Challenge Cup Era
During the Challenge Cup Era from 1893–1914, the Stanley Cup was a "challenge trophy"; the champions held onto the Cup until they either lost their league title to another club, or a champion from another league issued a formal challenge and subsequently defeated the reigning Cup champion in a special game or series.
Teams had to add their names to the trophy at their own expense. Initially, there was only one ring, the one added by the first Cup champion Montreal HC. Clubs then engraved their team names, usually in the form " ", on that one ring until it was full in 1902. With no room to engrave their names (perhaps unwilling to pay for a second band to the Cup), teams started leaving their mark on the bowl itself. A second ring was finally added by the Ottawa Senators in 1909. However, for some unknown reasons, some teams during this era never bothered to engrave their names on the Cup.
| Month/Year | Winning Team | Engravings Added | Location Added |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1893 | Montreal HC | "Montreal AAA/1893" | A new base ring that the team attached to the bottom of the original bowl |
| 1894 | Montreal HC | "Montreal/ - 1894 - " | 1893 base ring |
| 1895 | Montreal Victorias | "Victorias/ - of - /Montreal/ - 1895 -" | |
| February 1896 | Winnipeg Victorias | "Victorias/ - of - /Winnipeg/ - 1895 -" | |
| December 1896 | Montreal Victorias | "Victorias/ - of - /Montreal/ - 1896-/ Winnipeg Feb 20th" |
|
| 1897 | Montreal Victorias | "Victorias/ - of - /Montreal/- 1897 -" | |
| 1898 | Montreal Victorias | "Victorias/ - of - /Montreal/- 1898 -" | |
| February 1899 | Montreal Victorias | "Victorias/ -> of <- /Montreal/ - 1899-/ Montreal Feb 15th & 18th" |
|
| March 1899 | Montreal Shamrocks | "Shamrocks/ * of * /Montreal/ 1899/ Montreal 4th & 14th March" |
|
| February 1900 | Montreal Shamrocks | "Shamrocks/ -> of <- /Montreal/ - 1900 - / Montreal 4th & 14th March" |
|
| March 1900 | Montreal Shamrocks | Did not add an engraving | |
| 1901 | Winnipeg Victorias | "Victorias/ -> of <- /Winnipeg/ - 1901 - / Montreal Jan 29th & 30th" |
1893 base ring |
| January 1902 | Winnipeg Victorias | "Victorias/ -> of <- /Winnipeg/ - 1902 - / Winnipeg Jan 21st & 23rd " | |
| March 1902 | Montreal HC | "Montreal/ -> 1902 <- / Winnipeg Mar 13th 15th 17th" | |
| February 1903 | Montreal HC | "Montreal/ 1903 / Montreal Jan 29th 30th Feb 2nd 4th" | Outside of bowl |
| March 7–10, 1903 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa/ * 1903 * / Ottawa vs. Vics." | |
| March 12–14, 1903 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa/ 1903. / Ottawa vs. Rat Portage" | |
| January 1904 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa. 1904. / Ottawa vs. Winnpeg R.C." | |
| February 1904 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa. 1904. / Ottawa vs. Marlboro." | |
| March 2, 1904 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa/ 1904. / Ottawa vs. Wanderers." | |
| March 9–11, 1904 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa/ 1904. / Ottawa vs. Brandon." | |
| January 1905 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa/ 1905. / Ottawa vs. Dawson." | |
| March 1905 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa/ 1905. / Ottawa vs. Kenora." | |
| February 1906 | Ottawa HC | "Ottawa. 1906. / Ottawa vs. Queens. / Ottawa vs. Smith Falls." | |
| March 6–8, 1906 | Ottawa HC | ||
| March 14–17, 1906 | Montreal Wanderers | "Montreal March 15–17 Wanderers vs. Ottawa Score 12-10" | Outside of bowl - above Montreal 1902, Ottawa 1903 & 1904 |
| December 1906 | Montreal Wanderers | "Montreal December 27–29 Wanderers vs. New Glasgow 10-3 6-2" (mistake score was 7-2 not 6-2) | Outside of bowl - above Ottawa 1904 to 1906 |
| January 1907 | Kenora Thistles | "Thistles of Kenora 12 Wanderers 8 / Montreal Jan 17th & 21st 1907" | Inside the rim of the bowl |
| March 1907 | Montreal Wanderers | "Wanderers Defeated Kenora 12 to 8 March 25th 1907", plus all of the players' names and executives (20 names, Trainer missing from cup.) | Inside of the bowl |
| January 1908 | Montreal Wanderers | Did not add an engraving | |
| March 10–12, 1908 | Montreal Wanderers | ||
| March 14, 1908 | Montreal Wanderers | ||
| December 1908 | Montreal Wanderers | ||
| 1909 | Ottawa Senators | "* Ottawa 1909* " | A new base ring that the team attached to the bottom of the 1893 base ring |
| January 5–7, 1910 | Ottawa Senators | "Ottawa/ 1910 / Ottawa vs Galt / Ottawa vs Edmonton" | 1909 base ring |
| January 18–20, 1910 | Ottawa Senators | ||
| March 1910 | Montreal Wanderers | Did not add an engraving | |
| March 13, 1911 | Ottawa Senators | ||
| March 16, 1911 | Ottawa Senators | ||
| 1912 | Quebec Bulldogs | "Quebec / *1911-1912* / Defeated Moncton / 9-2 & 8-0" | 1909 base ring |
| 1913 | Quebec Bulldogs | "Quebec / 1912-1913 / Defeated Sydney / 14-3 & 6-2" | |
| 1914 | Toronto Blueshirts | "Torontos / 1913-14 / Defeated Victorias B.C. / 3 Straight Games" | |
(*) Note: The Winnipeg Victorias engraved "1895" instead of "1896" because they won their Stanley Cup Challenge against Montreal prior to the end of the 1896 season.
Read more about this topic: Chronology Of Stanley Cup Engravings
Famous quotes containing the words challenge, cup and/or era:
“He’s indestructible. Frankenstein’s creation is man’s challenge to the laws of life and death.”
—Edward T. Lowe, and Erle C. Kenton. Dr. Edelman (Onslow Stevens)
“If you desire to drain to the dregs the fullest cup of scorn and hatred that a fellow human being can pour out for you, let a young mother hear you call dear baby “it.””
—Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927)
“The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)