So the Stanley Cup visited Pioneer Courthouse Square around lunchtime today, and I stopped briefly to take a few photos. If you don't like these, I suspect you can find better ones on the interwebs somewhere.
I haven't been paying close attention to current events and coming attractions here in town of late, so I didn't realize the Cup was coming to town until I saw a mention of it on Dave Knows Portland. I don't know how he manages to keep track of all this stuff, especially since he lives in Astoria these days.
In any case, his story in turn links to an old post of mine about the Portland Rosebuds and the 1916 Stanley Cup. Which, I'll point out once again, was ours for about a month. It's not just me being eccentric here either. It's a minority opinion, but I'm not alone here. From the book Deceptions and doublecross: how the NHL conquered hockey by Morey Holzman & Joseph Nieforth, pp 99-100:
As PCHA champions, the Portland Rosebuds took over stewardship of the Stanley Cup from the 1915 winners, the Vancouver Millionaires. Team manager Ed Savage dutifully engraved his team's name on the coveted bowl:
PORTLAND, ORE.
PCHA CHAMPIONS
1915-1916
thus solidifying the City of Roses' claim as the first U.S.-based club to win the Cup. (This practice ended after the 1916 series; thereafter, a team could only be recognized as Cup champs if it won the Stanley Cup series. Reference sources therefore consistently name the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans as the first champions from south of the border.)
The Rosebuds would not get to keep the Cup for long, however. Georges Vezina starred in leading the Montreal Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup championship, as they beat Portland three games to two.
So there. Told ya.
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