Print this articleLord Plantinga’s Cup
by Mark Hofman
Adorning the wall of a basement hallway in Calvin College’s Fieldhouse are several photos of hockey playing Calvin students, dating back to the seventies. Some of these photos contain seminarians. The history of hockey at Calvin College and Seminary reflects the Canadian heritage of many of its students. Without their “migration” Calvin may never have developed a team. One of the all-time best goalies for Calvin’s club hockey team was seminarian Don Weinberg. Classics professor George Harris coached for several years. Although the College and Seminary have since become separate entities, their mutual interest in ice hockey is one way their relationship is sustained.
As was the case above the 49th parallel, ice hockey at the seminary had humble beginnings. The seminary pond has been the site of many would-be preacher-theologians finding respite from Hebrew and Greek. This year the inaugural “Lord1” Plantinga’s Cup will be played on Saturday, January 19 at 6:00 pm at Jolly Roger Ice Arena. The teams will be named the Elders and Deacons after the original names for the dominant Calvin Seminary intramural hockey squads of the seventies. They will be comprised of seminarians, local clergy and friends. The Plantinga cup will be awarded in the tradition of Lord Stanley’s Cup, given for the 120 years of championships played for the “crown” of North American hockey. Lord Frederick Stanley, governor-general of Canada in 1888, awarded the cup to the winner of a game played between the Montreal Victorias and the Montreal Hockey Club. Lord Stanley’s Cup has been given ever since as “an outward and visible sign”2 of the highest hockey championship game ever since. Thus, in honor of President Plantinga, this inaugural cup will be awarded to the winners of The Game.
Directions to Jolly Roger Ice Rink: (from CTS)
- Take Burton west 0.9 miles to BRETON
- Turn LEFT onto Breton for 0.6 miles to OKEMOS
- Turn RIGHT onto Okemos for 0.4 miles to VILLAGE
- Turn LEFT onto Village for 0.2 miles to 2600 Village Dr SE
1 Like all good seminary publications this one has a footnote. The use of the British honorific title “Lord” should not be confused with the English rendering of the tetragrammaton LORD, as the Bible of King James made popular. The organizers of this event are not suggesting that President Plantinga be considered for a “title upgrade” of divine status (although we do think he’s pretty cool)
2 Dan Diamond, The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book (Richmond Hill, ON: Firefly Books, 1992), 10. Other information about the Stanley Cup can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Cup
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