The George Richardson Memorial Trophy was presented annually from 1932 until 1971, by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. It represented the Eastern Canada junior hockey championship, and a berth in the Memorial Cup final versus the Abbott Cup champion from Western Canada. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy was retired in 1971, when the Memorial Cup became a round-robin series between the winners of the three major junior hockey leagues in Canada; the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The trophy was named for Captain George Taylor Richardson, a hockey player who died while serving in World War I.

The Memorial Cup is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played among the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL), and a fourth, hosting team, which alternates between the three leagues annually. The Memorial Cup trophy was established by Captain James T. Sutherland to honour those who died in service during World War I. It was rededicated during the 2010 tournament to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict.