Hockey Whooha

With

Wingnut

Of

Pepee's Pornn Palace

Lord Stanley & His Cup

Many people don't realize how rich with tradition and honor hockey is. You see all the other sports and their championships and the associated trophies that go along with them. The trophy is there for a short time and then, poof off to a secure display case. Not so with the ultimate hockey goal .. Lord Stanley's Cup. Beyond the tradition of each player skating the rink with the cup, they actually get to have the cup in their possession to do whatever they want with it, no matter how bizarre.

First a little history on the cup, then some bizarre stories of where the cup has been.

March 18th, 1892, Lord Stanley the Earl of Preston and then Governor General of Canada sent a message to the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association:

"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."

Shortly after that message Ole Lord Stanley spent around $30 and bought a cup 7 ½ inches wide and 11 ½ tall. He then appointed two trustees of the cup and set forth the following rules to govern the tournament for the cup:

• The winners to return the Cup in good order when required by the trustees in order that it may be handed over to any other team which may win it.
  
  
• Each winning team to have the club name and year engraved on a silver ring fitted on the Cup.
  
  
• The Cup to remain a challenge competition and not the property of any one team, even if won more than once.
  
  
• The trustees to maintain absolute authority in all situations or disputes over the winner of the Cup.
  
  
• A substitute trustee to be named in the event that one of the existing trustees drops out.

Lord Stanley never actually watched a championship match as he returned to his native England the very next season (1893). Today the drive to win the cup is still well alive and considered the ultimate achievement in a hockey player's career. It also remains the only major sport trophy that the players get to physically take home with them.

The first team name on the Cup is the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association's and the last name in it is last years cup winning Colorado Avalanche. The original cup sits in the Hockey Hall Of Fame and the current trophy weight in at a whopping 33 pounds today and stands 3 feet tall.

Each player from the winning team gets to spend a day or so with the cup, along with the current trustee Mike Bolt (what a job he has). Most players will spend part of that time by returning to their hometowns, and sharing with the public that has supported them as a player. It's a great opportunity to have your very own picture with the cup. Many, many pictures exist of baby's pictures sitting in the cup, or folks drinking champagne from the cup. Beyond their time spent sharing the cup with the public; these guys get a bit wild.

Mario Lemieux had to have his pool drained as the cup was stuck in the filtration system after "someone" had thrown the cup into the pool.

Thieves stole the ring from the original cup in 1970 after breaking into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The thieves were never caught but the ring was found in a parking lot in Toronto seven years later.

The 1924 Champion Montreal Canadians left the cup on the side of the road after stopping to fix a flat on the team bus. Several minutes later they realized the cup was missing and returned to find the cup still sitting on the side of the road.

Wingnut