Mann Cup Facts and Figures

 

The Mann Cup is lacrosse’s equivalent to hockey’s Stanley Cup and is awarded annually to the Canadian senior men's box lacrosse championship team. The championship series is a best four out of seven series.  Ontario (the East – Major Series Lacrosse League) versus British Columbia (the Western Lacrosse Association).

Mann Cup History

It is common knowledge to lacrosse fans; the Mann Cup was donated in 1910 by Sir Donald Mann (a Canadian railway contractor).  Initially, a challenge trophy, in 1925 the then current champion New Westminster Salmonbellies gave the trophy to the Canadian Lacrosse Association.  The CLA created a national playoff system.  Initially, challenges and championships for the Mann Cup were competed by rules of field lacrosse. However, in 1932 box lacrosse was adopted by the CLA and the first Mann Cup was played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Unknown by many lacrosse followers, there have been three Mann Cup trophies – the original and two replicas. The original 1910 trophy was in use from 1910 until 1985, when it was retired permanently to the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. A replica trophy, which has a larger and taller base than the original 1910 trophy, was in use and awarded to teams from 1986 until 2004 when it was destroyed in a bonfire mishap in Peterborough. The second replica replaced the first replica in 2005, and its appearance mirrors the previous 1986 replica trophy and not the original 1910 trophy.

Mann Cup Facts

The original Mann Cup trophy is permanently located at the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in New Westminster, British Columbia. 

The current monetary value of the Mann Cup trophy is the most valuable in all of sports. The Cup is comprised of solid, albeit low-karat gold,  

When appraised by Birks in May of 1980, the trophy was valued at $60,000 Canadian dollars which is equivalent to $214,227 in 2023.

The Mann Cup has been played for 112 times as the Cup went uncontested in 1916 and 1917 due to World War 1. The Mann Cup trophy was not awarded in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

The top five teams to win the Mann Cup by frequency are:

1. New Westminster - 24

2. Peterborough - 18

3. Brampton - 11

4. Victoria - 9

5. Six Nations – 9

Oops – Mann Cup Mishaps

In 1989, the Mann Cup was stolen from the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in New Westminster, British Columbia. Despite fears of the Cup being melted down for its gold content, it turned up a few weeks later.

Following the 1999 Mann Cup final, the Mann Cup was damaged during the post-game "victory lap" taken by the Victoria Shamrocks around Memorial Arena.

In 2004, the Peterborough Lakers won the Mann Cup. During a celebratory gathering the replica of the trophy was dropped in a bonfire and was destroyed.

You can see all the champions there : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Cup