The Gordon Cup

The Gordon Cup, symbolic of supremacy in high school hockey in New Jersey, emerged from a very humble beginning. Livingston High School, first Gordon Cup winner in 1958, triumphed in a fledgling five team league, the North Jersey Scholastic Hockey League. Fifteen years later in 1973, the League had grown to 15 teams and two divisions.

The Gordon Cup was established as a permanent trophy by the Essex County Park Commission to honor Kenneth B. Gordon, a member of the Commission from 1938 to 1957. As a Park Commissioner, Kenneth Gordon was instrumental in the Commission’s decision to construct Branch Brook Ice Center and South Mountain Arena. A staunch hockey fan, he attended many games during the early years of league play, and personally presented the cup to play-off winners.

Impressive and beautiful are adjectives that have frequently been used to describe the Gordon Cup. However, the true significance of this trophy lies not in its appearance, but rather what it stands for. Every high schooler who has ever played in the North Jersey Scholastic Hockey League has dreamed of his team winning the Gordon Cup. Perhaps more importantly. each winner can truthfully boast of having achieved a new and higher level of skill than any previous winner. The Gordon Cup is symbolic of the growth of high school hockey from a minor struggling athletic activity to a dramatic major sport.

The Gordon Cup is a reminder of how the sport of high school hockey has grown in the State of New Jersey from a minor struggling athletic activity to a major sport.