Frederick Arthur Stanley (known between 1886 and 1893 as Lord Stanley of Preston) was appointed in 1888 as the sixth Governor General of Canada. He left Canada in 1893 when he became Earl of Derby, on the death of his brother Edward (the 15th Earl).
While living in Canada, Lord Stanley's sons became keen ice hockey players, playing in amateur leagues in Ottawa, and Lord and Lady Stanley became avid fans. The trophy was originally commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, to be awarded to the top–ranked amateur club, but from 1909 it was contested exclusively by professional teams. Since 1926, only teams of the National Hockey League have competed for it.
Derby was inducted into the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945, in the "Honoured Builders" category, in recognition of his encouragement and love of outdoor life and sport in Canada.
The Stanley Cup was originally in the form of a rose bowl, 7 inches (180 mm) high. Tiers have been added over the years to take the names of the winning teams; it's now around 36 inches (910 mm) high, and weighs 35 pounds (16 kg).
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