The History of The Stanley Cup

Some form of hockey has been played for 100s of years, and many people believe hockey is one of the earliest sports.  Many say the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Romans and Arabs played hockey in some form.

A sport very like hockey called hurling was played in Ireland during the first millennium BC.  The Europeans in the middle ages played similar sports.  Native South Americans played a game that was similar to present day hockey in or before the 16th century.  The English took the name hockey from the French word hoquet, which means shepherds crook.   This name was given to the sport in the 18th century but was not widely used until the 19th century.  The hockey game that we know today originated in Canada.

In the 1850s,the British soldiers who were based in Canada played what is now known as modern-day hockey.  The game caught on and in 1879; the students at Montréal’s McGill University drew up the rules for playing the game.  In the late 1880s, many amateur clubs and leagues were started in Canada.  It is believed that people started playing hockey in 1893 in the U.S.

In the 20th century hockey became very well-liked in England and in other European countries.  Hockey became very popular in Canada and still is.  The NHL is the most important hockey league in the world.  The NHL is now made up of teams from the United States and Canada but for many years; it contained mostly Canadian players.  Every year the winning team in the league will win the prestigious Stanley Cup.  In 1920, ice hockey became an Olympic sport and is now one of the most popular sports in the Winter Olympics.

The beginning of the Stanley Cup goes back to 1892 when Lord Stanley of Preston was at a sports banquet in Ottawa, and he came up with the idea of having a challenge cup.  The Lord Stanley purchased a silver bowl that was 7 ½ inches high and 11 ½ inches across.  The silver bowl that Lord Stanley obtained became the first Stanley cup.  Lord Stanley called it the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup but the people preferred calling it the Stanley Cup, and the name was changed.

Hockey teams have played for the Stanley cup for over 100 years.  The Stanley Cup has had many changes since the beginning.  One of Lord Stanley’s conditions was that the winning club’s name and year were to be engraved on a silver band that would be attached to the bottom of the cup.  This is still done.  Every team member’s name is also engraved on the silver band.  There are over 2,000 different names engraved on the Stanley Cup rings.  There are the players, coaches and owners and every 13 years a new ring has been added.

The Stanley cup is now over 3 feet tall and weighs over 35 pounds.  The Stanley cup is the oldest and most prized trophy in any professional sport.

At the beginning, the Stanley cup was awarded to amateur hockey teams.  In the 20th century, professional hockey became popular.  In 1910, the Stanley Cup became a trophy for professional hockey teams.  The first professional teams were members of the National Hockey Association.  In 1926, it became a trophy for the National Hockey League.  An agreement was signed with the Stanley Cup trustees in 1947.