The Herder Memorial Trophy, or Herder, is the championship trophy to be awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The original cast silver trophy was donated in 1935 by The Evening Telegram newspaper on behalf of the Herder family,^[1] as a memorial to five brothers who played hockey in St. John's.

First awarded in 1935, the Herder Memorial Trophy has been won 85 times. The Herder was not awarded in 1942, 1943, 1991, 2020 and 2021. The first winners of the Herder trophy was a team from Corner Brook that won the inaugural all-Newfoundland ice hockey championship on March 22, 1935. Teams from St. John's have won the Herder Trophy 20 times. The most recent winners were the St. John's RoofTech Senior Caps on April 6, 2024.

As the game of hockey developed across the island, and hockey teams started to travel and compete in regional championships, the idea of a competition to decide the ice hockey champions of Newfoundland gained momentum in early 1935. During a meeting of the St. John's Hockey League on March 5, 1935, it was announced that a trophy, for a championship competition, was to be donated by The Evening Telegram newspaper to be perpetually awarded to Newfoundland's best hockey team.^[2] The Herder would become emblematic of ice hockey supremacy in Newfoundland and Labrador.The Evening Telegram was published by a member of the Herder family since the founding of the paper in 1879 up until the retirement of Stephen Herder in 1993. Telegram has played an integral role in the promotion and sponsorship of the Herder Championships.

The inaugural all-Newfoundland championships took place in St. John's at the Prince of Wales Rink on March 21 and 22, 1935 between Corner Brook, the western hockey champions, and the Guards from the St. John's Senior League that won the Avalon hockey championship.^[3] This was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Newfoundland hockey. The winning team would have the distinction of being the first holder of the Herder Memorial Trophy.

The St. John's Guards earned the right to represent the Avalon Peninsula by first defeating St. Bon's in a 2-game series to become St. John's city champions, and then by toppling the Bay Roberts Rovers in a 2-game, total goal series. The All-Newfoundland championship match-up was then set; the Guards of St. John's would play host to the Corner Brook All-Star Team. Fans in St. John's eagerly awaited the arrival of the Corner Brook team. Tickets to the 2 games were sold out quickly. Corner Brook edged the Guards 1–0 in Game 1, and wAS victorious in Game 2 by a 4–2 margin to become the island's top team, and first Herder Trophy Champions.

The Herder trophy was the brainchild of Ralph Herder, then president of The Evening Telegram. The trophy was a memorial to his five late brothers, Arthur, William, Douglas, Augustus and Hubert, who were all avid hockey players in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Originally donated on behalf of Ralph Herder in memory of five of his late brothers, the trophy now honors the memory of seven brothers, including Ralph and his youngest brother James. In 2009, the name of Ralph's son Stephen was added to the trophy. All seven Herder brothers were fine hockey players and often played together, with four of them sometimes playing together on a championship team. James Herder coached the 1935 Guards team that lost the inaugural Herder championship to Corner Brook in March 1935.

William James Herder, born in Old Perlican, was the founder of Newfoundland's first daily newspaper, The Evening Telegram. Ralph, one of William's seven sons, became publisher of the Telegram in 1934 after the death of Augustus (Gus), who was the fifth brother to pass away. Ralph donated the Herder Trophy on behalf of the Herder Family as a memorial to his five late brothers (Douglas, Arthur, Hubert, Herbert Augustus (Gus) and William Jr.). Later the names of Ralph, his youngest brother James, and Ralph's son Stephen were added to the trophy.

