The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 champions of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The championship series is played between the Western Lacrosse Association

Western Lacrosse Association

The Western Lacrosse Association is an amateur league of men's Senior A box lacrosse sanctioned by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern British Columbia. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the...

 champion and the Major Series Lacrosse

Major Series Lacrosse

Major Series Lacrosse is a Senior A box lacrosse league based out of Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the...

 champion. The trophy is one of the most valuable trophies in all of sports, made of solid gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 and valued at $60,000.

It was donated in 1910 by Sir Donald Mann

Donald Mann

Sir Donald Mann was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.Born at Acton, Ontario, Mann studied as a Methodist minister but worked in lumber camps in Ontario and Michigan before moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba...

; prior to then, the Minto Cup

Minto Cup

The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's lacrosse team of Canada.It was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto, and from 1901 until 1909 awarded to the senior men's champion of Canada...

 was the senior amateur championship trophy. The Mann Cup was originally a challenge trophy, but in 1925 the champion New Westminster Salmonbellies

New Westminster Salmonbellies

The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, most recently in 1991...

 turned the trophy over to the Canadian Lacrosse Association

Canadian Lacrosse Association

The Canadian Lacrosse Association , founded in 1867, is the governing body of lacrosse in Canada. It conducts national junior and senior championship tournaments for men and women in both field and box lacrosse...

 who instituted a national playoff system. The challenges and championships for the Mann Cup were played by the rules of traditional field lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 until 1932, when box lacrosse

Box lacrosse

Box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse and sometimes shortened to boxla, LAX or simply box, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada, where it is the most popular version of the game played in contrast to the traditional field lacrosse game...

 was adopted by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. The first indoor Mann Cup was played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in October 1932.

Champions

1901 Ottawa Capitals 1902 Montreal Shamrocks 1903 Montreal Shamrocks 1904 Montreal Shamrocks 1905 Montreal Shamrocks 1906 Ottawa Capitals 1907 Montreal Shamrocks 1908 New Westminster Salmonbellies New Westminster Salmonbellies The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, most recently in 1991... 1909 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1910 Young Torontos 1911 Vancouver Athletic Club 1912 Vancouver Athletic Club 1913 Vancouver Athletic Club 1914 Vancouver Athletic Club (awarded to Calgary Calgary Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...  by cup trustees, see below) 1915 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1916 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1917 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1918 Vancouver Coughlans 1919 Vancouver Foundation Club 1920 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1921 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1922 New Westminster Salmonbellies (Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...  briefly held cup in 1922) 1923 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1924 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1925 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1926 Weston Westonmen 1927 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1928 Ottawa Emmets 1929 Oshawa Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...  Generals 1930 Brampton Excelsiors Brampton Excelsiors (MSL) The Brampton Excelsiors are Senior "A" box lacrosse team from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The Excelsiors play in the Major Series Lacrosse Senior "A" Lacrosse League.-Season-by-season results:... 1931 Brampton Excelsiors 1932 Mimico Mountaineers 1933 Hamilton Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...  Tigers 1934 Orillia Terriers 1935 Orillia Terriers

1936 Orillia Terriers 1937 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1938 St. Catharines Athletics St. Catharines Athletics (MSL) The St. Catharines Athletics are a defunct Senior "A" box lacrosse team from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-Championships:***... 1939 New Westminster Adanacs Coquitlam Adanacs The Coquitlam Adanacs are a Canadian box lacrosse team based in Coquitlam, British Columbia. The Adanacs play in B.C.'s seven team Western Lacrosse Association , whose champion competes against Ontario's Major Series Lacrosse champion for the Mann Cup every September.The Adanacs originally started... 1940 St. Catharines Athletics 1941 St. Catharines Athletics 1942 Mimico/Brampton Combines 1943 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1944 St. Catharines Athletics 1945 Vancouver Burrards Vancouver Burrards Vancouver Burrards has been the name of several lacrosse teams in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Vancouver Burrards 1937-1993:Former Senior 'A' team which joined the Inter-City Lacrosse League in 1937. The team played in the Western Lacrosse Association until 1993 when the team was... 1946 St. Catharines Athletics 1947 New Westminster Adanacs 1948 Hamilton Tigers 1949 Vancouver Burrards 1950 Owen Sound Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...  Crescents 1951 Peterborough Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...  Timbermen 1952 Peterborough Timbermen 1953 Peterborough Timbermen 1954 Peterborough Timbermen 1955 Victoria Shamrocks 1956 Nanaimo Timbermen Nanaimo Timbermen The Nanaimo Timbermen are a Senior A box lacrosse club, based in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The team competes in the 7-team Western Lacrosse Association .... 1957 Victoria Shamrocks 1958 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1959 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1960 Port Credit Port Credit, Ontario Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...  Sailors 1961 Vancouver Burrards 1962 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1963 Vancouver Carlings Vancouver Burrards Vancouver Burrards has been the name of several lacrosse teams in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Vancouver Burrards 1937-1993:Former Senior 'A' team which joined the Inter-City Lacrosse League in 1937. The team played in the Western Lacrosse Association until 1993 when the team was... 1964 Vancouver Carlings 1965 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1966 Peterborough Lakers Peterborough Lakers (MSL) The Peterborough Lakers are Senior "A" box lacrosse team from Peterborough, Ontario. They play in the Major Series Lacrosse league where under the current format, they compete in 20 regular season games from May through July and playoffs beginning in August and ending with the Mann Cup in September... 1967 Vancouver Carlings 1968 Brooklin Redmen Brooklin Redmen The Brooklin Redmen are a box lacrosse team from Whitby, Ontario. The Redmen play in the Major Series Lacrosse league . The MSL, and its counterpart, the Western Lacrosse Association, represent the highest level of competitive box lacrosse in Canada... 1969 Brooklin Redmen 1970 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1971 Brantford Brantford, Ontario Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...  Warriors

