History
The Cup was first awarded in 1923 to the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, composed of Canadian students. The tournament was then dominated by Czechoslovak and Soviet teams between 1965 and 1983. In 1984 Team Canada began participating and has since won the Cup eleven times. Team Canada is predominantly made up of Canadians playing in Europe, as well as American Hockey League prospects. Notable free agents (like veteran goaltender Curtis Joseph) or coaches without an NHL contract have also used the Spengler Cup to keep their name around.
From its inception until 1978, the tournament was played on an outdoor rink. The outdoor rink still exists outside the indoor arena, and is one of the largest outdoor rinks in the world. Starting in 1978, all tournament games have been played indoors. In 1956 the championship trophy was given a new look that still stands today.
Read more about this topic: Spengler Cup
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Those who weep for the happy periods which they encounter in history acknowledge what they want; not the alleviation but the silencing of misery.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there in history we can see its fatal strength.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Every library should try to be complete on something, if it were only the history of pinheads.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)