The Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy was the trophy awarded to the champions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1934 through 1967 . The trophy was named after Ed Thorp, a noted referee , rules expert, sporting goods dealer, and friend to many of the early NFL owners. Thorp died in June 1934, and a large, traveling trophy was made later that year. It was to be passed along from champion to champion each season with each championship team's name inscribed on it.
34-759: Unlike the modern day Lombardi trophies , the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy did not become the possession of the winning team, but instead spent a year with the winning team before being passed on to the next year's champion, much like the Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League or the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League . For a brief period in the 1930s, teams winning the league championship were awarded
68-576: A regular season that generally begins in September of the previous calendar year. For example, Super Bowl 50 , which was played on February 7, 2016, determined the league champion for the 2015 NFL season . The years shown below refer to the season, not the date that the Super Bowl was actually played: Although none of these teams have ever won three straight Super Bowls, two teams have won three Lombardi trophies in four years and one team twice won
102-517: A defensive coordinator with the New York Giants and Head coach with New England Patriots, has won eight Super Bowls in his career, more than any single NFL franchise or player. The trophy has been presented on a stage constructed on the field since Super Bowl XXX in 1996. A personality from the network broadcasting the game handles the presentation ceremony. Terry Bradshaw has hosted every presentation for Fox since Super Bowl XXXI , with
136-633: A smaller replica of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, which they were allowed to keep, in addition to the year spent with the larger traveling trophy. In 2015, the trophy was found to be in the possession of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame , along with two other copies of it. How the trophy came to be in the possession of the Hall of Fame, rather than the team itself, was eventually solved in June, 2018, by Packers historian Cliff Christl. Some of
170-564: Is the trophy won by the then- Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V , possession of which the city of Baltimore retained as part of the legal settlement after the Colts made their infamous "Midnight Mayflower" relocation to Indianapolis, Indiana , on March 29, 1984. Both the relocated Colts and their successors, the Ravens , have since earned trophies in their own right. Since Super Bowl XLV ,
204-509: The 1961 Green Bay Packers that was first not thought to be part of the original pattern, being differently shaped than the ones originally presented. In 2018, a Green Bay Press-Gazette photo from 1962 was donated from a fan, and a trophy base from the Packers Hall of Fame Inc. was found at the bottom of a cardboard box. With this, it was discovered that the trophy on display since 2015 was not fully displayed, with there being names of
238-847: The Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl ;I . Following the death of Vince Lombardi in September 1970 , the trophy was officially renamed in his memory. It was presented for the first time as the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Baltimore Colts after their victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V . Originally, the trophy was presented inside the winning team's locker room. Since Super Bowl XXX in January 1996, it has been presented to
272-581: The Super Bowl . The trophy is named in honor of NFL coach Vince Lombardi , who led the Green Bay Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowl games. During lunch with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle in 1966, Tiffany & Co. vice president Oscar Riedner made a sketch on a cocktail napkin of what would become the Vince Lombardi Trophy: a football in a kicking position on a three concave sided stand. The original trophy
306-690: The Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers have three of the four designs. On April 9, 2019, Rob Gronkowski (who had retired from the New England Patriots two weeks before) used the Super Bowl LIII Vince Lombardi trophy as a bat to bunt a practice pitch from wide receiver Julian Edelman during the Boston Red Sox season opener where he was to throw
340-556: The NFL shield is affixed onto the base. After the trophy is awarded, it is sent back to Tiffany's to be engraved with the names of the participating teams, the date, location, and the game's final score. It is then sent back to the winning team for them to keep. Smaller replicas are made for each person on the winning team. For the first four championship games, both the NFL and the AFL logos were in
