Kenora Thistles
Donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, the Stanley Cup was originally awarded to the top amateur team in Canada, who would then accept challenges from the winners of other leagues. From its inception until 1912, the Cup was nearly always won by teams from Montreal, Winnipeg, and Ottawa. In 1903 Ottawa won the Cup, after finishing the season tied for first in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League with the Montreal Victorias. They played a two-game, total-goal series for the league championship. The Montreal Hockey Club, who had held the Cup, finished third in the league and therefore lost the right to keep it.
History of the National Hockey League (1917–1942)
In the first game of the final, the Hawks were forced to use minor-league goaltender Alfie Moore after Karakas suffered a broken toe. Moore led the Hawks to a 3–1 victory before being ruled ineligible to play the rest of the series by the NHL. After Chicago lost game two, Karakas returned wearing a steel-toed boot and led the Hawks to victories in games three and four, and the Stanley Cup. The 1938 Black Hawks remain the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup despite a losing regular-season record.