how much do you actually know about the stanley cup?

henri richard played seventeen seasons in the NHL. his name is engraved eleven times on the stanley cup. ray bourque played twenty two seasons in the NHL, from 1979 to 2001. his name is engraved on the stanley cup only one time. he played 1,826 games in the NHL and on the 1,826th game, he was finally able to touch the cup. 

i remember watching him lift the cup on a tiny television we had on our kitchen counter. i was a sophomore in high school. it was late and i was in only my boxers and my ma was harassing me to get to bed. "you can watch that tomorrow," she said. i did not care much for the avalanche and bourque was not my favorite player, but that was the first, and only time, in my life that i cried because i was so happy. in my opinion, that is the greatest moment in the history competition and awards and i can not imagine i will see anything that will top it. 

if you're not a hockey fan, you've heard of the stanley cup. if you hail from the crozet islands, which are located a few hundred miles south east of south africa in the middle of the indian ocean, you've heard of the stanley cup. if you have a pulse, you've heard of the stanley cup. as i was minding my own business in the office the other day, dan went ahead and asked me an interesting question. he asked me how much do i know about the cup. as it turned out, i knew just as much about the stanley cup as i do about quantum physics. because of the amount of shame i felt for not knowing anything about it, i've spent a few hours doing some research. 

the following is a list of facts and traditions that, at bare minimum, every hockey fan should know about the stanley cup. 

- the cup was purchased by lord stanley preston in 1893. it cost him $48.67. 

- it is a decorative punch bowl.

- the montreal hockey club was the first team to win the cup in 1894. they beat the ottawa hockey club 3-1.

- prior to 1924, not all winning teams engraved their names on the silver bands below the cup. 

- the cup has gone though a few different designs. i think the "stove pipe" cup was a cool design.

- there are twelve women who have their names engraved on the cup.

- there are a number of misspellings on the cup. in 1972, apparently the bqstqn bruins won the cup. 

- the first time the cup was presented to the winning team on the ice was when the maple leafs won it in 1932.

- ted lindsay, of the 1950 red wings, was the first to hoist it over his head.

- NHL players do not touch the cup until they have rightfully won it.

- the montreal canadians have won it 24 times.

- henri richard has won it 11 times.

- it takes 13 years to fill a ring with the names of the winners.

- when a band if full, it is removed and hung in the hall of fame.

- jean beliveau's name appears on the cup more than any other name. he won it ten times as a player and seven times in management. 

- it weighs 35 pounds.

- the "cup for a day" tradition did not start until 1994.

- there are three stanley cups. the original cup that lord stanley bought is on display in a vault in the hockey hall of fame. a replacement was made in 1963 because the original was becoming fragile. this 1963 replica is what is used today to the players. then there is the replica trophy that is on display at the hall of fame when the actual trophy is out traveling. this one is perfect and there are no misspellings. 

- in order for a name to be engraved on the cup a player must have played at least 41 games with the winning team and/or have played in at least one stanley cup final playoff game. 

- the name "basil pocklington" is crossed out with x's.