1972 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1973 Peterborough Lakers 1974 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1975 Vancouver Burrards 1976 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1977 Vancouver Burrards 1978 Peterborough Red Oaks 1979 Victoria Shamrocks 1980 Brampton Excelsiors 1981 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1982 Peterborough Lakers 1983 Victoria Payless Victoria Shamrocks The Victoria Shamrocks are a Senior A box lacrosse club, based in Victoria, British Columbia. The team competes in the 7-team Western Lacrosse Association .The Shamrocks have won the Mann Cup 8 times... 1984 Peterborough Lakers 1985 Brooklin Redmen 1986 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1987 Brooklin Redmen 1988 Brooklin Redmen 1989 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1990 Brooklin Redmen 1991 New Westminster Salmonbellies 1992 Brampton Excelsiors 1993 Brampton Excelsiors 1994 Six Nations Chiefs Six Nations Chiefs The Six Nations Chiefs are Senior "A" box lacrosse team from Six Nations, Ontario. The chiefs play in the Major Series Lacrosse Senior "A" League.-See also:* Six Nations Arrows - an affiliated Junior "A" box lacrosse team.-External links:* * * *... 1995 Six Nations Chiefs 1996 Six Nations Chiefs 1997 Victoria Shamrocks 1998 Brampton Excelsiors 1999 Victoria Shamrocks 2000 Brooklin Redmen 2001 Coquitlam Adanacs 2002 Brampton Excelsiors 2003 Victoria Shamrocks 2004 Peterborough Lakers 2005 Victoria Shamrocks 2006 Peterborough Lakers 2007 Peterborough Lakers 2008 Brampton Excelsiors 2009 Brampton Excelsiors 2010 Peterborough Lakers 2011 Brampton Excelsiors

1914 Calgary Chinooks

In 1914, the Vancouver Athletic Club defeated the Calgary Chinooks and Brampton Excelsiors in Mann Cup challenge matches but the Mann Cup Trustees disputed the status of one of the Vancouver players in the series versus Brampton.

Despite the views of British Columbia lacrosse, national lacrosse and amateur athletic organisations that supported Vancouver’s position, the trustees instead awarded the cup to the Calgary Chinooks on September 29, 1914. Vancouver however held on to the gold trophy and refused to turn it over to either the trustees or the Chinooks.

After the Mann Cup was turned over to the control of the Canadian Lacrosse Association in 1926, all references to the Calgary Chinooks title were removed from the records.

1922 Vancouver Lacrosse Club

In 1922, there were two rival leagues located in British Columbia battling for the Mann Cup: Vancouver Lacrosse Club and Victoria Capitals played in the British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association's senior league while the New Westminster Salmonbellies and Vancouver Elks played in the Pacific Coast Amateur Lacrosse Association. Control of the Mann Cup was retained by the BCALA after New Westminster left that league to join the PCALA. Vancouver Lacrosse Club won their schedule and were awarded the Mann Cup, while New Westminster won their series in the PCALA.

About a week later, Vancouver Lacrosse Club and New Westminster met in a three-game, total goals series to determine who would take home the Mann and Kilmarnock Cups. After Vancouver (who were at the time considered the holders of the Mann Cup) were up 7-6 in goals after two games, they then defaulted their third game after a brawl broke out and the team refused to return to the field. The score was 1-1, so New Westminster lined up and they then went through the formal motions of scoring two unopposed goals into the empty net to take the series and the silverware back by 9 goals to 8.

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, with a small chunk cut out of the rim, but otherwise intact.

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.