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Commissioned in 1892 by then Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley of Preston, the Stanley Cup is now North America’s oldest, most cherished professional championship trophy. This 35.25-inch, 34.5-pound silver trophy is the peak of any professional hockey player’s achievements. While each major sports championship offers brand-new trophies each year, each with its own new redesign, the Stanley Cup travels throughout the year for each of the championship-winning team’s members and staff to each have the cup for 24 hours each Summer.
Protected in the Hockey Hall of Fame’s official “Keepers of the Cup“, the Stanley Cup has traveled upwards of 400,000 miles in the past few years, carrying past winners to their respective hometowns and also to schools and military bases all around the world that, as of late, is nearly all over 25 different countries!
The amazing fact about the Stanley Cup is it’s living history! Every player’s name who has won it is hand-stamped onto the cup directly onto the many broad silver bands that go all the way around the outside base of the Stanley Cup, which can only contain 13 championship teams at one time before each top band can be moved up into the vault of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto for 13 years while making way for the newly bottom band. To this very day, over 3,400 names span across these many bands, starting with the great Henri Richard with his astounding record of 11 player victories, and finally to the mighty Montreal Canadiens and their spectacular franchise record of 24 victories! Starting with a measly 10-guinea flat, round silver cup, the Stanley Cup remains a symbol of intense games, traditions, sacrifices, and the ultimate achievement of playing on a championship hockey team!
Source: National Hockey League (NHL) Official Records & Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF)
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