In 1892, Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley donated the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup – later known as the Stanley Cup – to crown the first Canadian hockey champions. Canada’s Holy Grail documents Lord Stanley’s personal politics, his desire to affect Canadian nationality and unity, and the larger transformations in Anglo-liberal political thought at the time. This book posits that the Stanley Cup fit directly within Anglo-American traditions of using sport to promote ideas of the national, and the donation of the cup occurred at a moment in history when Canadian nationalists needed identifying symbols. Jordan B. Goldstein asserts that only with a transformation in Anglo-liberal thought could the state legitimately act through culture to affect national identity. Drawing on primary source documentation from Lord Stanley’s archives, as well as statements by politicians and hockey enthusiasts, Canada’s Holy Grail integrates political thought into the realm of sport history through the discussion of a championship trophy that still stands as one of the most well-known and recognized Canadian national symbols.

One of the most important figures in Canadian history, Frederick Arthur Stanley's most enduring legacy is not his term as the country's sixth Governor General but the trophy cup that bears his name. Here, Lord Stanley's political legacy -- his diplomacy in dealing with the United States, his embrace of Canada's West, and his nimble handling of domestic crises -- is explored in vivid detail, fleshing out a man who was far more than just an avid sportsman.

This is the history of the most famous trophy in all of sports, from its origins in 14th-century England to the most recent winners of the Cup. Full-color images throughout.

Learn all about the Stanley Cup, the hockey championship of the NHL, and what it takes to win it.