How much does the Stanley Cup weigh? 10 facts about the trophy
Now that the Panthers have beaten the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals, let's talk trophies. Did you know that the Stanley Cup is the only professional sports trophy that is inscribed with the names of the members of the winning team? Unlike other trophies, it isn't remade every year. Instead, it is passed from player to player during the offseason.
The retired bands are on display in Lord Stanley's Vault in Esso Great Hall, along with the original Stanley Cup bowl. The current Cup consists of the bowl, three tiers of bands, collar and five barrel bands. It is 35.25″ tall and weighs 34.5 pounds.
This famous trophy has a rich history – players have drank, dined and even baptized their children in it.
Here are some interesting facts about hockey's biggest prize:
1. How much does the Stanley Cup weigh?
According to the NHL, the Stanley Cup weighs 34.5 pounds and is 35.25 inches tall.
When first donated in 1892, the “Dominion Challenge Cup” was just a bowl measuring 7.28 inches in height. By 1924, it had grown to its current height to allow space for the winning team's name to be engraved. Previously, players engraved their names on the cup themselves. In 1939, it became cigar-shaped, and in 1948, it changed to a two-piece trophy with a barrel-shaped base and removable bowl. The current design was introduced in 1958 and enhanced in 1963.
read more: Every Conn Smythe Trophy winner who lost in the Stanley Cup Final after Connor McDavid was named 2024 Playoff MVP
2. The oldest trophy in professional sports
The Stanley Cup is the longest-running trophy in North American professional sports.
It was donated in 1892 by Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston, for whom Vancouver's Stanley Park is named.
According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lord Stanley purchased the trophy for 10 guineas (about $50 at the time) to present to “the championship hockey club of the Dominion of Canada.” The first winner was the Montreal AAA in 1893. The National Hockey Association began awarding the trophy in 1910, and in 1926 it became a symbol of the dominance of the National Hockey League.
3. The trophy isn't actually called the Stanley Cup.
Seriously, the cup's real name is the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and it doesn't have the words “Stanley Cup” anywhere on it. Let's take a look at Pritchard's explanation.
“Lord Stanley, who was Governor General of Canada in the 1890s, donated something to hockey in Canada. Hockey was a challenge sport at the time. He brought this ball over from England. It was made in Sheffield and he bought it in the Piccadilly Circus area of London. He brought the ball over because he had two sons and a daughter who played hockey in Canada. They needed something to help them win, so he persuaded their father to donate something to hockey.”
Pritchard points out that his father being Governor gave him a lot of influence, leading to him returning to England to win a little cup called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, which over time became known as the Stanley Cup – originally called the Lord Stanley Cup, it is now simply called the Stanley Cup – although the trophy itself does not state that name.
4. Lord Stanley got it for cheap
According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, he bought it for 10 guineas, or about $48.67 — not a bad price for the sport's greatest trophy.
5. How many Stanley Cups are there?
There are three Stanley Cups, to be exact.
The original was purchased by Lord Stanley and awarded until 1970, when then-NHL president Clarence Campbell decided the cup was too fragile for continued use. Today, the original is called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The current trophy is called the Presentation Cup and is awarded to the winning team. It has the Hockey Hall of Fame seal on the bottom as proof of authenticity.
Finally, there is a replica of the Presentation Cup, which was created in 1993 to display at the Hall of Fame when the Presentation Cup was no longer available.
6. Spelling mistakes all over the place
You have to look closely to see it, but there have been many errors stamped on the team over the years. Misspellings of teams include BQSTQN BRUINS (1971-72), TORONTO MAPLE LEAES (1962-63) and NEW YORK ILANDERS (1980-81).
Individual players' names are also often misspelled: Canadiens Hall of Fame goaltender Jacques Plante won five consecutive Cups, but his name was spelled differently each time, such as JAC and JACQ.
Recent errors, such as Avalanche forward Adam Deadmarsh's name and Red Wings goaltender Manny Legace's name being spelled DEADMARCH and LEGASE, have been corrected, but many remain.
7. If you can't win, you can't touch
Traditionally, players don't touch the Stanley Cup until they've won it, which makes the ceremony of raising and handing it over extremely emotional.
The tradition has slowly taken hold, and now most players refuse to even touch the conference championship trophy, believing they should keep their eyes on the big prize.
For example, in 2011, neither Boston nor Vancouver touched their respective trophies. In 2010, Mike Richards hoisted the Prince of Wales Trophy for the Flyers, but Johnathan Toews didn't touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl, with the Blackhawks winning. In 2009, Sidney Crosby hoisting the Prince of Wales Trophy didn't hurt the Penguins' chances of winning the Cup.
Wikipedia has plenty of anecdotes over the years: While there's no proven correlation between touching a conference trophy and ultimate success, the superstition persists.
read more: Stanley Cup Winners List: Every NHL Champion from 1893 to Today
8. Does anyone keep the Stanley Cup?
While no one keeps the Stanley Cup, the Cup has a “round-the-clock bodyguard,” according to NHL records. The Cup's keeper, Phil Pritchard, is a curator at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He's cared for the Cup for more than 30 years and travels with it for more than 100 days each year, he told USA Today in 2018.
Philip Pritchard serves as the Cup's bodyguard while it is in transit. Although the Stanley Cup resides in the Hall of Fame, it is moved frequently. When the actual Cup is in transit, a replica stands in its place.
Upon winning the Stanley Cup, a team takes part in a series of traditions, from drinking from the cup (which is 209 fluid ounces) to passing the cup around over their heads. According to the NHL, all members of the winning team (including staff) get to spend 24 hours with the trophy.
read more: Did the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup? Let's find out
9. I fly very frequently
The Cup is on the road approximately 325 days a year, 100 of which are with the NHL's most recent champion team. The Cup has visited 25 countries, every Canadian province and territory, and every U.S. state except Hawaii. It has traveled within the Arctic Circle but has never traveled under the equator.
The Cup has traveled more than one million miles over the past 10 NHL seasons.
read more: When was the last time a Canadian team appeared in the Stanley Cup Final? Find out
10. It has the names of every player who has ever won a championship inscribed on it…
But that wasn't the case… The Cup was originally just a bowl, and as more winners were added, names were added along with new rings.
By the 1992-93 NHL season, the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup, the stadium was full and there was no space for a new team.
“There was a lot of discussion at the Hockey Hall of Fame about what to do. Do we create something new and carry it on into the next 100 years? Someone said that Bryan Trottier, who was a six-time Stanley Cup champion at the time, said that was the perfect height to hold it over his head. We wanted to take that to heart and evolve the Cup but keep it the same.”
Pritchard explained that every 13 years, one ring is removed from the previous band and a new ring is added to the bottom. This involves removing the top ring, sliding the other rings up and adding the new ring. Pritchard said this process has already happened twice and will happen again this year. The removed ring is then placed in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
That means it will take 13 years to fill the new rings, and eventually even Wayne Gretzky's name will disappear from the actual Stanley Cup.
