December 5, 2025 • 8 mins
Dive into the strange tale of the 1970 Stanley Cup theft on Daily Sports History. Learn how the iconic trophy vanished under mysterious circumstances, sparking a frenzy among fans and authorities. Discover the twists and turns of this bizarre incident and how it became one of hockey's most unusual stories.
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Listen now! 👉 DailySportsHistory.com 📲 Follow for more daily sports history insights!
Email: dailysportshistory@gmail.com
YouTube: YouTube.com/@dailysportshistory
Twitter: twitter.com/dailysportshis
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551687917253&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dailysportshistory.bsky.social
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Threads
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On December fifth, nineteen seventy, Toronto police got a call
from the Hockey Hall of Fame letting them know that
the Stanley Cup, along with a few other trophies, had
been stolen away from the museum and started one of
the most useless thefts in history, as the Stanley Cup
has no street value. We're going to cover all this
(00:21):
and some unique tales about the Standy Cup today on
Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Rees,
your guide as you daily learn more about sports history,
increasing your sports knowledge. As today we learned about the
nineteen seventy Stanley Cup heist and today's trivia question is
(00:47):
when was the first time the Stanley Cup actually got stolen? Now,
the Stanley Cup has a long history, but we actually
covered how the Stanley Cup got started as it was
just a cup donated by Lord Stane of Canada as
he loved the game of hockey and wanted to increase
his value. And it has kind of grown into a
life of its own, and the Standy Cup has become
(01:08):
one of the most unique trophies in all those sports
because it's kind of like the People's Cup. It goes
on tour players and employees of the team that wins
it gets a day with it to do whatever they want.
They can take it to their hometown. They can have
a day just eating out the top of it or
drinking out of it. There's so many different things the
Stanley Cup has been used for, where other sports trophies
(01:29):
are just trophies. They usually don't have a story or
a Laura behind them. In nineteen oh five, when the
Ottawa Senators tried to kick it over a canal where
it got frozen and they couldn't take it until the
canal on froze and even I mentioned like players and
coaches got to take it. Lester Patrick, who be covered
on a previous episode, took the cup home to him
and his kids actually etched their names into it and
(01:52):
fitdily enough. They would get their names officially put on
officially engraved it into the cup in the nineteen forties,
but in nineteen sixty two was the first time it
got stolen, as the Montreal Canadians had just lost to
the Chicago black House the year before, and the Chicago
Blackhawks were displaying it at their stadium in a glass display,
and a disgruntled fan of the Canadians, Kenneth Kylander decided
(02:16):
that during a game he would go in bribe a
security guard, pick the lock, and just walk out. And
he said it was an April fools Day prank and
he actually contacted local sports writers to come take photos
of it and everything, and he was actually arrested in
charged with disorderly conduct and had to pay a fine
of a whopping ten dollars and he was released. But
in nineteen seventy was when it really was one of
(02:38):
the bigger heist as it's a case that was never
solved and really wasn't a high priority to be solved.
We'll find out why. It all happened at the Hockey
Hall of Fame which is in Toronto, Ontario, and has
been there since nineteen fifty eight, and they have inducted
over two hundred and ninety nine players, one hundred and
(02:58):
fifteen builders, sixteen on ice officials in their storied history
and they have different displays of great moments in history,
and of course they have the original Stanley Cup. But
on December fifth, nineteen seventy, the Stanley Cup was stolen
along with the Consmike Trophy, which is given to the
most Valuable Player of the Year and these trophies are
iconic in NHL, and they were stolen in an attempt
(03:22):
for ransom, because a few days later, the police actually
got a call from someone saying how much was the
cup work? To them, trying to brok her a deal
to get a little ransom out of this, but the
cops didn't want to negotiate because this wasn't the real
Stanley Cup. See, the permanent cup had been on leave
going to visit other cities, and this was a replica
(03:44):
cup that was just there for the time being. So
it was a fake cup and the only way for
the robbers to get money from this was if they
held it for ransom, and there was no reason for
the NHL to pay for the ransom. It wasn't the
real trophy, and even if it was, they could just
make another trophy. It wasn't something they couldn't replicate, and
(04:05):
it's not something you could sell on the black market,
as it was obviously stolen. One of a kind. Thing
that is stolen is very hard to sell on the
black market. You might find a buyer, but they're knowingly
buying something stolen, so that limits your options and likely
the ransom deal was the only thing they had going for,
as the robbers probably weren't thinking that they wouldn't negotiate
(04:28):
for this heralded Stanley Cup, which was one of the
most valuable things they thought in the country, which it is,
but it's the idea around it, not the actual cup.