The Herder is now a memorial to the following Herder family members:

1. Arthur John Herder. Arthur was a lawyer and was promoted to captain in the First Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War. He was wounded at Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 1916. Arthur was fatally wounded in France during World War 1 and died on December 1, 1917, at the age of 32.
2. Hubert Clinton Herder. Hubert, born July 28, 1891, was a lieutenant with the First Newfoundland Regiment when he was killed at Beaumont Hamel, France on July 1, 1916, at the age of 25.
3. William H. Herder. William was vice-president of the Evening Telegram when he died in 1934.
4. Douglas C. Herder. Doug died from typhoid on July 8, 1909.^[4]
5. Herbert Augustus (Gus) Herder. Gus was Vice-President and Circulation Manager of the Evening Telegram. He died on December 28, 1934, of pneumonia at the age of 47.
6. Ralph Barnes Herder. Ralph volunteered to join the First Newfoundland Regiment in September 1914 and in 1918 was promoted to lieutenant. He was seriously wounded at Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 1916, and wounded at Monchy, France in 1917. He became the publisher of the Evening Telegram following the deaths of his brothers William and Gus in 1934, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Herder Memorial Trophy in memory of his five brothers who predeceased him. Ralph, the father of Rendell [Rex] and Stephen, died on January 8, 1955, at the age of 61.
7. James Milley Herder. Jim was born July 22, 1904, the youngest of seven brothers. He was vice president and general manager of The Evening Telegram when his brother Ralph died in 1955. Jim took over as publisher and piloted The Evening Telegram Ltd through a period of tremendous growth and prosperity during the late 1950s and through the 1960s. He died on August 25, 1970, in St. John's at the age of 66.
8. Stephen Rendell Herder. Steve was Ralph's son. He was a longtime publisher of The Telegram. An environmentalist long before his time, he was known for saving the Rennies River, and a bridge over that river is dedicated to his efforts. Steve was a proud proponent of the Herder memorial Trophy. Stephen died in 1993 at the age of 65.

An announcement was made on March 5, 1935, at a St. John's Hockey League meeting that the Evening Telegram, on behalf of the Herder family, will donate a trophy to be awarded to the winners of an all-Newfoundland hockey championship.^[5] The trophy would not be available for the 1935 championship but arrived in St. John's from the manufacturer six months later and was sent to Corner Brook to be presented to the winning team.^[6]

The Herder consisted of a cast-silver hockey player mounted on an ebony base. St. Bon's star Edward "Key" Kennedy (1911-1955) was the model for the hockey player that stands atop the original trophy. Trophy-donor Ralph Herder brought a photo of Kennedy in a hockey pose to New York where the model was made and a figure was cast in silver.^[7]

Beginning in 1947 metal shields engraved with the names of winning teams were fixed to the base. In 1952 a second tier was added, third and fourth tiers in 1960, and three more tiers before the original trophy was retired in 2007.

The original Herder was retired in 2007 and is now on display in the Newfoundland & Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame which is located at the Corner Brook Civic Centre. Since 2007 a replica has been awarded to the championship teams.

The Herder family attached eight conditions to their donation of the Herder Memorial Trophy to govern competition for the all-Newfoundland amateur hockey championship:^[8][9]

1. Trophy to be known as "The Herder Memorial Trophy" presented by The Evening Telegram in memory of Arthur, Douglas, William, Augustus and Hubert Herder.
2. Trophy to be emblematic of the All-Newfoundland Amateur Hockey championship, and must be competed for each year in St. John's.
3. All matches held for the Trophy to be held under the rules of the body governing hockey in Newfoundland.
4. The Trophy cannot be won outright but is to be competed for each year.
5. The winner shall hold the Trophy until the start of the hockey season the following year and then it must be returned to the donors.
6. Arrangements for the playing of the All-Newfoundland championship are to be made by the main body governing hockey, the management of the rink, and the donors.
7. No names of teams or players winning the trophy to be engraved on the trophy or base.
8. If an All-Newfoundland championship is impossible in any year, the Trophy shall be held by the team winning the championship of the Avalon Peninsula or other Inter-Sectional championship.

Over the history of the championship series, NAHA has dictated a number of series formats that included the winners of divisional, local league or island-wide league playoffs. The original series featured the eastern champions versus western champions. This format continued until 1962 when an island-wide Newfoundland Senior Hockey league was formed. The champions of the provincial league were awarded the Herder trophy until 1989 when the league was disbanded. Eastern league champions played for the Herder in 1990 and in 1991 there was no Herder Championship.

