Lacrosse was considered by many as the first Native American sport. [ citation needed ] Lacrosse has witnessed great modifications since its origins in the 15th century , but many aspects of the sport remain the same. [ citation needed ] In the Native North American version, each team consisted of about 100 to 1,000 men on a field that stretched from about 500 to 800 yards with some fields being a couple of miles long. [ citation needed ] Players initially played on foot and, after the introduction of horses to North America, on horseback. Rather than having traditional goals where the ball has to pass through, many of the Native teams used a large rock or tree which the deerskin ball had to hit in order to earn points. [ citation needed ] These lacrosse games lasted from sun up to sun down for two to three days. These games were played to settle inter-tribal disputes and also used to toughen young braves in preparation for future combat. [ citation needed ]

The game became known to Westerners when a French Jesuit Missionary, Seidu Issah, saw the Iroquois Natives play it in 1636 . [ citation needed ] In 1763 , after Canada had become British, the game was used by the Natives to carry out an ingenious military deception. [ citation needed ] On the 2 June , when the garrison of Fort Michilimackinac was celebrating the King's birthday, it was invited by the Ojibwa to witness a game of "baggataway". [ citation needed ] The players gradually worked their way close to the gates, eventually throwing aside their crosses and grasping tomahawks suddenly produced from under their blankets. They then rushed into the fort and massacred all the inmates, except for a few Frenchmen. [ citation needed ]

By the 19th century , lacrosse evolved to a less violent game and more of a sport as French pioneers began competing. In 1856 Dr. William George Beers, a Canadian dentist , founded Montreal Lacrosse Club and in 1867 he codified the game, shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to ten per team. The first game played under Beers' rules was at Upper Canada College in 1867 , with Upper Canada College losing to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3–1. By the 1900s , high schools , colleges , and universities began playing the game, and lacrosse was contested as a medal sport in the 1904 and 1908 Olympics .

In the 1930s , an indoor version of the game, box lacrosse (see below), was introduced in Canada. It quickly became, and remains, the dominant form of the sport in that country. A later version of box lacrosse, indoor lacrosse , is played professionally in both Canada and the United States.

In the United States , the sport is popular in Maryland (where it became the official team sport in 2004 ), New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , New England and other areas along the east coast . In addition, its popularity has started spreading to the west coast and Texas spurred by the sport's increasing visibility in the media, the growth of college and high school programs, and "pee wee" leagues throughout the country. This explosion has been facilitated by the introduction of plastic heads invented by Baltimore -based stick maker STX in the 1970s . This innovation reduced the weight and cost of the stick, and allowed for faster passes and gameplay.

At the collegiate level , there are currently 57 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse teams, 35 Division II men's lacrosse teams, and 130 Division III men's lacrosse teams. There are also currently 82 Division I women's lacrosse teams, 35 Division II women's lacrosse Teams, and 154 Division III women's lacrosse teams. Additionally, almost 200 collegiate men's club teams compete at the Men's_Collegiate_Lacrosse_Association level, including most major universities in the United States.

At the professional level, there are 13 National Lacrosse League ( indoor ) teams; 10 in the United States and 3 in Canada . In Major League Lacrosse , there are 10 teams, all of which are based in the United States, and 2 more expansion teams are set to play in the 2008 season. The Australian Lacrosse League has 3 teams; 1 for each of Victoria , South Australia and Western Australia .

The highest level of box lacrosse (Senior A) has two leagues in Canada : the Western Lacrosse Association (sanctioned by the BCLA) for British Columbia , and Major Series Lacrosse (sanctioned by the OLA ) for Ontario ; both with 7 teams each.