The Legend of the Octopus is a sports tradition during Detroit Red Wings home playoff games involving dead octopuses thrown onto the ice rink. The origins of the activity go back to the 1952 playoffs, when a National Hockey League team played two best-of-seven series to capture the Stanley Cup. Having eight arms, the octopus symbolized the number of playoff wins necessary for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. The practice started April 15, 1952, when Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market, hurled an octopus into the rink of Olympia Stadium. The team swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens en route to winning the championship. Since 1952, the practice has persisted with each passing year. In one 1995 game, fans threw 36 octopuses, including a specimen weighing . The Red Wings' unofficial mascot is a purple octopus named Al, and during playoff runs, two of these mascots were also hung from the rafters of Joe Louis Arena, symbolizing the 16 wins now needed to take home the Stanley Cup. The practice has become such an accepted part of the team's lore, fans have developed various techniques and "octopus etiquette" for launching the creatures onto the ice. At the final game at Joe Louis Arena, 35 octopuses were thrown onto the ice. Events inspired by the octopus The octopus tradition has launched several other creature and object tossing moments: During Game 3 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the New Jersey Devils, Devils fans threw a lobster, a dead fish, and other objects onto the ice. Nashville Predators fans throw catfish onto their home ice. The first recorded instance occurred on January 26, 1999 during a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators. It was done in response to the Red Wings' tradition. In the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, during the opening-round series between the Wings and the Edmonton Oilers, an Edmonton radio host suggested throwing Alberta Beef on the ice before the game. Oilers fans continued throwing steaks, even at away games, resulting in several arrests at the away cities. During Game 4 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Western Conference Semifinals between the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks, a Sharks fan threw a 3-foot leopard shark onto the ice at the HP Pavilion at San Jose after the Sharks