The Stanley Cup has been often referred to as the “Holy Grail” of hockey. It is one of, if not, the most identifiable and respected trophies in all of sports.

Recently, the Stanley Cup made a stop in Tulsa and was on display at the BOK Center during the Tulsa Oilers season opener. Currently, the Cup is in the “possession” of the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions – the St. Louis Blues. Since the Tulsa Oilers have an affiliation agreement with the Blues, a few months back, Oilers general manager Taylor Hall began inquiring about the possibility of having the Cup make a visit to Tulsa.

 “At first they said it might be doable,” Hall told me. “Then they said that there may be a scheduling issue, but they would let me know. Several weeks went by and I didn’t hear anything, before I got a call saying yes, they would be able to bring the Cup to Tulsa. Well, it still wasn’t definite, so I had to keep a secret for a while, because I didn’t want to announce the Cup was coming and then they changed their mind.”

 “They” would be both the St. Louis Blues and the Hockey Hall of Fame, which is the official curator of the Stanley Cup, and it’s up to the folks at the hall of fame to schedule the Cup’s appearances. One of the guys responsible for physically transporting the Stanley Cup from town to town is Howie Borrow. The most popular “Keeper of the Cup” would be the guy you see in the television commercials and during the Stanley Cup finals, Phil Pritchard, and there’s a third gentleman who travels with the Cup, Mike Boltz. I had an opportunity to sit down and chat with Borrow when he was in Tulsa.

 “I’ve been working at the Hall of Fame 15 years, and I’ve been traveling with the Stanley Cup the last 10 years,” Burrow said. “We share the duties, and Phil is the official curator at the Hockey Hall of Fame, but I would say Mike and I do the majority of the travel during the regular season, and then Phil jumps in whenever he needs to be there or has to, but between the three of us, we probably work 300 days a year, so it’s quite busy.”

The Stanley Cup is always on the go all year and there’s hardly a down time for it or it’s keepers, not even during the NHL season.

“During the season, we’re on a regular NHL Hockey Hall of Fame schedule, so we’re traveling to various events like corporate sponsors, charity events, NHL events like All-Star games, and Stadium Series games,” Borrow said. “It’s always something to do with hockey for the most part. We could go to different cities like we are here now in Tulsa, with the ECHL, and we’re promoting their home opener tonight. We’re always doing something to promote the game and to be able to share the Stanley Cup with people all over the world.”

During the summer months, Borrow, a Toronto native, and the other guys are responsible for taking the Cup to each of the Stanley Cup Champions players’ home. That could be anywhere across the U.S., Canada, Europe and beyond. Borrow has several stories to tell about the places he’s been to in the past ten years.

“It’s been very interesting and I had never been to Europe before working with the Hall of Fame,” Borrow said. “I’ve been to probably about a dozen different countries now; Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Germany. I’ve been to Russia the last three summers in a row now, to Moscow, so it’s been a great experience being able to travel all over the U.S. and Canada. I’ve been to all the provinces now and probably over 40 states, so it’s been great.”

One rumor I had heard for many years was confirmed by Borrow – there is more than one Stanley Cup.

“This is the official and original Stanley Cup that is here today,” he said. “There is a replica on display in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, but that one doesn’t have the imperfections, or the misspellings and the dents, and it never leaves the Hall of Fame. That one is in a glass case and just on display, but the one we take around is the official Stanley Cup.”

Well, if that’s the case, now I can say I’ve seen both – the one on display in Toronto many years ago and the “real” Stanley Cup that made a stop in Tulsa earlier this month. It might be a long time before the Cup and I meet again, but the fans that were at the Oilers game that night, will not soon forget the time they got to see the Stanley Cup and have a photo taken with this most prestigious trophy.

To listen to my entire interview with Borrow, go to; https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19586947