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The Stanley Cup: Early History

Frederick Arthur, Lord Stanley of Preston, was not a hockey player. But he was a hockey father. When he sailed across the Atlantic in 1888 to become governor-general of Canada, he brought with him seven ice-skating sons. They were delighted to discover a competitive sport that was a perfect fit for their skating skills. The third son, 19-year-old Arthur, was especially delighted. He organized a hockey team, called the Rebels, that took on all comers at a private rink on the grounds of Rideau Hall, then the residence of the governor-general. In the winter of 1889-90, the Rideau Rebels went on the road for a game at Lindsay, Ontario, then moved on to Toronto for matches against the Granites and the Victorias. Those games were so violent that they inspired the first newspaper editorials criticizing the sport. As a result of the outcry, Arthur Stanley invited members of other hockey clubs to a meeting to "pursue the idea of forming an ice hockey association." The first meeting, in the spring of 1890, was well-attended, and it led to the founding of the Ontario Hockey Association that November. Arthur and one of his brothers, Algie, then teamed up to talk their father into donating a trophy that would be symbolic of Canada's hockey championship. Lord Stanley agreed. The official announcement was made March 18, 1892, at an Ottawa Athletic Association dinner. It was made, on Lord Stanley's behalf, by Lord Kilcoursie, a teammate of Arthur Stanley's with the Rideau Rebels club. The announcement said, in part: "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. "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." There was still no trophy, though. The job of finding something suitable was given to one of Lord Stanley's aides, a Capt. Colville, who was in England. Colville spent ten guineas (about $50) for a gold-lined silver bowl, 7 ½ inches high by 11 ½ in diameter. It was originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, but within a couple of years everyone was referring to it as the Lord Stanley Hockey Cup, or Stanley Cup for short. Stanley appointed two trustees from Ottawa, Philip D. Ross and Sheriff John Sweetland, and laid down a simple set of rules governing the trophy: 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. Early in 1893, Lord Stanley told the trustees to present the trophy to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, which had won an amateur championship tournament that ended on New Year's Day. That was supposed to be a temporary arrangement while a match was worked out between the Toronto and Ottawa clubs. The trustees insisted that it was to be played in Toronto, but the Ottawa team balked at that. So that match never happened, but the Ottawa Senators did challenge Montreal for the Stanley Cup early in 1894. Montreal won the game, 3-1. By then, Lord Stanley and his family were back in England and the Earl of Aberdeen was governor-general of Canada. The man whose name has been firmly attached to the trophy for more than a century never saw a Stanley Cup game. You can search for NHL Tickets on this page. Click on click on any NHL Team link such as Anaheim Mighty Ducks Tickets or Los Angeles Kings Tickets to search for Hockey Tickets for your team here.

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