Best Looking Pro Sports trophy

[mcrosby]

Gotta put in for the Thompson Trophy which was awarded to the winners of the Thompson Cup air races back in the early 20th century

That is a work of art. If not for the iconography points I would place this above the Stanley Cup. Seeing as I hadn't heard of it or seen it until your post it loses some points.

Damn that's a pretty trophy.

[BallWonk]

Gotta put in for the Thompson Trophy which was awarded to the winners of the Thompson Cup air races back in the early 20th century

I went Googling for some old air-racing trophies when this thread started, didn't find any. Some of the best sculpture of the 20th century went into making various air racing trophies. The National Air and Space Museum has a bunch of them, not always on exhibit. Great stuff, so thanks for finding the Thompson. Other air trophies tended to be sleeker, more organic or abstract post-deco representations of aircraft or the concept of flight.

[powersurge]

I figured that most people would say the Stanley Cup is the best, but I really think the Grey Cup looks better. It's so unfamiliar to Americans that I can understand why the Stanley Cup would be preferred.

One thing we can all probably agree on is that two-handed side-holding of the championship trophy above your head is awesome.

Honestly, I think more people say that the Stanley Cup is the best because it seriously is the best. I'm very familiar with the Grey Cup and the CFL. I've been watching their games for years on Fox Sports Net and although I like the Grey Cup very much it doesn't come close to the Stanley Cup IMO.

[Jer15]

my vote goes for the Grey Cup.

I know this thread is about aesthetics but I think part of the fact the Stanley and Grey cups are so well liked is their deep histories as well.

[Saintsfan]

my vote goes for the Grey Cup.

I know this thread is about aesthetics but I think part of the fact the Stanley and Grey cups are so well liked is their deep histories as well.

I think that that is true of a lot of aesthetics. Its not just how something looks but the emotion that look triggers in our minds. The Celtics unis are not necesarily anything stand out in terms of pure aesthetics, but you put that next to the success and history of the frnachise, and you have something beautiful and important.

[jc...]

Gotta put in for the Thompson Trophy which was awarded to the winners of the Thompson Cup air races back in the early 20th century

That looks like something for the champion of Acapulco Cliff Diving on Wide World of Sports.

[goalieboy82]

Being from the Springs, I have to throw some support towards the Commander in Chief's trophy. Three sides and footballs for the three academies, and each side has the name, the mascot, and the academy's emblem. It's very classy, and a great prize for the academies. And though it breaks my heart, here is a picture of it with the Navy side showing:

As for the pro sports, I've always been partial to the Lombardi and the Cup. I feel as though the Commissioner's trophy isn't really a trophy so much as a sculpture/piece of art, which is kind of a bad thing in this case - it's supposed to be representative of the sport, and while the pennant is, the gigantic flag poles that look as though they can break with the slightest breeze and the odd 1/8 of a baseball in the base doesn't really cut it for me.

I really like the National League trophy, though; the American League one is alright, though I love symbolism and I love the 16 pillars on the Warren C. Giles trophy to represent the 16 teams. Plus it looks heavy, old, and awesome.

And the NBA trophy is just bad.

yes but only when USAFA wins it.

[KevinMcD]

Stanley Cup by far. Some of the most ionic photos in sports are players holding the cup over their head. And the stories involving the cup are amazing and how each player gets a day with it.

The only good looking thing in this picture is the Cup.

[KevinMcD]

I love college football rivalry trophies. The only one where I really care about the outcome is horrible looking...

"The Golden Boot" of LSU Arkansas is amazing...

[Jigga]

What does being a fan have to do with objectively evaluating the aesthetics of a design?

Um, did you see the majority of posts prior to yours? It apparently has everything to do with it.

[Graham_Clayton]

Here is the JJ Giltinan Shield, the original trophy of the NSW Rugby League before it was replaced by the current trophy. South Sydney are the team taking the trophy on a lap of honour after defeating Manly-Warringah 13-9 in the 1968 Grand Final:

As a youngster back in the 1970's, the fact that the trophy needed a player on each side to lift it up made it seem very important!

[colinturner95]

The Stanley Cup. You don't see many people drinking out of other trophies do you ?

[illwauk]

This is the Ed Thrope Trophy that used to be awarded to the NFL Champion up until 1970. I wish they still kept this around for the NFC Champion.

[BigBubba]

The NHL's individual awards look better than the NBA/MLB/NFL championship trophies.

The Calder Cup is pretty nice. Not quite the best, but definitely up there:

[ElTeduardo]

The MLL Steinfeld "cup" is pretty cool as well.

[CAB]

College rivalry trophies (I don't know many of them outside of the Big Ten, though)

1. Paul Bunyan's Axe (Minnesota/Wisconsin)

2. Little Brown Jug (Michigan/Minnesota)

3. Old Oaken Bucket (Indiana/Purdue)

4. Floyd of Rosedale (Minnesota/Iowa)

5. Keg of Nails (Louisville/Cincinnati; probably the only non-Big Ten trophy I know about)

Potential Big 10 trophies:

--The Bronze Washboard

--The Mighty Butter Churn

--Grandma's Rocking Chair

--A Wooden Spoon

[Pizzaman7294]

This is the Ed Thrope Trophy that used to be awarded to the NFL Champion up until 1970. I wish they still kept this around for the NFC Champion.

and then my Vikings lost it......

[Gothamite]

Bastards!

[gmen]

NRL Premiership Trophy:

[StillS]

NRL one is indeed pretty nice. And I like Cricket world cup trophy too, nothing extraordinary but it does the job: