World’s Biggest Hockey Stick
The large twig is situated in a vacant downtown parking lot in Eveleth, Minnesota. The mammoth stick originally weighed over three tons and was 107 feet long. Unfortunately for the residents of “Hockeytown USA,” the shaft developed a crack and had to be removed in 2001. Not only that, but the proud residents of Eveleth learned that they had competition as they discovered another substantially larger exhibit at the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. This structure claims to be the world’s largest hockey stick and puck. It was built in 1985 and measures 205 feet and is made from Douglas Fir wooden beams reinforced with steel and weighs 61,000 pounds. It was dedicated to the Cowichan Community Centre on May 21, 1988, two years to the day after Exposition 1986 began.
Although Canada and the United States claim to have the world’s biggest hockey sticks, they fall into different categories. For example, the Eveleth, Minnesota, stick is the world’s largest free-standing hockey stick monument, while the Canadian structure located in Duncan on Vancouver Island is the world’s biggest stick. On July 14, 2008, The Guinness Book of World Records ended the 20-year battle for who has the world’s largest hockey stick.
Eveleth constructed a new and improved monument in 2002 due to a crack that had developed in the original monument. This rendition sits on a vacant lot known as “Hockey Plaza.” The latest and enhanced giant hockey monument is 110 feet long, three feet longer than the original, and weighs 10,000 pounds, 3,000 pounds heavier than its predecessor, complete with a 700-pound built-to-scale puck measuring 5 feet by 20 inches. The Large blade is made of treated lumber laminate using the same adhesive processes used in exterior plywood construction. The shaft measures 15 inches thick by 22 inches wide by 90 feet long and required 30 laminations to complete. The blade is 4 inches thick by 66 inches wide by 17 feet long. On the opposite side of the street, a 30 ft high by 80 ft wide mural of a goalie is pictured, poised to make a save.
The original “Big Stick” is the inspiration of former 1960 U.S. Gold medal winners and brothers Billy and Roger Christian. Twenty years later, Billy’s son Dave Christian would be a member of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team, which also captured a gold medal.
The original “Big Stick” was created in 1995 and was later replaced and upgraded in June 2002. To help reduce the costs of the new stick, the City and the Chamber of Commerce formed an alliance where they agreed to sell portions of the original monument for $5 apiece. Today those pieces are rare and are highly collectible.
Eveleth has been home to several NHL players over its history. Mark Pavelich, John Mariucci, Doug Palazzari, Aldo Palazzari, Joe Papike,Rudy Ahlin, Al Suomi, Sam Lopresti and Boston Bruins star goaltender Frank Brimsek.
A Hockey blade that would make Paul Bunyan proud.
World’s Biggest Hockey Stick
Keep Your Stick On The Ice.
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