This is a very busy time for sports watching. The baseball season started months ago. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is in the midst of its playoffs leading to the eventual winner. Their female counterpart, the WNBA, after a very highly rated draft, is busy showcasing its female stars as their season begins. The National Football League (NFL) with its draft completed prepares for its season.

But unlike the trophy that will be rewarded to the victorious team in each of those other leagues, nothing can compare with what the winning NHL players do as they skate around brandishing “the cup.” 

I witnessed that celebration when the New York Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships between 1980 and 1983. My good friend, John Marks, besides having a successful law practice, used his background as a Marine and a NYC policeman to get involved with the security detail at the Coliseum where the Islanders played. He was able to get me a seat for the clinching game for each of the Islanders championships. It was at one of those games that I was able to watch Islander Denis Potvin hand “the cup” to John who, in his street clothes, briefly skated around with it. Sadly, we lost John this past summer. His charitable service and benevolent nature made him unique.

Which brings me to the unique subject of this column…the Stanley Cup trophy known as “the cup.” Unlike trophies given out to champions in other sports, there is only one Stanley Cup trophy. The cup is one of the most iconic trophies in sports loaded with history and tradition. It was first awarded in 1893 on the donation of Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley, the Governor General of Canada, who wanted to recognize the best amateur hockey team in the country. This arrangement continued until 1926 when the National Hockey League took full control of the trophy, making it the official prize of the league. With the tradition that every member of the winning team gets his name engraved on the cup the original silver bowl had to be enlarged. In 1948 it was redesigned into a two-piece trophy with a barrel shaped base and the removable bowl. The current version introduced in 1958 features the ceremonial bowl, topped with 3 tiered bands and a collar with five uniform bands in the base. The physical cup had to expand because the Stanley Cup is not reproduced each year. The same cup is passed from champion to champion. The tradition allows players to lift the same trophy as legends before them creating a tangible connection across generations. 

While trophies awarded in other sports remain on display in their league’s home, the cup for most of the year is on the move. Often a member of the winning team will have the Stanley Cup in his possession and bring it to his hometown parades and celebrations.

Each player gets to decide what he wants to do with the cup. For many it has been used as a serving dish at a family gathering. Pictures exist of it being used as a bowl filled with Mac and cheese and even hockey’s version of the ice cream kitchen sink where it’s filled to the rim.

In 2008 after the Detroit Red Wings won the cup Tomas Holstrom brought the cup back to Sweden. It was used as part of the baptism ceremony for his two-month-old cousin when she was baptized in the cup.

The cup has also appeared on TV often. When the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup members of the team showcased the cup on the Late Show with David Letterman. It has also been photographed in front of the famous Hollywood sign in California. 

Each of these stories and anecdotes contributes to the mystique and legend of the Stanley Cup. Did you know the Stanley Cup has a full-time guardian when it’s out of the hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto? Since 1988, Phil Pritchard is known as the “keeper of the cup.”  He travels with it and keeps a record when the cup is displayed in a public setting, Phil hands out white gloves to those wanting to touch the cup.

One unwritten rule follows the cup. The cup is on display in the arena where the winner of the hockey championship will be decided. Like many professional athletes, hockey players are superstitious. Seasoned veterans make sure to tell the rookies not to touch the cup believing it’s bad luck to do so.

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.