# 5253 - 2017 First-Class Forever Stamp - History of Hockey - Vintage
US #5253 – Vintage
2017 49c History of Hockey
Value: 49¢ 1-ounce first-class letter rate- Forever
Issued: October 20, 2017
First Day City: Detroit, MI
Type of Stamp: Commemorative
Printed by: Ashton Potter
Method: Offset
Format: Pane of 20
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 15,000,000 stamps
Birth Of The Stanley Cup
Born in London in 1841, Frederick Arthur Stanley, also known as Lord Stanley of Preston, was appointed Governor General of Canada in June 1888 by Queen Victoria. Upon arriving in Canada, Stanley and his family became fascinated with hockey, a relatively new sport that had been developed there in the 1870s.
After the Ottawa Hockey Club won its third championship, Stanley sent them a letter on March 18, 1892. It read, “I have for some time been thinking that it would be a good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion [of Canada]. There does not appear to be any such outward sign of a championship at present, and considering the general interest which matches now elicit, and the importance of having the game played fairly and under rules generally recognized, I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by the winning team.”
Stanley also had a set of rules to go along with the cup. The winning team would return the cup to a group of trustees so it could be awarded to the next winners. Each winning team could pay to have their club name and year engraved on a silver ring attached to the cup. Also, the cup could never become the property of a single team, even if they won several times.
In the coming years, new leagues formed in the United States and the Stanley Cup was eventually made the prize of the NHL. Each year, the winning team engraved their names on sections (or bands) of the cup. When bands fill up, the oldest is removed and placed in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Today, the Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy in professional sports. The International Ice Hockey Federation has called it one of the “most important championships available to the sport.” Carrying over a century of history, this trophy is the most revered symbol in hockey.
US #5253 – Vintage
2017 49c History of Hockey
Value: 49¢ 1-ounce first-class letter rate- Forever
Issued: October 20, 2017
First Day City: Detroit, MI
Type of Stamp: Commemorative
Printed by: Ashton Potter
Method: Offset
Format: Pane of 20
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 15,000,000 stamps
Birth Of The Stanley Cup
Born in London in 1841, Frederick Arthur Stanley, also known as Lord Stanley of Preston, was appointed Governor General of Canada in June 1888 by Queen Victoria. Upon arriving in Canada, Stanley and his family became fascinated with hockey, a relatively new sport that had been developed there in the 1870s.
After the Ottawa Hockey Club won its third championship, Stanley sent them a letter on March 18, 1892. It read, “I have for some time been thinking that it would be a good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion [of Canada]. There does not appear to be any such outward sign of a championship at present, and considering the general interest which matches now elicit, and the importance of having the game played fairly and under rules generally recognized, I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by the winning team.”
Stanley also had a set of rules to go along with the cup. The winning team would return the cup to a group of trustees so it could be awarded to the next winners. Each winning team could pay to have their club name and year engraved on a silver ring attached to the cup. Also, the cup could never become the property of a single team, even if they won several times.
In the coming years, new leagues formed in the United States and the Stanley Cup was eventually made the prize of the NHL. Each year, the winning team engraved their names on sections (or bands) of the cup. When bands fill up, the oldest is removed and placed in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Today, the Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy in professional sports. The International Ice Hockey Federation has called it one of the “most important championships available to the sport.” Carrying over a century of history, this trophy is the most revered symbol in hockey.