Best Looking Pro Sports trophy

[cmm]

This is probably a really stupid question, but does each flag on the MLB trophy have the name of a team, city or nickname? Or are they just blank to represent the teams?

The old design had team names. The new design just has blank flags. The old design also had the press pins of the two teams involved.

[Saintsfan]

I don't really understand why the NBA replaced the Walter Brown Trophy

For a recently instituted Trophy, Rugby Union's Six Nations Trophy is quite nice

The FA Cup is very iconic for English sports fans

[BallWonk]

I get that folks here are heavily weighted toward hockey fans, but really, the Stanley Cup? It's a great trophy, don't get me wrong, on account of the tradition behind it and the symbolism of the thing. But "best looking"? It's the tackiest piece of silver from that glass cabinet in your grandparents' dining room, stuck on top of a bunch of tiers of inscribing blanks straight from your local mall's Things Remembered store. The thing is hideously ugly. It is by far the best trophy in North American sport, but it's certainly not the best-looking.

If sports disappeared from human memory tomorrow, only two of the trophies mentioned so far would stand a chance of being displayed in either an art or a history museum on the basis of looks alone: The Vince Lombardi trophy and the World Cup. Everything else would be headed toward the local pawn shop.

I've long thought that baseball ought to have some kind of home-plate based trophy design, such that the year following the championship, the champion team would have a special trophy-replica home plate on their actual field of play. A gold or silver home plate, for example, with bass-relief illustrating the championship, something that could be reproduced in flat rubber. That, or the trophy should be an actual silk pennant, as was the custom back in the day when the term "pennant" became synonymous with "championship" in baseball.

[Saintsfan]

Some more European styled self indulgence

The Ashes

The Premier League

The Rugby League Challenge Cup

[DEAD!]

Silver trophies tend to look the best, but a couple of gold one I like

Wimbledon Gentlemens Trophy

Rugby World Cup Webb Ellis Cup

... and I know what the Barrish's answer would be...

If by best looking, you also mean best drinking trophy, then few can top this one!

I had long considered the German DFB cup the best "drinking" trophy, but the Beldisloe Cup is one big keg, that's for sure

[Bleujayone]

For the NFL, I find the Conference Championship trophies (George C. Halas Trophy for the NFC, and Lamar Hunt Trophy for the AFC) are overall much nicer than the Lombardi Trophy. They seem like works of art. They have carved wooden bases shaped like a football with various players carved on the side, topped with a silver top and the conference logo. Very sharp. The Lombardi Trophy is exceedingly simplistic (which is one of its charms) but it doesn't lend itself to the overall importance to the league's championship. These look like important awards.

The CFL recently adopted something similar for their divisional championship trophies, and while the Grey Cup looks more majestic, these smaller ones look more like they should be passed around and hoisted. Maybe because they're newer. I just remember in recent years one of the winning teams pulling the Grey Cup apart and breaking it- (by accident of course) . The Cup just looks more like a museum piece now instead of a proper trophy.

But the most impressive and unique trophy that I've seen is the World Bowl. It has a removable crystal glass globe that one can take out and hoist- so you really can claim to have the world in your hands. One would think a mishap in dropping it would be inevitable, but I have yet to read about an incident. The design has evolved slightly over the years, but I always preferred the original design of the early 1990's where the pedistal was longer and taller and the globe was far more textured.

[Neon_Matrix]

Honestly?

Stanley Cup, no question.

[maz]

#1 Is the Stanley Cup. Hands down.

#2 Is a tie between the Lombardi Trophy, and the "untouchable" Prince of Wales Trophy.

#3 Is the MLS Cup.

#4 Everyone Else.

[jc...]

Im more of a classic look guy. My fav is the Lombardi trophy but you cant overlook the history of the Stanley Cup and the Borg Warner trophy.

The Sprint Cup is kinda cool, but not a cup.

The Harley J. Earl trophy for winning the Daytona 500 makes sense. They dont race anything that looks like whats on the street like NASCAR claims. So the trophy has something on it that looks nothing like a stock car.

[Bigboy1083]

The Harley J. Earl trophy for winning the Daytona 500 makes sense. They dont race anything that looks like whats on the street like NASCAR claims. So the trophy has something on it that looks nothing like a stock car.

It is named after influential automobile designer Harley Earl, who served as the second commissioner of NASCAR, has been known as the so-called "father of the Corvette" and designer of the Firebird I prototype that adorns the trophy. - wowt.com

[Saintsfan]

In Tennis its unusual for players to take the Davis Cup trophy, base and all, for a lap of honour!

[Davidson]

Rugby World Cup Webb Ellis Cup

i worked for the rfu for a period of time in 2003 (after england won this) and it was my job

to look after it for a while.

funny story, but there are actually 2 of these, which the irb keep very quiet.

when australia or south africa win a next world cup (thus having won three), they will get to keep 'the original'.

in that event, a second backup will be made from one of the five original plain silver cups the irb bought.

i only learned this from some literature i found lying about the rfu and to my knowledge its not very well known

outside those circles.

whilst on the same tour i discovered there are actually 6 six nations trophy (and one unofficial one the french made).

anyone have any inside knowledge of other such examples of backup trophies

or the rules pertaining to how teams might get to 'keep' a trophy after a certain amount of wins.

any sort of trivia like that i guess.