And so after years of not hearing back anything, in
nineteen seventy seven, the police got anonymous at call that
there would be a missing silverware in the basement of
(04:49):
a dry cleaners and they didn't know what they would find,
and they went down there there it was the Stanley
Cup all alone. Now they investigated a little bit, but
they didn't put much stock into it, as it wasn't
ah whole lot matter. They got the Stanley Cup back,
whoever did it didn't really accomplish what they were wanting
to do, and life went on. The NHL went on,
the Stanley Cup finals went on. It was like stealing
(05:11):
a pack of gum. Why would you investigate and put
a whole lot of man time and power into investigating that.
And because of this, we don't know what actually happened.
We don't know who was all involved. Why these were
the only things they stole and what their final goal
really was what they were really hoping to do. But
the cup was back, they put on own display again
and life went on. I know, it's an anti climactic story,
(05:34):
I know, but it's not over see. In nineteen seventy
seven they would actually get stolen. There was actually another
attempt by a group of students trying to steal it
as well as they were trying to do a scavenger
hunt for the best possible find and they thought the
Stanley Cup would be the best thing they could do,
and they were eventually arrested and detained for interrogation and
eventually released with no charges. But in nineteen seventy nine,
(05:57):
a guy the floor who was the former number one
overall pay in the NHL, stole the cup and hit
it in his trunk of his car following the Stanley
Cup parade, and he had it for almost fourteen years,
where they used a replica again because it wasn't that
big of a deal and Lafour wasn't trying to steal
it for anything. He just wanted to have the cup
to show it off in his house, and it was
(06:18):
actually returned after he had another player come into his
house and check it out his trophy room and see
the cup was there, and reported it to the NHL,
where they were able to get it back. Now it's
not only that the cup had been stolen, it's actually
been lost a few times. In nineteen twenty four, some
Multreal Canadian players had a flat tire on their way
(06:38):
home hauling the Stanley Cup, and they had moved some
things around in order to change the tire and get moving,
and they had accidentally left the cup in a snow
bank out there all night, and when they realized they
had lost it, they went back and the cup was
still sitting there. No one had grabbed it, taken it,
or even reported it. So the cup has a unique history.
And even though it was a worthwhiless robbery more dangerous
(07:00):
and what's t worth. Oftentimes criminals don't think about that.
They see something that seems valuable and that's what they take. Luckily,
no one was hurt in this whole process. The cup
was returned and they were able to get it back,
and the NHL went on continue to grow, and the
cup continued its story to grow even more as they
become even more popular today. And if you want to
(07:22):
learn more about some hilarious crimes. Check out Life Laugh,
Larceny a Petty, a true petty crime podcast where hosts
Amanda and Tevin explore the lighter side of crime where
they do dramatizations of real petty crimes that have been
done that are over the top and downright funny. As
(07:44):
it's cheesy and there are some funny dumb crimes that
have been committed. We'll put a link in the description
below for you to check them out. And if you
enjoyed today's Daily Sports History, please subscribe wherever you're at.
