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156-683: 1896 Stanley Cup champion (with the Winnipeg Victorias ) Tom Howard played with the Wanderers in 1903–04 & 1904–05 and helped the team win a league championship title in 1904. The New York Wanderers formed prior to the 1903–04 AAHL season when four of the best players (Tom Howard, Max Hornfeck , Charlie Clarke and Jack Carruthers) on the New York Athletic Club deserted the team and joined with St. Nicholas Hockey Club players Ken Gordon and Harold Hayward to start

312-574: A halftime show , often featuring performances by well-known Canadian musical acts such as Nickelback , who performed at the 2011 game. In recent years, a former football player, a celebrity, or another special guest participates in the coin toss ceremony to recognize their community involvement or significance. Nicknamed Canada's "Grand National Drunk", the Grey Cup party originated in the 1948 championship when hundreds of Calgary Stampeders fans descended on Toronto for their team's first appearance in

468-589: A 14–1–1 record during the season and were considered overwhelming favourites against the surprise Eastern champions, the 5–11 Ottawa Rough Riders. The first half did not go as Edmonton hoped, though, as Ottawa, led by rookie quarterback J.C. Watts , emerged with a 20–1 lead. Quarterback Warren Moon led the Eskimos back in the second half, and with the game tied at 23, Dave Cutler kicked the game-winning field goal with just three seconds remaining. Edmonton's championship run came to an end in 1983 when they lost in

624-652: A 1947 fire that destroyed numerous artifacts housed in the same building. The Grey Cup was first won by the Toronto Varsity Blues of the University of Toronto . Play was suspended from 1916 to 1918 due to the First World War and in 1919 due to a rules dispute. The game has typically been contested in an east-versus-west format since the 1920s. The game was always played on a Saturday until 1968, but since 1969 (except for 1970) has always been on

780-607: A Calgary fumble 109 yards in the 2017 Grey Cup game which was won by Toronto. The 1954 game also marked the end of the amateur era as the top teams completed their transition to professional organizations. As the 1950s wore on, the Big Four and WIFU distanced themselves from the CRU, forming the Canadian Football Council in 1956 to administer the game at the professional level. Two years later, on January 18, 1958,

936-472: A Hockey Hall of Fame member) was also a member of the 1909–10 Wanderers team. John McGrath , secretary and political advisor to Theodore Roosevelt between 1912 and 1916, was a member of the club in 1911–12. In their later years, the Wanderers fell out of favor with the AAHL by causing what The New York Times called "certain unpleasantness and several breaches of the rules". They were induced to withdraw from

1092-702: A Stanley Cup champion team is Kenora , Ontario; the town had a population of about 4,000 when the Kenora Thistles captured the Cup in January 1907. Led by future Hall of Famers Art Ross and "Bad" Joe Hall , the Thistles defeated the Montreal Wanderers in a two-game, total goals challenge series. The Thistles successfully defended the Cup once, against a team from Brandon, Manitoba . In March 1907,

1248-458: A Stanley Cup championship game, nor did he ever present the Cup. Although his term as Governor General ended in September 1893, he was forced to return to England on July 15. In April of that year, his older brother Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby died, and Stanley succeeded him as the 16th Earl of Derby . During the challenge cup period, none of the leagues that played for the trophy had

1404-407: A Sunday. Held in late November (in some years in early December, most recently in 2021), and mostly in outdoor stadiums, the Grey Cup has been played in inclement weather at times, including the 1950 " Mud Bowl ", in which a player reportedly came close to drowning in a puddle, then the 1962 " Fog Bowl ", when the final minutes of the game had to be postponed to the following day due to a heavy fog, and

1560-746: A better record. The consequences of the new rules were felt immediately, as the league gave a playoff spot to the Stampeders having a better record than the Alouettes, and decided the East Division Final would be a 2-game-total-point Final between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who finished first and second, respectively. The crossover, if necessary, would begin in 1987. In financial difficulty,

1716-694: A co-owner of the Calgary Flames in 1989. In 2001 , Charlotte Grahame , the Colorado Avalanche 's Senior Director of Hockey Administration, had her name engraved on the trophy. Her son John later had his name engraved as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 . Grey Cup The Grey Cup ( French : Coupe Grey ) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and

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1872-511: A formal playoff system to decide their respective champions; whichever team finished in first place after the regular season won the league title. However, in 1894, four teams out of the five-team AHAC tied for the championship with records of 5–3–0. The AHAC had no tie-breaking system. After extensive negotiations and Quebec's withdrawal from the championship competition, it was decided that a three-team tournament would take place in Montreal, with

2028-497: A good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion [of Canada]. There does not appear to be any such outward sign of a championship at present, and considering the general interest which matches now elicit, and the importance of having the game played fairly and under rules generally recognized, I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by

2184-651: A new aggregation. The Wanderers took the place of the St. Nicholas Hockey Club in the AAHL for the 1903–04 season (although the St. Nicholas HC would be back in the AAHL for the 1905–06 season). Sprague Cleghorn , inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958, and his brother Odie Cleghorn played for the New York Wanderers in the 1909–10 season. Cooper Smeaton (referee-in-chief in the NHL from 1917 until 1937 and

2340-466: A new band was added almost every year that the trophy was awarded, earning the nickname "Stovepipe Cup" due to the unnatural height of all the bands. In 1947, the cup size was reduced, but not all the large rings were the same size. In 1958, the modern one-piece Cup was designed with a five-band barrel which could contain 13 winning teams per band. Every 13 years when the bottom band of the Stanley Cup

2496-439: A new champion was crowned, but winning teams currently get the Stanley Cup during the summer and a limited number of days during the season. Every year since 1924, a select portion of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff names are engraved on its bands, which is unusual among trophies. However, there is not enough room to include all the players and non-players, so some names must be omitted. Between 1924 and 1940,

2652-474: A player and seven times as management for a total of seventeen times. Twenty women have had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. The first woman to have her name engraved on the Stanley Cup is Marguerite Norris , who won the Cup as the president of the Detroit Red Wings in 1954 and 1955. The only Canadian woman to have her name engraved on the Stanley Cup is Sonia Scurfield who won the Cup as

2808-529: A preexisting injury. Toronto won the game 13–0, the last time a team has been shut out in a Grey Cup game. The ORFU, the last purely amateur union competing for the Grey Cup, withdrew from Cup competition in 1954. Although the Big Four and WIFU champions had faced each other in the Grey Cup final since 1945, the ORFU's withdrawal left the IRFU and WIFU unchallenged as Canada's top football unions. The Eskimos faced

2964-549: A record 24 times and are the most recent Canadian-based team to win it, doing so in 1993 ; the Detroit Red Wings have won it 11 times, the most of any United States–based NHL team, most recently in 2008 . The current holders of the cup are the Florida Panthers after their victory in 2024 . More than 3,000 different names, including the names of over 1,300 players, had been engraved on it by 2017. After

