CranBarry started in 1947. Joyce Cran Barry, a strong field hockey and lacrosse player from England, had come to the United States in 1925 to teach at the summer field hockey camp run by Constance Applebee, generally credited with spreading the sport of field hockey outside of England. Mrs. Cran Barry ended up staying in the U.S. to teach and coach field hockey at Wellesley and Bennington Colleges.