By: History.com Editors

1992

Goaltender Manon Rheaume becomes first woman to play in pro hockey game

History.com Editors

Published: November 08, 2021

Last Updated: January 24, 2025

In Atlanta on December 13, 1992, Manon Rheaume becomes the first woman to play in a regular-season professional hockey game. In the Atlanta Knights' 4-1 loss to Salt Lake City, Rheaume enters at the start of the second period with the score tied at 1 in the International Hockey League contest. In nearly six minutes, Rheaume stops four shots and allows one goal before she is replaced by the Knights' starter.

"She did it," wrote columnist Ailene Voisin of the _Atlanta Journal Constitution. "_Damn, she did it."

"We gave her a cigar with a note afterword," Atlanta coach Gene Ubriaco told reporters afterward. "Now, you're really one of the guys."

Although Rheaume acknowledged the "ice is broken" after the minor league game, she was modest about her performance. "I know the people want to see me, and I understand, but they must understand me. I am not ready. Not yet," Rheaume told reporters.

On September 23, 1993, Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game, with the Tampa Bay Lightning in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues. She didn't make the Lightning's regular-season team. But she caught on with the Atlanta Knights.

Rheaume played one more game for Atlanta that season before moving on to the E Coast Hockey League, where she played a combined eight games for the Knoxville Cherokees and Nashville Knights. She also had success with the Canadian women's national team before retiring in 1997. Rheaume briefly came back during the 2008-09 season.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 13th

1577

Explorer Francis Drake sets sail from England

English seaman Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, with five ships and 164 men on a mission to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World and explore the Pacific Ocean. Three years later, Drake’s return to Plymouth marked the first circumnavigation of the earth by a British explorer.

1776

General Charles Lee captured at Widow White’s Tavern

On December 13, 1776, American General Charles Lee is captured by the British after leaving his army and riding in search of female sociability at Widow White’s Tavern in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

1862

Battle of Fredericksburg

On December 13, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia repulses a series of attacks by General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The defeat was one of the most decisive loses for the Union army, and it dealt a serious blow to Northern morale in the winter of 1862-63.

1916

Soldiers perish in avalanche as World War I rages

A powerful avalanche kills hundreds of Austrian soldiers in a barracks near Italy’s Mount Marmolada on December 13, 1916. Over a period of several days, avalanches in the Italian Alps killed an estimated 10,000 Austrian and Italian soldiers in mid-December. The avalanches occurred as the Austrians and Italians were fighting World War I and some witnesses claim that the avalanches were purposefully caused to use as a weapon. Though there is little evidence that this was the case with these avalanches, it is possible that avalanches were used as weapons at other times during the war.

1918

Woodrow Wilson arrives in France for peace talks

On December 13, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson arrives in France to take part in World War I peace negotiations and to promote his plan for a League of Nations, an international organization for resolving conflicts between nations.

1925

Dick Van Dyke born

On December 13, 1925, Dick Van Dyke, the quintessential “nice guy” actor who would become known for his performances in such movie classics as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as the popular 1960s TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, is born in West Plains, Missouri.

1937

The Rape of Nanking begins

During the Sino-Japanese War, Nanking, the capital of China, falls to Japanese forces, and the Chinese government flees to Hankow, further inland along the Yangtze River.

1942

Joseph Goebbels complains of Italians’ treatment of Jews

Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels records in his journal his contempt for the Italians’ treatment of Jews in Italian-occupied territories. “The Italians are extremely lax in their treatment of Jews. They protect Italian Jews both in Tunis and in occupied France and won’t permit their being drafted for work or compelled to wear the Star of David.”

2000

Al Gore concedes presidential election

Vice President Al Gore concedes defeat to George W. Bush in his bid for the presidency, following weeks of legal battles over the recounting of votes in Florida, on December 13, 2000.

US-ELECTIONS-GORE CONCESSION

2000

Texas Seven prison break

On December 13, 2000, seven convicts break out of a maximum-security prison in South Texas, setting off a massive six-week manhunt. The escapees, dubbed the “Texas Seven” by the media, overpowered civilian employees and prison guards in the maintenance shop where they worked and stole clothing, guns and a vehicle. The men left a note saying: “You haven’t heard the last of us yet.”

2003

Saddam Hussein captured

After spending nine months on the run, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is captured on December 13, 2003. Saddam’s downfall began on March 20, 2003, when the United States led an invasion force into Iraq to topple his government, which had controlled the country for more than 20 years.

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Citation Information

Article title
Goaltender Manon Rheaume becomes first woman to play in pro hockey game
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 23, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 24, 2025
Original Published Date
November 08, 2021

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