3120-429: A record crowd of 68,318. The game became known as the "Ice Bowl", as low temperatures froze snow on the field that had been melted by groundskeepers with salt, making the artificial turf extremely slippery. The Alouettes adapted to the field conditions by affixing staples to the soles of their shoes, improving their traction, and won the game by a 41–6 score. Upset at losing the 1977 game under poor weather conditions,

3276-643: A record eight games, winning three. Five coaches share the record for Grey Cup championships at five: Wally Buono (the CFL's all-time leader in total games won), Don Matthews , Frank Clair , Hugh Campbell and Lew Hayman . Two individual awards are handed out following each game. The Most Valuable Player award is given to the top performer in the Grey Cup. Between 1974 and 1990, the league named both offensive and defensive most valuable players. Three people have been named MVP on three occasions: Doug Flutie , Damon Allen and Sonny Wade . The Dick Suderman Trophy

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3432-686: A resolution at the annual meeting of the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) to allow professional players to play alongside amateurs. The Cup trustees agreed to open the challenges to professional teams, because the ECAHA was the top hockey league in Canada at the time. The first professional competition came one month later during the Wanderers' two-game, total goals challenge series, which they won 17 goals to 5. The smallest municipality to produce

3588-520: A result of the 1953–1965 band only containing 12 teams prior to its removal), depending on the order they are engraved on the relevant band. There have only been four official Stanley Cup engravers. The fourth and current one, Montreal silversmith Louise St. Jacques, has held the position since 1988. Currently, the Cup stands at 89.5 centimetres ( 35 + 1 ⁄ 4  inches) tall and weighs 15 + 1 ⁄ 2  kilograms ( 34 + 1 ⁄ 2  lb). By its 125th anniversary in 2017,

3744-474: A rose bowl, made in Sheffield , England, and sold by London silversmith G. R. Collis and Company (now Boodle and Dunthorne Jewellers), for ten guineas , equal to ten and a half pounds sterling, US$ 48.67, which is equal to $ 1,650 in 2023 dollars. He had the words "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" engraved on one side of the outside rim, and "From Stanley of Preston" on the other side. The name "Stanley Cup"

3900-449: A second band onto the Cup. Despite the new room, the 1910 Wanderers and the 1911 Senators did not put their names on the Cup. The 1915 Vancouver Millionaires became the second team to engrave players' names, this time inside the bowl along its sides. The 1918 Millionaires eventually filled the band added by the 1909 Senators. The 1915 Ottawa Senators, the 1916 Portland Rosebuds and the 1918 Vancouver Millionaires all engraved their names on

4056-471: A second band), teams left their mark on the bowl itself. The 1907 Montreal Wanderers became the first club to record their name on the bowl's interior surface, and the first champion to record the names of 20 members of their team. In 1908, for reasons unknown, the Wanderers, despite having turned aside four challengers, did not record their names on the Cup. The next year, the Ottawa Senators added

4212-423: A series of bizarre incidents, the first occurring during the 1957 Grey Cup . Toronto-based lawyer and fan David Humphrey had talked his way past stadium security and had been allowed to watch the game from the sidelines. Ten minutes into the fourth quarter, Hamilton's Ray Bawel intercepted a pass and it appeared he would return the ball for a touchdown when Humphrey stuck his leg out and tripped Bawel as he ran up

4368-477: A tie: CFL Commissioner Sid Halter determined the teams would play an overtime period that consisted of two five-minute halves. That rule remained the CFL standard into the 2000s. Winnipeg scored the lone touchdown in overtime to defeat Hamilton 21–14. Winnipeg and Hamilton met again in 1962, the 50th Grey Cup , immortalized as the "Fog Bowl". The game was held at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium , and began on Saturday, December 1, 1962. The fog rolled in early in

4524-629: Is filled with names of champions, the top band is removed and retired to be displayed in the vault of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The four bands below it are slid up one place and a new blank band added to the bottom. The first winning team engraved on the newest band is thus, in theory (see Engraving section below) , displayed on the trophy for the next 65 years. It has been referred to as The Cup , Lord Stanley's Cup , The Holy Grail , or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug . The Stanley Cup

4680-657: Is followed by Jean Beliveau and Yvan Cournoyer of the Canadiens with ten championships, Claude Provost of the Canadiens with nine, and three players tied with eight: Red Kelly (four with the Red Wings, four with the Leafs, the most for any player who was not a member of the Canadiens) and Canadiens players Jacques Lemaire , Maurice Richard . Beliveau's name appears on the Cup more than any other individual, ten times as

4836-472: Is given to the most valuable Canadian. It is named in honour of Dick Suderman , who died of a brain hemorrhage in 1972 while an active player for the Edmonton Eskimos. Dave Sapunjis and Don Sweet have each won the award three times (however, Sapunjis is the only player to win the award in back-to-back years). Andrew Harris was the first person to win both awards in the 107th Grey Cup for

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4992-404: Is made of black-lacquered aluminum with silver plates engraved with the names of each winning team's players and executives since 1909. The trophy, one of Canada's best known symbols, ran out of room for new additions following the 2012 Grey Cup . The league announced that the base would be redesigned but remain similar in shape to its current design. In 2020 the new base required the removal of

5148-600: Is named after Lord Stanley of Preston , the Governor General of Canada , who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Hockey Club , and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for

5304-519: Is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions , the oldest of which is the winning team drinking champagne from it. Since the 1914–15 season, the Cup has been won a combined 106 times by 21 current NHL teams and five teams no longer in existence. It was not awarded in 1919 because of the Spanish flu epidemic and in 2005 because of the 2004–05 NHL lockout . It was held by nine different teams between 1893 and 1914. The Montreal Canadiens have won it

5460-730: Is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and

5616-462: Is topped with a copy of the original bowl, made of a silver and nickel alloy. It has a height of 89.5 centimetres ( 35 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) and weighs 15.6 kilograms ( 34 + 1 ⁄ 2  lb). Like the Grey Cup , and unlike the trophies awarded by the other major professional sports leagues of North America, a new Stanley Cup is not made every year. The winners originally kept it until

5772-403: The 1923 final , the critics felt they deliberately ran up the score to prove that point. Regina was western Canada's dominant team, appearing in the Grey Cup on six occasions between 1928 and 1934, but lost to their eastern opponents each time. Regina helped revolutionize Canadian football in 1929 , however, as they attempted the first forward pass in Grey Cup history. The Winnipeg 'Pegs (now

5928-578: The 8th Grey Cup game, won 16–3 by the Varsity Blues over the Argonauts. It was the University of Toronto's fourth, and final, championship. Competition for the Grey Cup was limited to member unions of the CRU, the champions of which petitioned the league body for the right to challenge for the national championship. The Western Canada Rugby Football Union (WCRFU) was formed in 1911, but

