The coolest trophy in sports is the Stanley Cup. The Cup was originally the silver bowl that is atop the present trophy. It was purchased for about $50 by Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada, and was intended to be awarded annually to the amateur hockey champions of Canada. It was first presented in 1893 to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association club. Professional teams were openly allowed to compete for it starting in 1909. The National Hockey League took permanent possession of it in 1926. Over the years it's had its share of adventures and misadventures: The Stanley Cup has been used as a flower pot, dropkicked into Ottawa's Rideau Canal, left on a Montreal street corner, and used as an exotic dancer's prop in a New York City strip joint.