May 15, 1893: The 1st Stanley Cup Presentation

The Montreal Hockey Club, 1893.

That little bowl at the bottom is the original Stanley Cup.

May 15, 1893: For the 1st time, the Stanley Cup is awarded. It is presented to the Montreal Hockey Club, Champions of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada.

Ever since, the Stanley Cup has been known as "Lord Stanley's Cup" and "Lord Stanley's Mug." "Lord Stanley" is the title given to the heir to the title -- usually, the eldest son -- of the Earl of Derby, an English nobleman. Frederick Arthur Stanley was born in 1841, in London, served in the British Army and the House of Commons, and became a breeder of champion racehorses. In 1888, he was appointed Governor-General of Canada, the representative in Canada of the British monarch (at the time, Queen Victoria).

His wife, formerly Lady Constance Villiers, daughter of the 4th Earl of Clarendon, founded the 1st nursing school in the national capital of Ottawa. They had 10 children, and the sons learned how to play hockey in Ottawa. This made Lord and Lady Stanley big fans of the sport. In 1892, Lord Stanley decided to donate a trophy for Canada's amateur hockey champions, starting with the 1892-93 season.

It was originally a "challenge trophy," meaning that, if you challenged the holders, and you beat them, you got it. But no challenge from another league's champions were made to the MHC.

The Cup was added onto in 1912 and 1932,

and assumed its current shape in 1948.

It wasn't much of a season: It was 5 teams, each playing the other 4 teams twice. The MHC went 7-1, the Ottawa Hockey Club 6-2, the Montreal Crystals 3-5, the Quebec Hockey Club of Quebec City 2-5-1, and the Montreal Victorias 1-6-1. It would take until March 22, 1894 for there to be an actual playoff for the Cup, and the MHC beat the Ottawa HC, 3-1.

Hail the Champions: Forwards Billy Barlow, Archie Hodgson, Alex Irving, Alex Kingan, George Lowe and Haviland Routh; defensemen Allan Cameron and James Stewart; and goaltender Tom Paton.

Stewart wasn't just a player, he was the President of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, which sponsored the MHC. The Club was founded in 1884, and folded in 1932, due to the Great Depression. The professional Montreal Canadiens having won the Stanley Cup in 1930 and 1931, and thus dominating local fans' attention, also had something to do with it. The Montreal AAA also founded the football team that won the city's 1st Grey Cup, in 1931. (That team is not considered a precursor to the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes.)

Ironically, Lord Stanley never saw a Stanley Cup Playoff game: Not only was there no Playoff in 1893, but, on April 21, his brother, Edward, the 15th Earl of Derby, died without having had children. So Frederick was now the 16th Earl of Derby, and had to resign as Governor-General and return to England. He became Lord Mayor of Liverpool and the 1st Chancellor of the University of Liverpool (even though Liverpool has its own Earl). He died in 1908.

His son, Edward, the 17th Earl, served as Britain's Secretary of State for War during the latter stages of World War I, and kept the family tradition of breeding champion racehorses going. He was predeceased by his son, Edward, Lord Stanley, so that Edward's son, John, became the 18th Earl of Derby. He was predeceased by his son, Hugh, Lord Stanley, so Hugh's son, Edward Stanley, about to turn 60, and the great-great-great-grandson of the Stanley Cup's donor, is the 19th Earl of Derby. His son Edward, born in 1998, is the current holder of the title of Lord Stanley, and stands to be the 20th Earl.

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May 15, 1893 was a Monday. These games were played in the National League, the only major league in any North American sport at that point:

* The New York Giants lost to the Boston Beaneaters, 8-6 at the South End Grounds in Boston. (The Beaneaters became the Braves in 1912.)

* The Brooklyn Bridegrooms beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at Eastern Park in Brooklyn. (The Grooms became the Dodgers in 1911. The Orioles folded after the 1899 season, and were replaced in 1954 by the American League team that had been the St. Louis Browns.)

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Senators, 15-1 at the Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds. (The Senators folded after the 1899 season, and were replaced in 1901 by an American League team of the same name.)

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Colts, 14-4 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. (The Colts became the Cubs in 1903.)

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-6 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. (The Browns became the Cardinals in 1900, an American League team became the St. Louis Browns in 1902, and the last and most familiar version of Sportsman's Park was built on the same site in 1909.)

* And the Cleveland Spiders and the Louisville Colonels were rained out at League Park in Cleveland. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 7. The Spiders won the opener, 7-2. The Colonels won the nightcap, 16-6. (Both teams folded after the 1899 season.)