6084-567: The Blue Bombers ) became the first western Grey Cup champion in 1935 when they defeated the Hamilton Tigers, 18–12. While the Grey Cup was slow to achieve national popularity, the advent of the east versus west format helped make the game the nation's largest sporting event. As the quality of senior football improved, university teams realized they were no longer able to compete on equal footing and withdrew from competition for

6240-671: The Chicago Blackhawks , Detroit Cougars (now called the Detroit Red Wings ), and New York Rangers joined the NHL. With the NHL now firmly established in the largest markets of the Northeastern United States, and with the Western teams having been stripped of their best players, the PHL was deemed to be a "minor league" unworthy of challenging the NHL for hockey supremacy. The PHL lasted only two seasons. Over

6396-631: The Clarkson Cup was created instead. Meanwhile, a group in Ontario, also known as the "Wednesday Nighters", filed an application with the Ontario Superior Court, claiming that the Cup trustees had overstepped their bounds in signing the 1947 agreement with the NHL, and therefore must award the trophy regardless of the lockout. On February 7, 2006, a settlement was reached in which the trophy could be awarded to non-NHL teams should

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6552-785: The Edmonton Elks (formerly the Edmonton Eskimos) have the most Grey Cup wins (11) since the merger in 1958. The latest, the 111th Grey Cup , took place in Vancouver , British Columbia, on November 17, 2024, when the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 41-24. The Grey Cup is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 4 million. Two awards are given for play in

6708-518: The Governor General of Canada , planned to donate a new trophy to serve as the senior amateur championship; however, Sir Montague Allan donated the Allan Cup before he could finalize his plans. Grey instead offered an award for the Canadian amateur rugby football championship beginning in 1909. He initially failed to follow through on his offer; the trophy was not ordered until two weeks prior to

6864-532: The Hamilton Tigers in 1910 and the Toronto Argonauts in 1911 . The University of Toronto failed to reach the 1912 Grey Cup , which was won by the Hamilton Alerts over the Argonauts. The Varsity Blues refused to hand over the trophy on the belief they could keep it until they were defeated in a title game. They kept the trophy until 1914 when they were defeated by the Argonauts, who made

7020-533: The Montreal Alouettes in three consecutive Grey Cups in the mid-1950s, winning all three. Edmonton's first title in 1954 ended in bizarre fashion after Jackie Parker scored a touchdown (converted by Bob Dean) from a fumble recovery late in the game that gave Edmonton a 26–25 lead. At the time in Canadian football, touchdowns were only worth 5 points. Parker's 90-yard fumble return was the longest in league history until Toronto's Cassius Vaughn returned

7176-794: The National Hockey League where the Conn Smythe Trophy was presented before the Stanley Cup , the presentation of the trophy has been typically preceded by the presentations of the Dick Suderman Trophy and the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player awards, in contrast to the other three leagues who usually present the World Series MVP , NBA Finals MVP , and Super Bowl MVP awards, respectively, after their championship trophy. Similar to

7332-593: The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), and became the founder of ice hockey in Great Britain. Arthur and Algernon persuaded their father to donate a trophy to be "an outward and visible sign of the hockey championship". Stanley sent the following message to the victory celebration held on March 18, 1892, at Ottawa's Russell House Hotel for the three-time champion Ottawa Hockey Club : I have for some time been thinking that it would be

7488-687: The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8–5 to become the first non-civilian team to win the national championship. Two years later, the St. Hyacinthe–Donnacona Navy defeated the Hamilton Flying Wildcats , 7–6; no Grey Cup championship since then has featured two eastern teams. The conclusion of the war led to the reformation of civilian teams; the Big Four resumed play in 1945, and

7644-642: The Victoria Cougars won the Cup, the last team outside the NHL to do so. The WHL folded in 1926 and was quickly replaced by the Prairie Hockey League . However, in the meantime, the NHL (which had entered the U.S. only two years before) bought up the contracts of most of the WHL's players and largely used them to stock the rosters of three new U.S. teams. In what would turn out to be its most significant expansion of its pre- Original Six era,

7800-408: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers . The city of Toronto has hosted the most Grey Cup games with 48, including 30 of the first 45 games played. The first game was held on December 4, 1909, at Rosedale Field . Hamilton and Ottawa hosted several early games while Sarnia and Kingston each hosted one as the game's early years were dominated by teams in southern Ontario. The Grey Cup game and champion first left

7956-478: The world champions. The Cup was awarded every year until 2005, when a labour dispute between the NHL's owners and the NHL Players Association (the union that represents the players) led to the cancellation of the 2004–05 season . As a result, no Cup champion was crowned for the first time since the flu pandemic in 1919. The lockout was controversial among many fans, who questioned whether

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8112-404: The "Mud Bowl". Deep ruts in the field and poor weather in the days leading up to the game resulted in a sloppy field covered in large puddles of water. The game also gained notoriety for the near drowning of Winnipeg's Buddy Tinsley , who was found face down in a large puddle, apparently unconscious. Tinsley later said that he had not lost consciousness, but his leg had gone numb from a hard hit to

8268-484: The 1909 plaque. To accommodate all the plaques within the base of the Grey Cup, they were redesigned using laser etching and a modern typeface that allowed for vertical reduction of the characters and letters that had improved legibility. The trophy is customarily escorted to the new champions by two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and presented by the commissioner of the CFL. Like

8424-457: The 1977 " Ice Bowl ", contested on the frozen-over artificial turf at Montreal 's Olympic Stadium . Most recently, in the 2017 game snow fell, at times heavily, throughout the game. The then-Edmonton Eskimos formed the Grey Cup's longest dynasty , winning five consecutive championships from 1978 to 1982. Competition for the trophy has been exclusively between Canadian teams, except for a three-year period from 1993 to 1995, when an expansion of

8580-512: The AHAC, Montreal was the best team in Canada. Naturally, the Ottawas were upset by the decision because there had been no challenge games scheduled and because the trustees failed to convey the rules on how the Cup was to be awarded prior to the start of the season. As a result, the Cup trustees issued more specific rules on how the trophy should be defended and awarded: Lord Stanley never saw

8736-424: The Alouettes between 2000 and 2010. In 2009 , they defeated the Roughriders in dramatic fashion: placekicker Damon Duval missed a last-second field goal attempt that appeared to give Saskatchewan the victory. However, the Riders were penalized for having too many men on the field, allowing Duval a second opportunity. His second attempt was successful, giving Montreal a 28–27 victory. The 100th Grey Cup game

8892-468: The CFC withdrew from the CRU and the Big Four & WIFU merged into the Canadian Football League (CFL). The new league formally assumed control of the Grey Cup from the CRU. In the CFL's initial seasons, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were the league's dominant team, appearing in nine Grey Cups and winning four titles between 1957 and 1967. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers opposed Hamilton on six of those occasions, winning four titles. The two teams were involved in

9048-407: The CFL south into the United States resulted in the Baltimore Stallions winning the 1995 championship and taking the Grey Cup south of the border for the only time in its history. Serious efforts to organize a national governing body and eventually a Dominion championship for what at that time was still a game called and practically identical to rugby union began in the early 1880s, culminating in

