II.

Trophy Details

The original Stanley Cup was 19 cm (7.5 in) high and 29 cm (11.5 in) wide and was made by a London-based silversmith in 1892. Lord Stanley purchased the cup for about $50 as an award for the amateur ice hockey champions of Canada. Lord Stanley returned home to England in 1893, never having seen a Stanley Cup game and before his trophy was presented to a championship team.

Over the years, as each Stanley Cup champion was crowned, the names of that team's players, coaches, managers, and owners were inscribed on the trophy. To make room for all the names, silver bands were added. Today, the barrel-shaped trophy is more than 89 cm (35 in) tall and has three distinct parts: five large bands on the bottom that make up the trophy’s base, three smaller bands in the middle that bear the names of the champions from 1893 through 1927, and a copy of Lord Stanley’s original cup, which tops the award. (The original cup is fragile and resides at the Hockey Hall of Fame.) About 12 or 13 teams can fit on each of the large bands. When the bottom band is filled, the oldest of the five large bands is removed from the trophy and stored at the Hockey Hall of Fame. The remaining four bands are reattached, and a blank band is added to the base for future champions.