Dan Diamond - The Ultimate Prize: The Stanley Cup

THE CUP, INSIDE AND OUT

THE STANLEY FAMILY AND THE EVOLUTION OF HOCKEY

1893 TO 1926: THE CHALLENGE ERA AND BEYOND

1927 TO 2002: HOW THE CUP WAS WON

STANLEY CUP HEROES

TOP PLAYOFF MOMENTS

TOP PLAYOFF GOALS

EVEN RODNEY DANGERFIELD GETS MORE RESPECT: TALES OF STANLEY CUP TERROR

STANLEY CUP QUOTES

YEAR-BY-YEAR STANLEY CUP WINNERS, 1893 TO 2002

NHL PLAYOFF FORMATS, 1918 TO 2002

IT MAY BE MORE THAN a century old, but the Stanley Cup can still maintain a schedule that makes other silver bowls of its vintage melt away into so many charm bracelets.

Its on the road nearly three hundred days a year visiting locales as divergent and exotic as the White House, Red Square, the Rocky Mountains, and the Muskoka Lakes in Ontario cottage country.

Originally purchased for 10 guineas, todays equivalent of $50 Canadian, its now insured for $75,000. But in reality, since it is the most prized and recognized trophy in team sports, it isto borrow a popular advertising catch phrasepriceless.

In the mid-1960s, the original bowl on top of the Cup was replaced with exact duplicate made by a Montreal silversmith, Carl Petersen. The original bowl was deemed to be too brittle to withstand the rigorous trials and tribulations the Cup was forced to go through every year. It was officially retired in 1970 and now rests in a vault at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

The rest of the Cup has gone through numerous changes as well. Most of the original metal bands that make up the base of the Cup have been retired to make room for new namesof the teams and the players who have won the prized Mug.

Since 1958 the base of the Stanley Cup has consisted of five bands, each containing enough room for 13 teams which includes a list of players, coaches, and other key personnel, which means a players and his teams name will stay on the Cup for 64 years. The next band will be removed iin 2005, and with it will go the names of those players who won the Cup from 1941 to 1953including Hall of Famers such as Torontos Teeder Kennedy, Bostons Bill Cowley, Jack Stewart of Detroit, and Montreals Bill Duran.

THE STANLEY CUP NOW.

Many fascinating details are part of the trophys lore, including the following:

There are numerous spelling errors on the Cup, such as the New York Ilanders, Toronto Maple Leaes, Bqstqn Bruins, and four different misspellings of the first name of the Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante.

Bob Gaineys name on the 197576 panel is spelled without an e.

Eddie Gerard, the Montreal Maroons general manager and coach, is missing an r in his last name on the 192526 team.

On the 193738 panel of the Chicago Blackhawks, Pete Palangio shows up twice, once as himself and again simply as Palagio.

Hal Winklers name is on the Cup with Boston in 1929, though he didnt play a game with the Bruins that season.

Danny Grants and Ken Drydens names were both put on the Cup before they won the Calder Trophy.

Gary Baumans name is on the Cup in 1965 and 1966 despite his not playing a game in either of those years.

THE STANLEY CUP THEN.

THE NEW YORK ILANDERS?

Approximately a thousand players, coaches, and team officialsincluding numerous women executiveshave had their names engraved on the Cup. The first three women to have their names inscribed on the Holy Grail were Marguerite Norris, president of the Detroit Red Wings championship team in 1954 and 1955; Sonia Scurfield, a part owner of the 1989 Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames; and Marie Denise DeBartolo York, the president of the 1991 champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Then there was the Pocklington mishap.

After the Oilers won the Cup for the first time in 1984, their owner, Peter Pocklington, decided to have his fathers name inscribed on the Cup. When NHL officials discovered the unauthorized addition, they had the senior Pocklingtons name crossed out with X s.

When the NHL decided to make a perfect replica of the Cup for display purposes at the Hockey Hall of Fame, they corrected most of the old spelling errors, including the Xed-out name. Looking for the Xs is the simplest way to differentiate between the two versions.

DETAIL OF THE BANDS AT THAT MAKE UP THE CUP.

THE STANLEY CUP CIRCA 1955. ALL THE BANDS ON THE BARREL HAVE SINCE BEEN REPLACED.

Then there was the Ed Olczyk debate and the subsequent by-law change:

After the New York Rangers captured the Cup in 1994, the team made a special request to Commissioner Gary Bettman to have Ed Olczyks name engraved on the Cup. Although Olczyk didnt meet the requirementsat least 41 games with the club or one game played in the Finalshe had won the Rangers Good Guy award and was only out of the roster because of injury. Commissioner Bettman agreed, and since then some players have received the commissioners okay to have their name on the Cup because extenuating circumstances prevented them from being available to play.

THE MISSING BANDS

Lester Patrick is gone. So are other Hall-of-Famers such as Ace Bailey, Lionel Conacher, and Syd Howe. One day Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, and Bobby Hull will follow.

Why?

Because in 1992, after every last spot on the Stanley Cup had been filled, something had to be done to remedy the situation. Rather than tinker with the size and shape of a trophy that had become so familiar to hockey fans around the world, it was decided that an old band would have to be removed to make room for a new one. So, when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1992, the top band from the base of the trophy was retired and placed on permanent display at the Hockey Hall of Fame. It contained the names of the teams and players who had won the Cup between 1928 and 1940.

When the available space is once again filled, by the champions of 2004, the band containing the winners from 1941 to 1953 will join the other retired pieces of the Stanley Cup. Over the years, bands will continue to be retired and new ones will take their place. Its part of the evolution not only of the Cup but also of the sport itself.