9204-403: The CRU did not come to a participation agreement with it until 1921, allowing the Edmonton Eskimos (no lineage to the team that used that name 1949–2020) of the WCRFU to challenge. Facing the Argonauts in the 9th Grey Cup , the Eskimos became the first western team – and the first from outside Toronto or Hamilton – to compete for the trophy. The Argonauts entered

9360-406: The Cup came the next year by the Winnipeg Victorias , the champions of the Manitoba Hockey League. On February 14, 1896, the Winnipeg squad defeated the champions 2–0 and became the first team outside the AHAC to win the Cup. As the prestige of winning the Cup grew, so did the need to attract top players. Only nine months after winning the Cup, in March 1906, the Montreal Wanderers pushed through

9516-410: The Cup in the event the 2012–13 season were cancelled, which it was not. In 2007, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) formalized the " Triple Gold Club ", the group of players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup. The term had first entered popular use following the 2002 Winter Olympics , which saw the addition of

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9672-426: The Cup. One year later, the Montreal HC and the Montreal Victorias, the two remaining amateur teams, left the ECAHA, and the ECAHA dropped "Amateur" from their name to become a professional league. In 1910, the National Hockey Association (NHA) was formed. The NHA soon proved it was the best in Canada, as it kept the Cup for the next four years. Prior to 1912, challenges could take place at any time or place, given

9828-439: The Cup. Also included was the 1918–19 no decision between the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Metropolitans. Since 1958, the Cup has undergone several minor alterations. The original collar and bowl were too brittle, and were replaced in 1963 and 1969, respectively. The modern one-piece Cup design was introduced in 1958, when the old barrel was replaced with a five-band barrel, each of which could contain 13 winning teams. Although

9984-424: The Cup. By this time, all Cup trustees were longtime NHL loyalists, and under the direction of NHL president Clarence Campbell the WHA's challenge for the Cup was blocked. However, notwithstanding the aforementioned legal obligation, the NHL (considering not only the WHA's presence but also the rising caliber of European ice hockey leagues) quietly stopped calling its champions the world champions . Nevertheless,

10140-445: The Cup. Sweetland and Ross first presented the trophy in 1893 to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association on behalf of the affiliated Montreal Hockey Club, the champions of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC), since they "defeated all comers during the late season, including the champions of the Ontario Association" (Ottawa). Sweetland and Ross also believed that the AHAC was the top league, and as first-place finishers in

10296-437: The East and the West each year, with alternating games played according to NHA and PCHA rules. The PCHA's Vancouver Millionaires won the 1915 series three games to none in a best-of-five series. Prior to organized ice hockey expanding to any serious extent outside Canada, the concept that the Stanley Cup champion ought to be recognized as the world champion was already firmly established – Stanley Cup winners were claiming

10452-444: The Eskimos hoped for a rematch with Montreal in 1978 . Both teams reached the final game, which Edmonton won 20–13. It was the first of five consecutive championships, a streak that remains unmatched in the history of the Grey Cup. The Eskimos' dynasty dominated the league, losing a total of only six games during the three seasons from 1979 to 1981. The 1981 Grey Cup was expected to be yet another easy win for Edmonton, who posted

10608-462: The Grey Cup at home, the 2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders, the 2012 Toronto Argonauts, the 2011 BC Lions, the 1994 BC Lions, the 1977 Montreal Alouettes, and 1972 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Individually, three players have won seven Grey Cups: Jack Wedley (Toronto, Montreal Navy), Bill Stevenson (Edmonton) and Hank Ilesic (Edmonton, Toronto). Ilesic is one of seven players to appear in nine Grey Cup games. Among quarterbacks, Anthony Calvillo appeared in

10764-503: The Grey Cup in 1933. By 1938, only three unions continued to compete under the banner of the CRU: the IRFU (now commonly known as the Big Four) and the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) in the east, and the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) in the west. The CRU experimented with a two-game, total points series to determine the champion in 1940 . The Ottawa Rough Riders won both games against Toronto's Balmy Beach , 8–2 and 12–5. The Grey Cup returned to its one-game format

10920-421: The Grey Cup in Canada with a 26–23 victory in the 1994 final . Baltimore returned to the title game one year later and became the only American team to win the trophy by defeating the Calgary Stampeders, 37–20. The establishment of the National Football League 's Baltimore Ravens in 1996 caused the Stallions to seek a new city to avoid direct competition with an NFL team. The team moved to Montreal, forming

11076-467: The Grey Cup was not contested since 1919. The trophy was commissioned in 1909 at a cost of $ 48. The chalice is made of sterling silver and stands 33 centimetres (13 in) tall. Its original base was made of wood, with silver shields listing each championship year and winning team's name, beginning with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The players of the 1915 championship Hamilton team, apparently as revenge for Toronto's refusal to relinquish

11232-628: The Hall of Fame at all times. Like the Stanley Cup, but unlike the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the NFL's Super Bowl, a new trophy is not made every year for the winning team to keep; rather, the Grey Cup is loaned to the winning team for a year. English and French are the official languages of the game. Each year, the host city organizes numerous events as part of the annual Grey Cup festival. Gala concerts, parties, and fan festivals are held in

11388-528: The Lord Stanley of Preston was appointed by Queen Victoria as Governor General of Canada on June 11, 1888, he and his family became highly enthusiastic about ice hockey. Stanley was first exposed to the game at Montreal 's 1889 Winter Carnival, where he saw the Montreal Victorias play the Montreal Hockey Club . The Montreal Gazette reported that he "expressed his great delight with

11544-554: The Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans to cancel the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals after game five, marking the first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded. The series was tied at 2–2–1, but the final game was never played because Montreal Manager George Kennedy and players Joe Hall , Billy Coutu , Jack McDonald , and Newsy Lalonde were hospitalized with influenza . Hall died four days after

11700-589: The NHL came under pressure to allow its champion to play the WHA champion. Eventually, following the establishment of the Canada Cup as the first best-on-best international hockey tournament, NHL president Clarence Campbell (who was a vocal opponent of the tournament) made public overtures to establish a true world professional championship in ice hockey, "just like the World Series ". Under Campbell's proposal,

11856-458: The NHL champion would have played the WHA champion for the right to face the European champion. In the end, Campbell's proposal went nowhere – eventually, the NHL resolved the WHA challenge by agreeing to merge with its rival , by which time the older league had quietly withdrawn its support for the idea. Neither the NHL nor any other professional hockey league makes a claim to its champions being

12012-402: The NHL had exclusive control over the Cup. A website known as freestanley.com (since closed) was launched, asking fans to write to the Cup trustees and urge them to return to the original Challenge Cup format. Adrienne Clarkson , then Governor General of Canada, alternately proposed that the Cup be presented to the top women's hockey team in lieu of the NHL season. This idea was so unpopular that

