Stanley Cup (National Hockey League)

The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy competed for in North America. It was donated by Governor-General Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby, in 1892 for presentation to the best hockey team in Canada. Lord Stanley was Canada’s Governor-General from 1888-to 1893. The first recipients of the award were the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (1892-1893).

The Trophy

The Trophy is comprised of sterling silver and nickel alloy. The Cup or bowl part of the trophy is a copy of the original bowl. Its height is (32.25 inches) and weighs (34.5 lb). Lord Stanley of Preston purchased the original trophy in London for 10 guineas or $48.67. It was made in Sheffield, England, and sold by London Silversmith; today, the historic mug is valued at about $650,000. The cup was first introduced in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and was donated to the top-ranking amateur ice hockey team. From 1893-to 1914 winners were determined by challenge games and league play. The trophy first became eligible for professional team competition in 1906. In 1915 the National Hockey Association and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association agreed that their respective champions would face off annually to determine the Stanley Cup winner. By 1926 the trophy was entrenched as the championship trophy of the NHL.

The Stanley Cup has undergone many transformations over the years. From a simple bowl to a “Stovepipe” and the iconic five-ringed barrel design. The trophy has three renditions of itself: The original bowl of the “Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup,” the authenticated “Presentation Cup,” and the spelling corrected “Permanent Cup” on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario.

In 1958 the five-band barrel design was implemented. The new design contains 13 champion engravings per band. When a band is full, then the oldest band is removed and replaced with a blank band; the old band is preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Since the 1914-1915 season, hockey’s holy grail has been won 106 times by 22 NHL teams and 5 defunct teams. Only twice has the trophy not been awarded, once in 1919 due to the Spanish Flu epidemic and again in 2005 due to the NHL lockout. From 1893-to 1914 the hardware was captured by nine different teams. The Montreal Canadians have won Lord Stanley the most of any team, with 24 championships, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 titles and the Detroit Redwings capturing the elusive trophy 11 times, the most by any U.S.-based team.

Letter From Lord Stanley of Preston

I have for some time been thinking that it would be a good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion [of Canada].

There does not appear to be any such outward sign of a championship at present, and considering the general interest which matches now elicit, and the importance of having the game played fairly and under rules generally recognized, I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by the winning team.

I am not quite certain that the present regulations governing the arrangement of matches give entire satisfaction. It would be worth considering whether they could not be arranged so that each team would play once at home and once at the place where their opponents hail from.

Stanley Cup Stories

The Stanley Cup is the greatest trophy in sports, and unlike other sports, players that win the trophy are granted 24 hours with the iconic silverware; because of this, the cup has visited many diverse places all over the world and has been involved in just as many bizarre incidents in its storied history.

In 1905 A member of the Ottawa Senators tried to drop-kick the trophy across the Rideau Canal. Thankfully, the canal was frozen and they were able to retrieve the trophy.
In 1906 the cup went missing for several weeks after it had been left at a photographer’s studio by members of the Montreal Wanderers. The cup was retrieved by officials who found the photographer using it to plant geraniums.

The 1924 Montreal Canadians were traveling to the home of owner Leo Dandurand when they got a flat tire. The players took the cup out of the trunk of the car and left it sitting on the side of the road while they changed the flat tire; with the tire repaired, they drove off without the cup. Once they realized what they had done, they drove back to find Stanley still there.
In 1925 Lynn and Muzz Patrick, the sons of Lester Patrick found the Stanley Cup in their home’s basement and proceeded to scratch their names on it with a nail. Fifteen years later, they had their names engraved on it for real after winning it with the New York Rangers in 1940.
In 1940 the Rangers won the cup and paid off their mortgage, so they double celebrated by burning the mortgage in the cup and catching it on fire. This put a curse on the franchise as they didn’t win another championship for 54 years.
In 1957 Maurice Richard had two of his front teeth while drinking from Coupe Stanley.
In 1961 after winning five consecutive Stanley Cups, it became apparent that the Habs were going to be dethroned in game 6 of the semifinals at Chicago when a fan named Ken Kilander left his seat, ran to the lobby, and smashed the glass case containing the cup in an attempt to bring it back home to Montreal where he later explained to the judge that it belonged.
The 1962 Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs had to foot the repair bill after the cup was badly damaged in a bonfire.
In 1979 Montreal Canadian Guy Lafleur, without permission, decided to take the cup back home to Thurso, Quebec. Where he took pictures of it on his front lawn with friends. After returning the trophy, Lafleur was warned not to do it again. He wouldn’t because he never won it again.
After winning the cup with the Islanders in 1980, Clark Gillies celebrated by filling the bowl with dog food and allowing fido to gorge himself.
In 1987 after the Edmonton Oilers won their third title in four years, Mark Messier brought the cup to his favorite bar in (St. Albert, Alberta) where it was dented after allowing fans to drink from it. Messier had the trophy repaired at a body shop before returning it.
The cup does not float! That’s what Mario Lemieux found out in 1991 and Patrick Roy in 1993 after they both threw it into a swimming pool.
In 1994 the New York Rangers won their first cup in 54 years, and upon doing so, took the trophy to Belmont Park to let Kentucky Derby winner Go For Gin eat oats out of it.
In 2004 cup keeper Walter Neubrand tried to deliver the storied trophy to Jake Goertzen, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s head scout. However, due to weight restrictions, the Air Canada officials removed the cup and sent it out the next day.
After winning the cup in 2008, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios pushed the cup off of a table at his Chili Bar in Detroit, where it sustained extensive damage.
In 2011, on Michael Ryder’s (Boston Bruins) day with the cup, the cup fell off a table at a media event in St. John’s Newfoundland.