That way, you did not miss a single episode, and
I want to give you a quick update as the simper,
I'm going to just cut back to doing Monday through
Thursday shows as the holidays have come up and I've
(08:07):
had some family things come up where my son, who
I've talked about previously, has a heart condition and his
surgery's coming up soon, so thoughts and prayers for him
would be gratefully appreciated. But he's requiring a little bit
more care and takes a little bit more time away
from doing the podcast, which is important to me, but
also nothing is more important than family, So I hope
(08:28):
you can handle just four days a week, and come
back next week for more daily sports history.
On December fifth, nineteen seventy, Toronto police got a call
from the Hockey Hall of Fame letting them know that
the Stanley Cup, along with a few other trophies, had
been stolen away from the museum and started one of
the most useless thefts in history, as the Stanley Cup
has no street value. We're going to cover all this
(00:21):
and some unique tales about the Standy Cup today on
Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Rees,
your guide as you daily learn more about sports history,
increasing your sports knowledge. As today we learned about the
nineteen seventy Stanley Cup heist and today's trivia question is
(00:47):
when was the first time the Stanley Cup actually got stolen? Now,
the Stanley Cup has a long history, but we actually
covered how the Stanley Cup got started as it was
just a cup donated by Lord Stane of Canada as
he loved the game of hockey and wanted to increase
his value. And it has kind of grown into a
life of its own, and the Standy Cup has become
(01:08):
one of the most unique trophies in all those sports
because it's kind of like the People's Cup. It goes
on tour players and employees of the team that wins
it gets a day with it to do whatever they want.
They can take it to their hometown. They can have
a day just eating out the top of it or
drinking out of it. There's so many different things the
Stanley Cup has been used for, where other sports trophies
(01:29):
are just trophies. They usually don't have a story or
a Laura behind them. In nineteen oh five, when the
Ottawa Senators tried to kick it over a canal where
it got frozen and they couldn't take it until the
canal on froze and even I mentioned like players and
coaches got to take it. Lester Patrick, who be covered
on a previous episode, took the cup home to him
and his kids actually etched their names into it and
(01:52):
fitdily enough. They would get their names officially put on
officially engraved it into the cup in the nineteen forties,
but in nineteen sixty two was the first time it
got stolen, as the Montreal Canadians had just lost to
the Chicago black House the year before, and the Chicago
Blackhawks were displaying it at their stadium in a glass display,
and a disgruntled fan of the Canadians, Kenneth Kylander decided
(02:16):
that during a game he would go in bribe a
security guard, pick the lock, and just walk out. And
he said it was an April fools Day prank and
he actually contacted local sports writers to come take photos
of it and everything, and he was actually arrested in
charged with disorderly conduct and had to pay a fine
of a whopping ten dollars and he was released. But
in nineteen seventy was when it really was one of
(02:38):
the bigger heist as it's a case that was never
solved and really wasn't a high priority to be solved.
We'll find out why. It all happened at the Hockey
Hall of Fame which is in Toronto, Ontario, and has
been there since nineteen fifty eight, and they have inducted
over two hundred and ninety nine players, one hundred and
(02:58):
fifteen builders, sixteen on ice officials in their storied history
and they have different displays of great moments in history,
and of course they have the original Stanley Cup. But
on December fifth, nineteen seventy, the Stanley Cup was stolen
along with the Consmike Trophy, which is given to the
most Valuable Player of the Year and these trophies are
iconic in NHL, and they were stolen in an attempt
(03:22):
for ransom, because a few days later, the police actually
got a call from someone saying how much was the
cup work? To them, trying to brok her a deal
to get a little ransom out of this, but the
cops didn't want to negotiate because this wasn't the real
Stanley Cup. See, the permanent cup had been on leave
going to visit other cities, and this was a replica
(03:44):
cup that was just there for the time being. So
it was a fake cup and the only way for
the robbers to get money from this was if they
held it for ransom, and there was no reason for
the NHL to pay for the ransom. It wasn't the
real trophy, and even if it was, they could just
make another trophy. It wasn't something they couldn't replicate, and
(04:05):
it's not something you could sell on the black market,
as it was obviously stolen. One of a kind. Thing
that is stolen is very hard to sell on the
black market. You might find a buyer, but they're knowingly
buying something stolen, so that limits your options and likely
the ransom deal was the only thing they had going for,
as the robbers probably weren't thinking that they wouldn't negotiate
(04:28):
for this heralded Stanley Cup, which was one of the
most valuable things they thought in the country, which it is,
but it's the idea around it, not the actual cup.