12168-506: The NHL to inscribe the name of Vladimir Konstantinov , whose career ended after a car accident on June 13, 1997, on the Stanley Cup after Detroit defended their title in 1998. With the Montreal Canadiens having won by far the most Cup championships of any team, the list of the players who have been engraved on the Cup the most often is dominated by Montreal players. Henri Richard of the Canadiens, with his name engraved eleven times, played on more Stanley Cup champions than any other player. He

12324-479: The Ottawa Rough Riders, in the final all-"Roughriders" Grey Cup game. Both teams fought a see-saw battle, which was decided in the dying seconds of the game when Ottawa quarterback Tom Clements threw to Tony Gabriel , which stood out as the winning touchdown, 23–20. The 1977 Grey Cup was the first held at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, contested by the home town Alouettes and the Eskimos in front of

12480-456: The Ottawa defence by lying down on the sidelines, as if asleep. He received the pass from quarterback Keith Spaith while still on his back. The victory completed the only undefeated season in the history of Canadian professional football. The boisterous celebrations that followed the win gave rise to the legend of Calgary alderman and future mayor Don Mackay riding his horse into the lobby of

12636-616: The Ottawa team receiving a bye to the final because they were the only road team. On March 17, in the first Stanley Cup playoff game, the Montreal Hockey Club (Montreal HC) defeated the Montreal Victorias, 3–2. Five days later, in the first Stanley Cup Finals game, Montreal HC beat the Ottawa Hockey Club 3–1. In 1895, Queen's University was the first official challenger for the Cup, although it

12792-565: The Royal York Hotel. This event was repeated in the 2012 Grey Cup game in Toronto to much of the delight of the fans of both teams. The Calgary Grey Cup Committee maintains the tradition of organizing a pancake breakfast at each year's championship. A 2012 survey found that Canadians consider the Grey Cup to be the most important annual event to attend. Fans of all teams converge at the game venue, including some who have attended 60 or more Grey Cups. The influx of people from across

12948-709: The Stanley Cup continued styling themselves as the world champions just like in baseball. Two years later, the Rosebuds became the first American-based team to play in the Stanley Cup Finals, although all its players were Canadians. In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first American-based team to win the Cup. After that season, the NHA dissolved, and the National Hockey League (NHL) took its place. The Spanish influenza epidemic forced

13104-519: The Stanley Cup had had 3,177 names engraved on it; of those, 1,331 belong to players. Currently, to qualify for automatic engraving, a player: However, since 1994 teams have been permitted to petition the NHL Commissioner , to be considered on a case-by-case basis, to engrave a player's name on the cup if the player was unavailable to play due to "extenuating circumstances". For example, the Detroit Red Wings received special permission from

13260-628: The Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the two main professional ice hockey organizations, reached an agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. It was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947. There are actually three Stanley Cups:

13416-414: The Stanley Cup trustees on March 17, that the trustees would not let the Stanley Cup travel west, as they did not consider Victoria a proper challenger because they had not formally notified the trustees. However, on March 18, Trustee William Foran stated that it was a misunderstanding. PCHA president Frank Patrick had not filed a challenge, because he had expected Emmett Quinn of the NHA to make all of

13572-598: The Toronto Argonauts celebrated; in 2014 when the chalice broke away from its base again as the Calgary Stampeders celebrated their win. The CFL commissioned a replica of the trophy in 2008. The Grey Cup has been stolen on two occasions: it disappeared for three days in 1967 when it was taken from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a prank, and in December 1969 it was stolen from the offices of the Ottawa Rough Riders at Lansdowne Park . The thieves attempted to ransom

13728-459: The WIFU the following year. A push by the sport's organizers to adopt an increasingly professional attitude dominated the post-war period: poor field conditions, previously accepted as part of the game, resulted in numerous complaints against the CRU following the 1949 and 1950 Grey Cups. Field conditions at Toronto's Varsity Stadium were so poor in 1950 that the game has since gained infamy as

13884-518: The Wanderers challenged the Thistles to a rematch. Despite an improved lineup, the Thistles lost the Cup to Montreal. In 1908, the Allan Cup was introduced as the trophy for Canada's amateurs, and the Stanley Cup started to become a symbol of professional hockey supremacy. In that same year, the first all-professional team, the Toronto Trolley Leaguers from the newly created Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL), competed for

14040-682: The West Semi-Final game; the Argonauts defeated the BC Lions to win the championship that year, ending the team's 31-year Grey Cup title drought. Despite Toronto's win, the CFL felt that the overall quality of play in the East Division had deteriorated compared to that of the West. In 1986, it altered the playoff format to allow the first non-playoff team in one division to take the last playoff spot, but stay in their division if they had

14196-491: The appropriate rink conditions, and it was common for teams to defend the Cup numerous times during the year. In 1912, Cup trustees declared that it was to be defended only at the end of the champion team's regular season. In 1914, the Victoria Aristocrats from the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) challenged the NHA and Cup champion Toronto Blueshirts . A controversy erupted when a letter arrived from

14352-501: The arrangements in his role as hockey commissioner, whereas the trustees thought they were being deliberately ignored. In any case, all arrangements had been ironed out and the Victoria challenge was accepted. Several days later, trustee Foran wrote to NHA president Quinn that the trustees are "perfectly satisfied to allow the representatives of the three pro leagues (NHA, PCHA, and Maritime ) to make all arrangements each season as to

14508-455: The bands were originally designed to fill up during the Cup's centennial year in 1992, the names of the 1965 Montreal Canadiens were engraved over a larger area than allotted and thus there are 12 teams on that band instead of 13. When the bands were all filled in 1991, the top band of the large barrel was preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and a new blank band was added to the bottom so the Stanley Cup would not grow further. Another new band

14664-748: The cancelled game, and the series was abandoned. The format for the Stanley Cup Finals changed in 1922 , with the creation of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Three leagues competed for the Cup: two league champions faced each other for the right to challenge the third champion in the final series. This lasted three seasons as the PCHA and the WCHL later merged to form the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 . In 1924–25

14820-458: The contest allowed the league to endure its challenges. The CFL survived into 1997 and was buoyed by an interest-free loan from the NFL, a new television deal with The Sports Network which, along with the launch of its popular Friday Night Football program, has been credited with saving the league. That year's Grey Cup, held in Edmonton and won by Toronto, drew nearly 22,000 more fans than

14976-422: The country is estimated to have an economic impact of over $ 120 million for the region hosting the championship game. The Toronto Argonauts have won the most Grey Cup championships (19), followed by the Edmonton Eskimos (now Elks) (14) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (12). The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have made the most Grey Cup appearances (30). The Tiger-Cats remain the only team yet to win this millenium. Since

15132-585: The country's senior amateur hockey championship. After the Allan Cup was donated for that purpose, Grey instead made his trophy available to the winner of the Canadian Dominion Football Championship , the national championship of Canadian football. The trophy has a silver chalice attached to a large base on which the names of all winning teams, players and executives are engraved. The Grey Cup has been broken on several occasions, stolen twice, and held for ransom. It survived

