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.

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.

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.

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.

[6] The trophy was formally presented to the winning team at the annual meeting Corner Brook Sports Club in November 1935.

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.

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.

The Herder championships were cancelled for 1942 and 1943 after the Arena was destroyed by fire on November 28, 1941, and due to depleted rosters of senior hockey teams with men serving overseas during the Second World War.

In recent years, the Herder finals series was held at Mile One Centre (and before it was built, at Memorial Stadium) in St. John's and frequently sold out the 6,000 seat building.

Games were also held in the Pepsi Centre in the city of Corner Brook, on the west coast of the island, when teams from that area were playing for the cup.

[10] Beginning in 1952, additional layers have been added to the trophy base as required to accommodate successive Herder Champion nameplates.

(TG = total goals in the 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.

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.

[122] 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.

[123] 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.

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.