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Strange Misadventures of the Stanley Cup

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"It's really an honor to do my job," Bolt said, after The Wolf Files requested that he bring the sporting world's most famous trophy down to ABCNEWS.com, where we promptly took it on a little visit to nearby Central Park.

Bolt arrived in a blue blazer with the crest of the Hockey Hall of Fame, toting a blue trunk on wheels.

Whenever he presents the cup, he wears white gloves, even though the players can get downright personal with Stanley. He stays with the cup 24 hours a day, more than 200 days a year, making sure it comes home safely to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The full-time job of cup keeper emerged in the mid 1990s, when demand for the cup began pouring in from all over the world. But before then, the Stanely Cup endured all sorts of mishaps and misadventures. Poor old Stanley had been dented, dismantled, submerged in swimming pools, kicked into a canal, and used as a flowerpot and as a dog-food bowl.

Some would call it disrespect. But certainly Stanley has emerged from it all as the most famous of all sports trophies. And perhaps one reason why the cup is so popular is the players' personal relationship with it, which shows all manner of human expression.

Here now are some of the strangest Stanley Cup tales:

Stanley Cup Misadventures

Baptism — Talk about a great save: In 1996, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre had his daughter baptized in the cup.

Dog-Food Bowl — In 1980, New York Islander Clark Gillies allowed his dog to eat from it. Ranger Ed Olczyk did Stanley a little more honor when he let 1994 Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin eat from it.

Out for a Swim — In 1991, Stanley was found at the bottom of Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux's swimming pool, a feat later duplicated by Avalanche goalkeeper Patrick Roy.

Strip Club Runway — Gentleman that he is, Stanley has been spotted on several occasions at topless joints. When the Edmonton Oilers took the championship in 1987, the cup ended up on the runway with an exotic dancer at the Forum Inn, just across from the Northland Coliseum.

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