15288-507: The creation of the Canadian Rugby Union in 1891 and the first CRU-recognized national championship the following year. After that, national championship games were held every year prior to the creation of the Grey Cup except 1899, 1903 and 1904. While the Stanley Cup was created in 1893 as the Canadian amateur hockey championship, professional teams were openly competing for the trophy by 1907. Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey ,

15444-469: The crowning of the 2017–18 champions, the Washington Capitals , the band listing the 1953–54 to 1964–65 winners was removed in September 2018, with a new band for the 2017–18 to 2029–30 champions added to the bottom of the cup. Since the introduction of the five-band cup, each engraved team is displayed on the trophy between 52 and 65 years (though in practice, this was reduced by one year as

15600-429: The cup. The NHL has registered trademarks associated with the name and likeness of the Stanley Cup, although there has been dispute as to whether the league has the right to own trademarks associated with a trophy that it does not own. The original bowl was made of silver and is 18.5 centimetres ( 7 + 5 ⁄ 16  in) high and 29 centimetres ( 11 + 7 ⁄ 16  in) in diameter. The current Stanley Cup

15756-545: The current incarnation of the Alouettes franchise and ending the CFL's excursion into the United States. The league approached the 1996 Grey Cup in dire financial straits: the American expansion had been a failure, the 120-year-old Ottawa Rough Riders franchise ceased operations at the conclusion of the regular season, and out of the eight remaining teams, seven had lost money and two required direct assistance from

15912-461: The days leading up to the championship game. The CFL hands out its annual awards during the festival, and an annual Grey Cup parade is held. Historically, the festival also featured the "Miss Grey Cup" beauty pageant; this was discontinued in 1992. The game itself includes a performance of the Canadian national anthem (usually sung in both English and French, the official languages of the game) and

16068-497: The defunct United States Football League approached the CFL about merging the two leagues. The league showed little interest at the time, but as it continued its decline, the CFL reevaluated its position. In 1992, the CFL announced that it would expand into the United States . The Sacramento Gold Miners joined the league and became the first American team eligible to win the Grey Cup. The league added three additional American teams in 1994 and two in 1995 (with one team folding), but

16224-599: The favoured Calgary Stampeders , served as a morale booster for the city of Montreal, which was reeling in the aftermath of the October Crisis . The 1970s belonged to the Edmonton Eskimos , however, as they ended the decade as one of the most dominant teams in CFL history, reaching the Grey Cup nine times between 1973 and 1982. The team competed in three consecutive finals early in the decade, losing to Ottawa in 1973 and Montreal in 1974 , before winning

16380-616: The first Canadian members. In March 2017, to commemorate the Stanley Cup's 125th anniversary, the original Cup and the current Stanley Cup were the focus of a four-day tour of Ottawa, including a stop at Rideau Hall. The Royal Canadian Mint produced two commemorative coins to mark the anniversary. The first is a roll of Canadian quarters with an image of the Stanley Cup, the word Stanley Cup in English and Coupe Stanley in French with two ice hockey players and "125 years/ ans " on

16536-409: The first championship game between two western Canadian teams. The 1989 Grey Cup is considered one of the finest games in Canadian football history: The Saskatchewan Roughriders won their second championship by defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43–40 in the highest scoring Grey Cup game of all-time. Saskatchewan kicker Dave Ridgway 's last-second field goal won the game and made him a legend in

16692-471: The first championship game. The first Grey Cup game was held on December 4, 1909, between two Toronto clubs: the University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeated the Parkdale Canoe Club 26–6 before 3,800 fans. The trophy was not ready for presentation following the game, and the Varsity Blues did not receive it until March 1910. They retained the trophy in the following two years, defeating

16848-481: The following year. Both the Big Four and WIFU suspended operations in 1942 due to the Second World War . Grey Cup play was expected to be suspended along with the unions; however, the military felt the game and sport would serve as a morale booster and organized teams at bases across the country. For the following three years, Grey Cup competition was limited to military teams, and in the 1942 Grey Cup ,

17004-611: The franchise's fourth championship in 1975 . The 1975 championship was held in Calgary and was the first Grey Cup played on the Canadian Prairies . A young woman infamously streaked across the field during the national anthem despite frigid temperatures well below freezing. The only time the Eskimos did not reach the Grey Cup final during this span was in 1976 , when the Saskatchewan Roughriders met

17160-423: The game and Winnipeg holding onto a 28–27 lead, officials made the unprecedented decision to suspend play until the next day. Though the league feared that continuing fog on the morning of December 2 would force the complete abandonment of the game, it lifted in time for the contest to resume. Around 15,000 of the original 32,655 spectators watched Winnipeg win the Grey Cup without further scoring by either team. It

17316-501: The game of hockey and the expertise of the players". During that time, organized ice hockey in Canada was still in its infancy and only Montreal and Ottawa had anything resembling leagues. Stanley's entire family became active in ice hockey. Two of his sons, Arthur and Algernon, formed a new team called the Ottawa Rideau Hall Rebels . Arthur also played a key role in the formation of what later became known as

17472-458: The game with an undefeated record, having outscored their opposition 226 to 55 during the season. They dominated Edmonton, recording the first shutout in Grey Cup history with a 23–0 victory. Multi-sport star Lionel Conacher was Toronto's top player, scoring 15 of his team's points before leaving the game after the third quarter to join his hockey team for their game. The same Edmonton team (renamed as Elks for that single season) challenged for

17628-532: The game, 25-year veteran Lui Passaglia ended the longest career in CFL history by kicking what was ultimately the game-winning field goal. The Calgary Stampeders matched the Lions' feat the next year by becoming the second 8–10 team to win the Grey Cup, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a 27–19 score in front of 65,255 fans, the second largest crowd in the game's history. The 2005 Grey Cup

17784-518: The game. Bringing chuckwagons and horses, the fans organized a pancake breakfast – a staple of the Calgary Stampede – for bewildered Torontonians. According to historian Hugh Dempsey , "The Grey Cup was just another game until Calgary went down to Toronto with chuckwagons and everything and turned it into an event." The Stampeders won the game on the strength of the "sleeper play", a touchdown scored by Norm Hill after he hid himself from

17940-481: The game: the Most Valuable Player and the Dick Suderman Trophy as most valuable Canadian player. In 2019, Andrew Harris was the first player to win both the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian and Most Valuable Player the same year, playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers . The trophy was commissioned in 1909 by The Earl Grey , then Canada's governor general , who originally hoped to donate it for

18096-410: The highest paid player in football history at that time. The Argonauts reached the 1991 Grey Cup and defeated the Calgary Stampeders 36–21. With 261 all-purpose yards on the game, including a then-Grey Cup record 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Ismail was named Grey Cup Most Valuable Player . The potential for the league to enter the American market was discussed in 1987 when operators of