[Saintsfan]

Rugby World Cup Webb Ellis Cup

i worked for the rfu for a period of time in 2003 (after england won this) and it was my job

to look after it for a while.

funny story, but there are actually 2 of these, which the irb keep very quiet.

when australia or south africa win a next world cup (thus having won three), they will get to keep 'the original'.

in that event, a second backup will be made from one of the five original plain silver cups the irb bought.

i only learned this from some literature i found lying about the rfu and to my knowledge its not very well known

outside those circles.

whilst on the same tour i discovered there are actually 6 six nations trophy (and one unofficial one the french made).

anyone have any inside knowledge of other such examples of backup trophies

or the rules pertaining to how teams might get to 'keep' a trophy after a certain amount of wins.

any sort of trivia like that i guess.

There are at least 2 Premier League trophies, just in case the League goes to the last game of the season.

The 6 nations trophy actually has removable pieces, basically the badges of the teams, which get moved around depending on who holds the trophy.

The European Cup, or Champions League Trophy, is kept by any team that wins it 5 times, I think it is. Real Madrid and Liverpool hold a version each. After Madrid won the first version for keeps, EUFA changed the design, but kept it the same after Liverpool won there version for keeps.

The original football world cup is held by Brazil now, after they won there third World Cup in Mexico 1970.

I've been on the tour of Wembley Stadium a couple of times, and both times got slightly different stories as to which FA Cup was there. Either a replica, or the original, which was replaced in 1992, as it was getting a bit worn out.

Here is a slightly blurry pic of me with the Cup

[Drew22]

BallWonk is right. The Stanley Cup is an awesome trophy to win, but I don't think it's the best looking. That would definitely be the Lombardi Trophy.

[Davidson]

Rugby World Cup Webb Ellis Cup

i worked for the rfu for a period of time in 2003 (after england won this) and it was my job

to look after it for a while.

funny story, but there are actually 2 of these, which the irb keep very quiet.

when australia or south africa win a next world cup (thus having won three), they will get to keep 'the original'.

in that event, a second backup will be made from one of the five original plain silver cups the irb bought.

i only learned this from some literature i found lying about the rfu and to my knowledge its not very well known

outside those circles.

whilst on the same tour i discovered there are actually 6 six nations trophy (and one unofficial one the french made).

anyone have any inside knowledge of other such examples of backup trophies

or the rules pertaining to how teams might get to 'keep' a trophy after a certain amount of wins.

any sort of trivia like that i guess.

There are at least 2 Premier League trophies, just in case the League goes to the last game of the season.

The 6 nations trophy actually has removable pieces, basically the badges of the teams, which get moved around depending on who holds the trophy.

The European Cup, or Champions League Trophy, is kept by any team that wins it 5 times, I think it is. Real Madrid and Liverpool hold a version each. After Madrid won the first version for keeps, EUFA changed the design, but kept it the same after Liverpool won there version for keeps.

The original football world cup is held by Brazil now, after they won there third World Cup in Mexico 1970.

I've been on the tour of Wembley Stadium a couple of times, and both times got slightly different stories as to which FA Cup was there. Either a replica, or the original, which was replaced in 1992, as it was getting a bit worn out.

Here is a slightly blurry pic of me with the Cup

yeah, the 6n trophy has 6 little screw on tops. they live inside the base, they are wax coated in silver and dont look all that hot up close.

there are 6 actual trophies however. the french had one produced on the sly which used to live permanently in the ffr trophy cabinet.

when the french won the trophy (i think in 2004) they were 'awarded' their own version. ive seen photos of it. all the silver was blistering off the

lid and base. it was a terrible piece of .

[Saintsfan]

yeah, the 6n trophy has 6 little screw on tops. they live inside the base, they are wax coated in silver and dont look all that hot up close.

there are 6 actual trophies however. the french had one produced on the sly which used to live permanently in the ffr trophy cabinet.

when the french won the trophy (i think in 2004) they were 'awarded' their own version. ive seen photos of it. all the silver was blistering off the

lid and base. it was a terrible piece of .

Yeah I wasn't suggesting that there weren't multiple 6 nations trophies. I think its actually relatively common, as much as anything else for insurance purposes. The original FA Cup trophy was stolen way back in the 19th Century. The modern non financial insurance against this is to use replicas for display purposes and the such like. (Even still the replicas have big insurance bills!)

[GeorgesL]

Any trophy from a Canadian-based league, (CFL and NHL) is the best of them all, although the Grey Cup is my favourite. The trophies from the English Soccer leagues have potential. The Vince Lombardi trophy is my least favourite. To me, it's just a statue.

[gueman]

The only trophy that is displayed in an art museum, it is also the most expensive one as it is worth over $4 million.

The Woodlawn Vase presented to the winner of the Preakness. The winning owner, trainer and jockey each get a scale replica.

[Lights Out]

A better picture of the Sprint Cup:

Although it's technically not a cup per se, it's still the best-looking pro sports trophy.

[chickenhead]

Just on aesthetics, I might say the Lombardi, especially since they look good placed together for the dynasties. But it's too hard not to say The Cup because it is simply the most awesome, most coveted award in sports--because there's only one (not including early versions that have been retired). You can only have it when you are the champion, and after that your name stays on it forever. Plus the tradition of having the cup for a day, the places it's been, the times it's been lost--all priceless.

The World Cup is of course the most coveted in terms of a championship, but the trophy itself looks alien to me, the "another world" cup.

I have a soft spot for all the rivalry trophies in college football. When Minnesota finally won back the Little Brown Jug in 2005 and the team just raced over to the Michigan sideline to take it--perfect. (I'm not a fan of either team, but I can appreciate a good Big Ten tradition when I see one).