted a fashionable female clientele.

My speculation is that as the Depression persisted and a more conservative culture emerged, women were gradually squeezed out of the picture. Financial realities eroded the practice of having big nights on the town as a couple, let alone paying for childcare to boot. A man who wanted to see the game would have found it more feasible to simply buy a ticket for himself, and leave his wife at home to watch the kids. Certainly by the time we get to the 1950s we see a culture that’s much more inclined to put men and women in their own separate spheres.

That being the case, it would make sense if the number of women and youngsters found at NHL games declined post-1930.

would make sense, roaring twenties and all.
Hard times create conservative cultures, soft times create liberal cultures, i think.

 

[Dingo]

NHL hockey tonight!!

- No kids
- No non-white people
- No one under 40
- No one without a hat
- Bring your own pipe, get a free glass of water!

depending on where the picture was taken, it was quite possibly a 99.9% white town. Everything else checks out, lol.

 

[Stephen]

i feel like that long ago there probably weren't many things that you weren't allowed to bring kids to and they just let families make their own decisions. age restrictions probably became a thing during the baby boom i'm guessing.

as tarheel alludes to, in the 30s and 40s there were probably a lot more places a ten year old boy could freely enter that his mom couldn't. not hockey games, necessarily.

Probably depends on what part of the 1940s you're referring to. During the war you had more instances of women in the workplace and seemed to enjoy more economic freedoms and social freedom. By the end of the war and into the 1950s you definitely saw more of a return to conservative gender roles and social norms.

 

[hacksaw7]

It wasn't that long ago that you wouldn't see sports apparel of any kind at games. It just wasn't a thing for many decades. Up until the early 90s I guess you'd see more and more hats and jerseys. But before then you wouldn't see that much of anything. And when you would it wouldn't be official NHL licensed stuff.

I was also fascinated by how when they'd show highlights from the Forum in Montreal all the men dressed in suits. All over the arena. And this happened right up until the building closed

 

[tarheelhockey]

It wasn't that long ago that you wouldn't see sports apparel of any kind at games. It just wasn't a thing for many decades. Up until the early 90s I guess you'd see more and more hats and jerseys. But before then you wouldn't see that much of anything. And when you would it wouldn't be official NHL licensed stuff.

I was also fascinated by how when they'd show highlights from the Forum in Montreal all the men dressed in suits. All over the arena. And this happened right up until the building closed

We had a thread once about the evolution of gameday dress. Actually a really interesting topic, seeing the very gradual appearance of unlicensed-looking jackets and jerseys from the 60s to early 80s, and then about a 15-year transformation into an environment where the person not wearing a jersey is the odd one.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Yes, kids were allowed. But there was much less of a culture of bringing an entire family to the game. There was no video screen, no t-shirt toss, no concourse face-painting station, no team store. Children generally weren’t brought to a game until they were old enough to sit and watch it themselves, just as a practical matter. Certainly the people sitting in the front rows would have rather paid for childcare than drag a child into the expensive seats just to hear it whine from boredom.

Outside of the privileged front row, this was the Depression. Ticket were cheap but middle-class folks weren’t eager to buy them for a whole family. What kids were in the building that night were likely teenagers up in the cheap seats, or giveaways for Boy Scouts, etc.

Kids didn't whine back then.

Unfortunately, the backhand was legal for parents, even in public.