18252-528: The initiative failed in most markets, and by 1996, the CFL again operated exclusively within Canada. The lone successful American market was in Baltimore, home to the Stallions . The team averaged over 35,000 fans per game in its inaugural season, nearly double that of Toronto or Hamilton. They matched that success on the field by becoming the first American team to play in the Grey Cup. The BC Lions kept

18408-485: The lack of any interleague championship. In doing so, the NHL copied a policy that had been adopted by the then still-fledgling National Football League from its start in 1920 (and which the National Basketball Association also asserted upon its founding in 1946). Finally in 1947, the NHL reached an agreement with trustee J. Cooper Smeaton to grant control of the Cup to the NHL, allowing

18564-600: The league in 1914. The club was reorganized in late 1917 with the plan of playing weekly exhibition matches against teams from other cities in the United States and Canada. Starting the following January, the Wanderers participated in the only season of the United States National Hockey League , finishing third among four teams. The club disbanded in the offseason after losing nearly all of its players to military service. Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup ( French : La Coupe Stanley )

18720-446: The league not operate for a season. The dispute lasted so long that, by the time it was settled, the NHL had resumed operating for the 2005–06 season , and the Stanley Cup went unclaimed for the 2004–05 season. Furthermore, when another NHL lockout commenced in 2012 the trustees stated that the 2006 agreement did not oblige them to award the Cup in the event of a lost season, and that they were likely to reject any non-NHL challenges for

18876-815: The league to reject challenges from other leagues that may have wished to play for the Cup: This agreement was amended on November 22, 1961, substituting the Governors of the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston, Ontario with the Committee of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario as the group to name the two Canadian trustees, if need be. In the 1970s, the World Hockey Association sought to challenge for

19032-435: The league to stay afloat. The Edmonton Eskimos could not afford to bring their players' families to the championship game. The Toronto Star echoed fears spoken by fans and media across the country when it asked if the 1996 championship, won by Toronto over Edmonton, would be the final Grey Cup. While the league struggled, the Grey Cup game itself retained its popularity and remained a national institution. The strength of

19188-463: The league, Ottawa hosted the 105th Grey Cup at TD Place Stadium in 2017, as part of celebrations to mark 150 years of Confederation . The 55th Grey Cup , played at the end of the 1967 CFL season , was also held in Ottawa as part of celebrations to mark 100 years of Confederation. In May 2020, due to postponement of the regular season and other factors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic , it

19344-462: The loss of the playoff spot was disastrous for Montreal, which ceased operations one year later. The crossover rule was eliminated and not revisited until a decade later due to Montreal's folding (ironically, the crossover rule returned with the Alouettes' revival). Reduced to eight teams, the CFL shifted Winnipeg to the East Division, making the 1988 Grey Cup between the Blue Bombers and Lions

19500-478: The merger and creation of the Canadian Football League began in 1958, the Eskimos have won the most Grey Cup Championships (11) and have made the most Grey Cup appearances (19). The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have the most losses in Grey Cup play (19). The defending champions are the Toronto Argonauts who won the 111th Grey Cup in 2024, their second title in 3 years. Six teams in CFL history have won

19656-499: The more famous Stanley Cup used exclusively today by the NHL, members of the winning teams are allowed time to celebrate with the trophy in their own fashion, often taking it to their home towns or tours in locations across Canada. The board of directors for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame act as the Grey Cup's trustees and control its rental for events. The trophy is accompanied by a designated representative of

19812-511: The new home of the Argonauts beginning in the 2016 season. The 104th turned out to be one of the most memorable, with the Ottawa Redblacks winning their first Grey Cup by a score of 39-33 over the heavily favoured Calgary Stampeders as Henry Burris passed to Ernest Jackson for a touchdown in overtime--only the third overtime game in the history of the Grey Cup. After having been promised the 102nd Grey Cup game as an incentive to rejoin

19968-402: The next two decades other leagues and clubs occasionally issued challenges, but none were accepted by the Cup's trustees. Since 1926, no non-NHL team has played for the Cup, leading it to become the de facto championship trophy of the NHL. In addition, with no major professional hockey league left to challenge it, the NHL began calling its league champions the world champions , notwithstanding

20124-484: The original bowl of the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup", the authenticated "Presentation Cup", and the spelling-corrected "Permanent Cup" on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame whenever the Presentation Cup is not available. While the NHL has maintained control over the trophy itself and its associated trademarks, the NHL does not actually own the trophy but uses it by agreement with the two Canadian trustees of

20280-430: The prairie province. Declining interest in the CFL during the 1990s left the league in financial difficulty. Hoping to restore the league's credibility with fans, a new ownership group featuring Bruce McNall , hockey player Wayne Gretzky and actor John Candy purchased the Toronto Argonauts in 1991 and lured American college standout Rocket Ismail to Canada with a four-year, $ 26.2 million contract which made him

20436-475: The previous year. The CFL restored its reputation over time, enjoying new popularity into the 2000s such that it no longer had to rely on an exciting Grey Cup final to achieve stability for the next season. In 2000 , the 8–10 BC Lions made history when they defeated the Montreal Alouettes, 28–26, becoming the first team in history to win the Grey Cup with a losing record in the regular season. In

20592-684: The province in 1931, when Montreal hosted the event and the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers won the 19th Grey Cup . The game did not leave central Canada until 1955 when the 43rd Grey Cup was played in Vancouver. That contest achieved what was at the time an all-time Canadian football attendance record of 39,491. It was the first of 16 games hosted by the British Columbia city, second among all host cities. The four highest attended Grey Cup games have been held at

20748-469: The reverse and an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse using plated steel. The second coin was designed with the Stanley Cup on the reverse and an effigy of Elizabeth II, "Stanley Cup" in English and " Coupe Stanley " in French and "50 dollars" above the effigy. It was made using 99.9% silver. In October 2017, the Lord Stanley's Gift Monument , commemorating the donation of the Stanley Cup,

20904-433: The second quarter and became increasingly dense as the game progressed. By the fourth quarter, the players were unable to see the sideline markers and the fans unable to see the play. The players were unable to see the ball in the air – kick returners listened for the sound of the ball hitting the ground – and the action was largely invisible to the television audience. With nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds remaining in

21060-538: The series of matches to be played for the Cup". One year later, when the Maritime league folded, the NHA and the PCHA concluded a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other for the Cup, similar to baseball 's World Series , which is played between the American League and National League champions. Under the new proposal, the Stanley Cup Finals series alternated between

21216-455: The shelf upon which it sat collapsed. The trophy has been broken on six other occasions: in 1978, when it was dropped by celebrating Edmonton Eskimos players; in 1987, when an Eskimos' player sat on it; in 1993, when Edmonton's Blake Dermott head-butted it; in 2006, when the chalice broke away from its base as the BC Lions celebrated their victory; in 2012 when one of the handles broke off as

