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How Much Does The Stanley Cup Weigh? 10 Fun Facts About the Holy Grail of Ice Hockey
Did you know the Stanley Cup is the only professional sports trophy that has the names of the winning team members inscribed on it? Read on to find out more fun facts!
As the Panthers beat the Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals, let's talk trophy. Were you aware that the Stanley Cup is the sole professional sports trophy that bears the names of the victorious team members? Unlike other trophies, it isn't remade every year; instead, it is handed down from player to player during the offseason.
Retired bands, along with the original Stanley Cup bowl, are displayed in Lord Stanley's Vault in the Esso Great Hall. The current Cup features a bowl, three tiered bands, a collar, and five barrel bands. It stands 35.25 inches tall and weighs 34.5 pounds.
This famous trophy has a rich history. Players have drunk from it, eaten from it, and even baptized their children in it.
Here are interesting facts about hockey’s biggest prize:
1. How much does the Stanley Cup weigh?
The Stanley Cup weighs 34.5 pounds and is 35.25 inches tall, according to the NHL.
When first donated in 1892, the "Dominion Challenge Cup" was just a 7.28-inch tall bowl. By 1924, it had grown to its current height to make room for inscribing the championship team's names. Players had previously carved their names into the Cup themselves. In 1939, it became cigar-shaped, and in 1948, it was transformed into a two-piece trophy with a barrel-shaped base and removable bowl. The current design was introduced in 1958 and strengthened in 1963.
READ MORE: Every Conn Smythe Winner Who Lost Stanley Cup Final After Connor Mcdavid Named 2024 Playoff MVP
2. It's the oldest trophy in professional sports
The Stanley Cup has the longest history of any professional North American sport trophy.
Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston, donated it in 1892. He’s also the namesake of Stanley Park in Vancouver.
According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lord Stanley bought the trophy for 10 Guineas—about $50 at the time—to present it to "the championship hockey club of the Dominion of Canada." The first champion was the Montreal AAA in 1893. The National Hockey Association started awarding the trophy in 1910, and in 1926, it became the symbol of supremacy for the National Hockey League.
3. The trophy’s name is not actually the Stanley Cup
Seriously, its real name is the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, and "Stanley Cup" is nowhere on it. Let Pritchard explain:
“Lord (Frederick) Stanley — who was the Governor General of Canada back in the 1890s — donated it to hockey in Canada. And back then, hockey was a challenge sport. He brought it over from England. It was made in Sheffield, and he purchased it in London in Piccadilly Circus area. And he brought it over because he had two boys and a girl who played hockey in Canada, and they convinced good ol’ dad to donate something to hockey because they needed something to win.”
Pritchard noted that having a father as the governor general likely afforded a lot of influence, which enabled him to return to England and acquire a small bowl known as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. Over time, this evolved into what is known as the Stanley Cup. It was initially referred to as Lord Stanley’s Cup, but today it is simply called the Stanley Cup, though the name isn't explicitly stated on the trophy itself.
4. Lord Stanley got it for a bargain
He bought it for 10 guineas, which is about $48.67, according to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Not bad for the greatest trophy in sports.
5. How many Stanley Cups are there?
There are technically three Stanley Cups.
The original, purchased by Lord Stanley, was awarded until 1970. Then-NHL president Clarence Campbell deemed it too fragile for continued use. This original, now called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The current trophy, known as the Presentation Cup, is awarded to the championship teams. It has a Hockey Hall of Fame seal at the bottom to confirm its authenticity.
Finally, there's a replica of the Presentation Cup, created in 1993 for display at the Hall of Fame when the Presentation Cup is unavailable.
6. There are spelling errors everywhere
You’d have to look closely, but many mistakes are stamped on it over the years. Team misspellings include BQSTQN BRUINS (1971-72), TORONTO MAPLE LEAES (1962-63), and NEW YORK ILANDERS (1980-81).
Individual player names are also often misspelled. Canadiens’ Hall of Fame goalie Jacques Plante won the Cup five times in a row, and his name is spelled differently each time, including JAC and JACQ.
While recent errors, like Avalanche forward Adam Deadmarsh’s name and Red Wings goalie Manny Legace’s name being spelled DEADMARCH and LEGASE, have been fixed, many remain.
7. You can’t touch it unless you win it
There’s a tradition that players won’t touch the Stanley Cup until they win it. This makes the hoisting-and-passing ritual when the Cup is awarded very emotional.
This tradition has trickled down, and now most players refuse to touch their conference championship trophies either, believing their eyes should stay on the big prize.
For instance, in 2011, neither Boston nor Vancouver touched their respective trophy. In 2010, Mike Richards lifted the Prince of Wales Trophy for the Flyers, while Jonathan Toews did not touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl, and the Blackhawks emerged victorious. Sidney Crosby carrying the Prince of Wales trophy did not harm the Penguins' Cup chances in 2009.
Wikipedia has a good series of anecdotes across the years. There’s no proven correlation between touching the conference trophy and ultimate success, but the superstition persists.
READ MORE: List of Stanley Cup Winners: Every NHL Champion From 1893 Until Today
8. Does anyone keep the Stanley Cup?
No one person keeps the Stanley Cup, but it does have a “24/7 bodyguard,” according to NHL records. Phil Pritchard, the Keeper of the Cup, is the curator at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He’s been taking care of the Cup for over 30 years, traveling with it for more than 100 days annually, he told USA TODAY in 2018.
Phil Pritchard acts as the Cup's bodyguard while it travels. The Stanley Cup has a permanent residence in the Hall of Fame but travels a lot. A replica stands in its place when the actual Cup is on the road.
Winning the Stanley Cup ushers a team into a series of traditions, from sipping from the Cup—which holds 209 fluid ounces—to hoisting it above their heads and passing it around. According to the NHL, each championship team member (including staff) gets to spend 24 hours with the trophy.
READ MORE: Have the Florida Panthers Won a Stanley Cup? Find Out
9. It’s a huge frequent flyer
The Cup travels about 325 days a year, 100 of which are with the NHL’s newest championship team. It has visited 25 countries, all Canadian provinces and territories, and all U.S. states except Hawaii. It’s been inside the Arctic Circle but never below the equator.
The Cup has logged over one million miles of travel in the last 10 NHL seasons.
READ MORE: When Was the Last Time a Canadian Team Was in Stanley Cup Finals? Find Out
10. It has the name of every player to ever win it…
Except, it doesn’t… The Cup was initially just the bowl. As more players won it, their names were added along with new rings.
In the 1992-93 NHL season, the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup, it was full, leaving no room for new teams. Pritchard explains:
“There was a lot of discussion in the Hockey Hall of Fame about what do you do? Do you make a new one and go for the next 100 years? Someone had mentioned that Bryan Trottier — who, at the time, had won six Stanley Cups — said it was the perfect height to hold over your head. We took that literally to make the Cup evolve but be the same.”
Pritchard explained that every 13 years, a ring is removed from one of the earlier bands and a new one is added at the bottom. This involves removing the top ring, sliding the others upward, and adding the new one. Pritchard noted that this process has already been done twice and is set to occur again this year. The rings that are removed are then placed in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
So, it takes 13 years to fill a new ring, and eventually, even Wayne Gretzky’s name will no longer be on the physical Stanley Cup.
