Who Won the First Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is awarded every year to the team that wins the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. But who won the first Stanley Cup? This post will answer that question and then look at some interesting facts about the Stanley Cup.
Who Won the First Stanley Cup?
The first Stanley Cup was awarded to the Montreal Hockey Club (who were affiliated with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association). The ‘won’ the trophy in 1893. The Montreal Hockey Club were the champions of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) and had defeated the champions of the Ontario Association (the Ottawa Generals) during the season. Trustees, appointed by Lord Stanley (whom the cup is named after), awarded the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Hockey Club due to these feats. However, the Ottawa Generals were upset as no challenge games had been played and the rules for awarding the trophy were not clear. The rules were subsequently changed to make it fairer.
Interesting Facts About the Stanley Cup
- Lord Stanley never actually saw a Stanley Cup Championship game.
- The Stanley Cup has been awarded to the winner of the NHL since 1926.
- The Victoria Cougars were the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup.
- There have been several spelling mistakes on the Cup. ‘Boston’ was spelled ‘Bqstqn’ in 1972 and ‘Islanders’ was spelled ‘Ilanders’ in 1981.
- Two players (Clark Gillies of the New York Islanders and Sean O’Donnell of the Anaheim Ducks) allowed their dogs to eat out of the Stanley Cup!
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