And so after years of not hearing back anything, in
nineteen seventy seven, the police got anonymous at call that
there would be a missing silverware in the basement of
(04:49):
a dry cleaners and they didn't know what they would find,
and they went down there there it was the Stanley
Cup all alone. Now they investigated a little bit, but
they didn't put much stock into it, as it wasn't
ah whole lot matter. They got the Stanley Cup back,
whoever did it didn't really accomplish what they were wanting
to do, and life went on. The NHL went on,
the Stanley Cup finals went on. It was like stealing
(05:11):
a pack of gum. Why would you investigate and put
a whole lot of man time and power into investigating that.
And because of this, we don't know what actually happened.
We don't know who was all involved. Why these were
the only things they stole and what their final goal
really was what they were really hoping to do. But
the cup was back, they put on own display again
and life went on. I know, it's an anti climactic story,
(05:34):
I know, but it's not over see. In nineteen seventy
seven they would actually get stolen. There was actually another
attempt by a group of students trying to steal it
as well as they were trying to do a scavenger
hunt for the best possible find and they thought the
Stanley Cup would be the best thing they could do,
and they were eventually arrested and detained for interrogation and
eventually released with no charges. But in nineteen seventy nine,
(05:57):
a guy the floor who was the former number one
overall pay in the NHL, stole the cup and hit
it in his trunk of his car following the Stanley
Cup parade, and he had it for almost fourteen years,
where they used a replica again because it wasn't that
big of a deal and Lafour wasn't trying to steal
it for anything. He just wanted to have the cup
to show it off in his house, and it was
(06:18):
actually returned after he had another player come into his
house and check it out his trophy room and see
the cup was there, and reported it to the NHL,
where they were able to get it back. Now it's
not only that the cup had been stolen, it's actually
been lost a few times. In nineteen twenty four, some
Multreal Canadian players had a flat tire on their way
(06:38):
home hauling the Stanley Cup, and they had moved some
things around in order to change the tire and get moving,
and they had accidentally left the cup in a snow
bank out there all night, and when they realized they
had lost it, they went back and the cup was
still sitting there. No one had grabbed it, taken it,
or even reported it. So the cup has a unique history.
And even though it was a worthwhiless robbery more dangerous
(07:00):
and what's t worth. Oftentimes criminals don't think about that.
They see something that seems valuable and that's what they take. Luckily,
no one was hurt in this whole process. The cup
was returned and they were able to get it back,
and the NHL went on continue to grow, and the
cup continued its story to grow even more as they
become even more popular today. And if you want to
(07:22):
learn more about some hilarious crimes. Check out Life Laugh,
Larceny a Petty, a true petty crime podcast where hosts
Amanda and Tevin explore the lighter side of crime where
they do dramatizations of real petty crimes that have been
done that are over the top and downright funny. As
(07:44):
it's cheesy and there are some funny dumb crimes that
have been committed. We'll put a link in the description
below for you to check them out. And if you
enjoyed today's Daily Sports History, please subscribe wherever you're at.
That way, you did not miss a single episode, and
I want to give you a quick update as the simper,
I'm going to just cut back to doing Monday through
Thursday shows as the holidays have come up and I've
(08:07):
had some family things come up where my son, who
I've talked about previously, has a heart condition and his
surgery's coming up soon, so thoughts and prayers for him
would be gratefully appreciated. But he's requiring a little bit
more care and takes a little bit more time away
from doing the podcast, which is important to me, but
also nothing is more important than family, So I hope
(08:28):
you can handle just four days a week, and come
back next week for more daily sports history.
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