Hat-trick
Three goals in a game, celebrated by fans throwing hats onto the ice.
A hat-trick is when someone achieves a generally positive feat three times in a single match or accomplishes something based on the number three. The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, after H. H. Stephenson took three wickets with three consecutive deliveries. Fans collected money and bought him a hat with the proceeds. The phrase was first recorded in print in 1865 in the *Chelmsford Chronicle*. It later spread to sports like hockey, association football, Formula 1 racing, rugby, water polo, and competitive video games such as Counter-Strike.
In baseball, the term was once used for a player striking out three times in a game, while four strikeouts were called a golden sombrero. More recently, hat-trick has come to mean hitting three home runs in a game. For instance, on 29 August 2015, Toronto Blue Jays fans threw hats onto the field after Edwin Encarnación’s third home run, similar to the ice hockey tradition.
In cricket, a hat-trick happens when a bowler takes three wickets with consecutive deliveries in the same match.
In association football, a hat-trick is three goals scored by one player in a single game; two goals is called a brace. Goals from regulation time and extra time count, but penalty shootout goals do not. The fastest recorded hat-trick took 70 seconds, set by Alex Torr in a 2013 Sunday league match, beating Tommy Ross’s 90-second record from 1964. The youngest player to score a hat-trick is Ntinos Pontikas, aged 14 years and 198 days in 1996, while Pelé was 17 in 1958 when he became the youngest to do so in a FIFA World Cup. The first international hat-trick was by Scottish player John McDougall against England on 2 March 1878. German Erwin Helmchen scored 141 official hat-tricks in his career, with Pelé having 92. American Bert Patenaude scored the first World Cup hat-trick in 1930 against Paraguay. Three hat-tricks have been scored in World Cup finals: Geoff Hurst for England in 1966, Carli Lloyd for the USA in 2015, and Kylian Mbappé for France in 2022. Lloyd’s was the fastest from kick-off at 16 minutes. The fastest World Cup hat-trick by time between goals belongs to Fabienne Humm of Switzerland, who scored in the 47th, 49th, and 52nd minutes against Ecuador in 2015. Traditionally, a player who scores a hat-trick keeps the match ball as a memento.
- Nhl record for most career hat tricks
- 50 (Wayne Gretzky)
- First nhl hat trick
- Harry Hyland, 18 December 1917
- Fastest natural hat trick in nhl
- 21 seconds (Bill Mosienko, 1952)
- Most hat tricks in an nhl season
- 139 (1981–82 season)
- Monthly record for most nhl hat tricks
- 31 (January 2026)
Lore & Background
The term was first used in 1858 in cricket, describing H. H. Stephenson taking three wickets with three consecutive deliveries. Fans held a collection for Stephenson and presented him with a hat bought with the proceeds. The term appeared in print for the first known time in 1865 in the Chelmsford Chronicle. Hat trick was eventually adopted by many other sports, including hockey, association football, Formula 1 racing, rugby, water polo, and competitive video games such as Counter-Strike.
In ice hockey, the tradition of fans throwing hats onto the ice is said to have begun among fans in the National Hockey League around the 1950s, with several conflicting legends from the Canadian cities of Toronto, Montreal, and Guelph of various hatmakers offering a free hat to players who scored a hat trick. In 1946, the Biltmore Hat Company in Guelph sponsored the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters, a junior affiliate team of the NHL's New York Rangers. When a Mad Hatters player recorded a hat trick, hats were thrown on the ice and the player received a new Biltmore fedora after the game.
A natural hat trick occurs when a player scores three consecutive goals, uninterrupted by any other player scoring for either team. A Gordie Howe hat trick is a tongue-in-cheek play on the feat, achieved by scoring a goal, getting an assist, and getting into a fight, all in the same game. Namesake Gordie Howe himself only recorded two in his NHL career; Rick Tocchet accomplished the feat 18 times, the most in NHL history. In October 1995, Florida Panthers captain Scott Mellanby scored a rat trick, a term coined by teammate John Vanbiesbrouck, after Mellanby killed a rat in the locker room with his stick and later scored a pair of goals; when he later scored a hat trick, fans threw plastic rats onto the ice.
Reader's Guide
The hat trick is one of the most celebrated individual achievements in ice hockey, marked by a distinctive fan tradition that sets it apart from other sports. When a player scores three goals in a game, spectators throw hats onto the ice, creating a memorable visual spectacle. This practice, which emerged in the NHL around the 1950s, has roots in earlier hockey sponsorship by a hat company in Guelph, Ontario. The feat carries significant prestige, with Wayne Gretzky holding the NHL record of 50 career hat tricks. The natural hat trick—three consecutive goals by one player without interruption—is considered an even more impressive display of dominance, with Bill Mosienko's 21-second natural hat trick standing as the fastest in NHL history. Variations like the Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight) add a layer of humor and toughness to the concept. The tradition has occasionally been adapted, as with the Florida Panthers' 'rat trick' in 1995, which led to fans throwing plastic rats until the league banned the practice due to game delays. The hat trick remains a benchmark for offensive excellence in hockey, celebrated by players and fans alike.
Did You Know?
- The term 'hat trick' originated in cricket in 1858 when H. H. Stephenson took three wickets with three consecutive deliveries and was presented with a hat bought with fan proceeds.
- Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for most career hat tricks with 50.
- Bill Mosienko set the NHL record for fastest natural hat trick in 21 seconds in 1952.
- The Gordie Howe hat trick consists of a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game; Rick Tocchet achieved it 18 times, the most in NHL history.
More in Ice Hockey Terminology 1-24
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