The Ultimate Prize

Book excerpt: There is no greater reward for a hockey player than winning the Stanley Cup. The Ultimate Prize chronicles the evolution of the sport from the first recorded game played in 1875 to the 2002 Champion Detroit Red Wings. Photographs and statistics of teams, coaches, players, owners, and hockey executives are listed year by year. Facts, legends, and lore will engross the reader. Unique among team sports trophies, the Stanley Cup has been called "the people's trophy." It travels the globe making public appearances up to 300 days of the year. The names of the men (and some women!) who have won it are engraved right on the Cup itself. Hockey players of all ages dream not just of winning the championship but of actually hoisting the glittering silver trophy high above their heads. It is one of sport's ultimate icons and perhaps the world's best-known piece of folk art. Included in The Ultimate Prize are chapters on Stanley Cup heroes, top play-off moments, and the history of the Stanley family. Did you know that Lord Stanley never watched a team that won his trophy, nor ever played the game himself? All seven of his sons played hockey as a team and were outstanding athletes. Daughter Isobel Stanley played the game, too. In truth, the Stanley family is every bit as responsible for the "Stanley Cup legacy" as his Lordship himself. The Ultimate Prize—misspelled player and team names, wrong names, erroneous years won, and even double listing of players. Every hockey fan or sports enthusiast will want a copy of this treasure.