Between 1991 and 2011, the format of the Herder finals reverted to a competition between the champions of local leagues. The eastern league champions played a western or central league champion in a finals series to decide the top provincial team who were awarded the Herder Trophy.

On February 25, 2015, Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador approved a request by the Central West Senior Hockey League in which they asked to play for the historic Herder Trophy because it was the only operating Senior A hockey league registered in the province.

Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador announced on March 10, 2022, that they will be awarding the Herder Memorial Trophy to the winner of the Avalon East Senior Hockey League finals.^[11]

For 2023, Hockey NL announced that the champion of the Avalon East Senior Hockey League will face-off against the champion of the West Coast Senior Hockey League in a seven-game series for the Herder Memorial Championship.^[12]

Note: After 1947 all series results are listed as games won. Most championship series before 1948 were decided on total Goals. (TG = total goals series)

At the conclusion of the final game, in an on-ice ceremony, the Herder Memorial Trophy is presented to the captain of the winning team. Traditionally the presenter has been a representative of the trophy donor, from the Herder family or The Evening Telegram, and/or a representative from Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador. (TG = Total-goals series)

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by alphabetical order. In the "Years of appearance" column, bold years indicate winning the Herder Trophy Finals.

Notes

^ A. In 1957 the Herder Finals series was not played. Two teams entered the Section 'A' playoffs in 1957 but after Bell Island withdrew before the finals started, NAHA decided to award the Herder Trophy to the Grand Falls Andcos by default.

In 2005 Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador established the Cliff Gorman Memorial Award to be presented annually to the most valuable player (MVP) for his team during the Herder finals series. A native of Prince Edward Island, Cliff was instrumental in promoting hockey in Corner Brook and in Newfoundland and Labrador since moving there in 1955.^[115] Cliff Gorman was inducted into the Newfoundland & Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 in the building category.^[116]

The first island-wide live broadcast of a Herder championship game was on the VONF (Voice of Newfoundland) radio station on Saturday night March 23, 1935. NL Hockey Hall of Famer John (Jack) Tobin provided the play-by-play of the final game of the first all-Newfoundland hockey championships between Corner Brook and the Guards live from the Prince's Rink in St. John's.^[117]

In 1947, from Gander Gardens (in Hangar 12 at the airport), all Newfoundland radio stations participated in an island-wide broadcast of the Herder finals between St. Bon's and Grand Falls sponsored by Coca-Cola. Don Jamieson provided the play-by-play commentary.^[118] The broadcast was carried by the stations VONF, VONH (VONF remote relay), VOCM (St. John's), VOWN (Corner Brook) and VORG (Gander).

Don Jamieson hosted the island-wide broadcast of the 1949 All-Newfoundland Finals from the Corner Brook Rink. This was made possible though the courtesy of the Division of the Dept. Posts and Telegraphs.^[119]

The 1950 all-Newfoundland finals was broadcast live from Grand Falls stadium over station CBN.^[120] The play-by-play commentary for the two finals games between Buchans and St. Bon's was provided by Don Jamieson. The broadcast was sponsored by Jockey Club Brewing Ltd.

The 1953 Herder finals was an island-wide hook-up, broadcast on CBC stations and CJON with Don Jamieson and Frank "Toe" Byrne providing the commentary live from Grand Falls Stadium.^[121]

22-year-old Bob Cole broadcast the 1956 Herder finals on VOCM live from Grand Falls Stadium.^[122]

In 2007 and 2008, Rogers Cable broadcast the Herder finals province-wide using the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Channel.

Games three through five of the 2009 finals were streamed online at thesportspage.ca.

In 2016 all Herder finals games were webcast by Hockey NL's partner Bell Aliant TV One.^[123]

Grand Falls-Windsor Broadcaster George Scott provided the play-by-play on a live webcast of the Herder Finals from 2011 to 2019.^[124]

Since 2022, all Herder finals games were streamed for a fee on AO Live, an Atlantic Canadian based company.