In 1909, the cup was commissioned by Albert Grey, Canada's Governor General, and was awarded for the first time to the Univerisity of Toronto Varsity Blues. The trophy is a silver chalice mounted on a large base, which holds the names of all the players and staff of the winning team. It has survived fire, breaking and being stolen and held for ransom twice in its life so far.
Graham Kelly has covered 37 Grey Cups in a career that landed him in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame's media section. The author of "History of the Grey Cup," "Greatest Grey Cups," and "Saskatchewan Roughriders," Graham was the Roughrider waterboy in 1956-57. He covered Riders for United Press International from 1963-1968 and has covered the CFL for the "Medicine Hat News" since 1972.