21372-481: The sideline. Unsure how to handle the situation as there was no rule designed to cover it, referee Paul Dojack invented one on the spot. He placed the ball half the distance to the Winnipeg goal line from the point Bawel was tripped. The incident did not affect the final score, as Hamilton won 32–7. The league also created a new rule during the 1961 Grey Cup as it was the first in history to end regulation time in

21528-440: The team and its players has been an unbroken annual tradition. Originally, a new band was added each year, causing the trophy to grow in size. The "Stovepipe Cup", as it was nicknamed because of its resemblance to the exhaust pipe of a stove, became unwieldy, so it was redesigned in 1948 as a two-piece cigar-shaped trophy with a removable bowl and collar. This Cup also properly honoured those teams that did not engrave their names on

21684-528: The title of world champions by no later than the turn of the century. After the Portland Rosebuds , an American-based team, joined the PCHA in 1914, the trustees promptly issued a formal statement that the Cup was no longer for the best team in Canada, but now for the best team in the world. Ice hockey in Europe was still in its infancy at this time, so it was without much controversy that winners of

21840-535: The trophy again in 1922 , but lost 13–1 to their eastern opposition, the Queen's University Golden Gaels . For Queen's, it was the first of three consecutive titles. Western teams continued to vie for the trophy, but were consistently outclassed for several years. Eastern teams and critics felt the quality of the western game was inferior to theirs, and when Queen's defeated the Regina Rugby Club 54–0 in

21996-469: The trophy available to subsequent champions. Canada's participation in World War I resulted in the cancellation of the championship from 1916 to 1918, during which time the Cup was forgotten. Montreal Gazette writer Bob Dunn claimed that the trophy was later rediscovered as "one of the family heirlooms" of an employee of the Toronto trust company where it had been sent for storage. The Grey Cup game

22152-436: The trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football . The game is contested between the winners of the CFL's East and West Divisional playoffs and is one of Canadian television 's largest annual sporting events. Since 2022, the game was held on the third Sunday of November. The Toronto Argonauts have the most Grey Cup wins (19) since its introduction in 1909, while

22308-476: The trophy even though they did not officially win it under the new PCHA-NHA system. They had won the title of only the previous champion's league and would have been crowned as Cup champions under the old challenge rules. The winners in 1918 and 1920 to 1923 did not put their winning team name on it. No further engraving occurred until 1924, when the Canadiens added a new band to the Cup. Since then, engraving

22464-502: The trophy in 1912 and 1913, added a shield for the 1908 Tigers team to give the appearance that their organization had won the first Grey Cup. A 1947 fire destroyed the clubhouse of the Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club and damaged the Grey Cup. Many other trophies and artifacts in the clubhouse melted or were damaged beyond repair but the Grey Cup survived by catching onto a nail attached to a surviving wall when

22620-429: The trophy, but the CFL refused to pay and made plans to replace it with a duplicate. An anonymous phone call led to the trophy's recovery two months later in a locker at Toronto's Royal York Hotel . The thieves were never found. The current design of the Grey Cup's base was introduced in 1987, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the first Grey Cup championship. The base stands 84 centimetres (33 in) high and

22776-446: The winning team. I am not quite certain that the present regulations governing the arrangement of matches give entire satisfaction, and it would be worth considering whether they could not be arranged so that each team would play once at home and once at the place where their opponents hail from. Soon afterwards, Stanley purchased what is frequently described as a decorative punch bowl , but which silver expert John Culme identified as

22932-564: Was also cancelled in 1919 due to a lack of interest from the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the intercollegiate unions, along with rules conflicts between the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) and the western union; Canada was still struggling in its recovery from the Spanish flu epidemic that occurred during the last months of World War I. Competition finally resumed in 1920 with

23088-523: Was announced that the 108th Grey Cup festivities in Regina, Saskatchewan (which were to be the first to be hosted by the new Mosaic Stadium ) had been cancelled and postponed to 2022, and that the site of the game, if held, would be based on regular season records rather than as a neutral site . The Grey Cup itself was later cancelled in August along with the 2020 CFL season , which was the first year that

23244-563: Was controversial. The Montreal Victorias had won the league title and thus the Stanley Cup, but the challenge match was between the previous year's champion, Montreal HC, and the university squad. The trustees decided that if the Montreal HC won the challenge match, the Victorias would become the Stanley Cup champions. The Montreal HC won the match 5–1 and their cross-town rivals were crowned the champions. The first successful challenge to

23400-550: Was erected in Ottawa at Sparks Street and Elgin Street, near the location of the dinner party announcing the Cup at the Russell House, which has since been demolished. Like the Grey Cup , awarded to the winner of the Canadian Football League , the Stanley Cup is engraved with the names of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff. However, this was not always the case: one of Lord Stanley's original conditions

23556-443: Was given to it as early as May 1, 1893, when an Ottawa Journal article used the name as a title. Originally, Stanley intended that the Cup should be awarded to the top amateur hockey team in Canada, to be decided by the acceptance of a challenge from another team. He made five preliminary regulations: Stanley appointed Sheriff John Sweetland and Philip D. Ross (who went on to serve an unsurpassed 56 years) as trustees of

23712-424: Was played on November 25, 2012, at the Rogers Centre in Toronto between the Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders. The Toronto Argonauts won the Grey Cup with a score of 35–22. As per a new title sponsorship deal with Shaw Communications announced in May 2015, the event was thenceforth known as the Grey Cup presented by Shaw . The 104th Grey Cup game was played at BMO Field in Toronto, which became

23868-413: Was scheduled to be added to the bottom of the cup following the 2004–05 season, but was not added because of the 2004–05 NHL lockout. After the 2005–06 champion Carolina Hurricanes were crowned and the new bottom ring was finally added (along with the retiring of the band listing the 1940–41 to 1952–53 champions), the cancelled season was acknowledged with the words "2004–05 Season Not Played". Following

24024-417: Was that each team could, at their own expense, add a ring to the Cup to commemorate their victory. Initially, there was only one base ring, which was attached to the bottom of the original bowl by the Montreal Hockey Club. Clubs engraved their team names, usually in the form "TEAM NAME" "YEAR WON" , on that one ring until it was full in 1902. With no more room to engrave their names (and unwilling to pay for

24180-438: Was the first title game completed on a Sunday; the Grey Cup moved from its traditional Saturday start to Sunday in 1969; however, the game was played on a Saturday for the last time in 1970. The Saskatchewan Roughriders won their first ever Grey Cup in 1966 when they defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders 29–14 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver before 36,553 fans. The Montreal Alouettes' 1970 Grey Cup championship, an upset win over

24336-402: Was the second overtime game in Grey Cup history, and the first one using the league's shootout overtime format (introduced in 2000). Both the Eskimos and Alouettes scored touchdowns on their first possessions, while Edmonton scored a field goal in its second and held Montreal scoreless to win the game by a 38–35 score. The game was played in the middle of a stretch of eight Grey Cup appearances by

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