374-696: The New York Giants out of football for over eighteen months, considered one of the most famous tackles in NFL history. It occurred late in the game at Yankee Stadium on November 20. Bednarik was the last player to play the whole game. He averaged 58 minutes a game, starting at center and linebacker in the second half of season. at Yankee Stadium • The Bronx , New York at Franklin Field • Philadelphia , Pennsylvania You can get up now, Taylor. This (expletive deleted) game's over. ~ Chuck Bednarik , as he lay on top of Jim Taylor after making
SECTION 10
#1732771960933408-581: The Packers was also the first and only playoff defeat of the Packers' Vince Lombardi 's coaching career. The 1960 season was the Eagles' first postseason appearance since their last NFL championship season of 1949 . It was their only postseason appearance in the 28 seasons from 1950 to 1977 , and their last NFL title until their victory in Super Bowl LII , 57 years later . On March 13, 1960, there
442-730: The Thorp Trophy, went on to face the American Football League champion the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (which is more commonly referred to as Super Bowl IV ). The spirit of Ed Thorp was rumored to have cursed the Vikings, since they lost the trophy that was named in his honor. To date, the team has lost all four Super Bowls, and the last six NFC Championships they have played in. A similar incident occurred to
476-500: The Vince Lombardi Trophy has been prominently featured in the Super Bowl logo design. The Vince Lombardi Trophy stands 22 inches (56 cm) tall, weighs 107.3 ounces or approximately 7 pounds (3.2 kg) and depicts a football in a kicking position on a three concave sided stand, and is entirely made of sterling silver . The words "Vince Lombardi Trophy" along with the Roman numerals of that year's Super Bowl are engraved on and
510-451: The center of the trophy. Starting from Super Bowl V , only the NFL shield was on the front. Beginning with Super Bowl XXXVIII , the shield took on a frosted appearance. Starting with Super Bowl XLIII , the slightly redesigned NFL shield began appearing on the trophy, still with a frosted appearance. Other than the logo, the trophy has had no significant changes made since the first Super Bowl . While no franchise possesses all four versions,
544-457: The ceremonial first pitch with his former teammates. It left a baseball-sized dent in the trophy, his third overall, and his former team's sixth. The humorous documentary-style video released by the Patriots about the incident became popular, with special teamer Matthew Slater , who witnessed the incident first hand, saying that if anyone can get away with it, it would be the "MVP (Edelman) and
578-432: The complete trophy is now on display at the Packers Hall of Fame. The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles are not found engraved anywhere on the trophy, being the only team from 1934 through 1967 to not be engraved, although there is a space left for them. It had previously been assumed that the 1968 and 1969 champions, the Baltimore Colts and Minnesota Vikings (both of whom had lost their respective Super Bowls ), had been awarded
612-513: The exception of Super Bowl XLVIII , when Michael Strahan substituted for him. Jim Nantz has handled the duties for CBS since Super Bowl XXXV . Dan Patrick hosted the ceremony for NBC from Super Bowl XLIII to Super Bowl LII . Mike Tirico hosted the ceremony for NBC for Super Bowl LVI . The winning owner, winning coach, winning quarterback, and (if not a quarterback) the game MVP are usually recognized. "The Lombardi Trophy Theme," composed by David Robidoux in 2005, plays during
646-656: The first trophy that was awarded to the NFL Champions, the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup . In 1920, after the Akron Pros were awarded the league championship, that trophy also went missing (like the Thorp trophy, it too was initially to be passed down to each successive champion). The Washington Commanders replica of the Thorp Trophy is on display at FedExField . In 2015, the Thorp Trophy
680-399: The future Hall of Famer (Gronkowski)." Patriots vice president of media relations Stacey James stated that, "Maybe they’ll fix it down the road. That’s something they can always fix in the future, but at least for now, we’re going to keep the dent and tell the story." The Super Bowl is currently played in early February (the game originally took place in early to mid-January), culminating
714-471: The owner of the winning team on the field. Packers team president and CEO Bob Harlan and Mark Murphy accepted the trophy on behalf of the Green Bay community after Super Bowl XXXI and Super Bowl XLV , respectively. Unlike trophies such as the Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup , a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is cast every year, and the winning team maintains permanent possession of it. The one exception
SECTION 20
#1732771960933748-471: The tackle on the game's final play. Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Soon after the championship game against Green Bay, 61-year-old Buck Shaw retired as head coach of the Eagles. Quarterback and 12-year veteran Norm Van Brocklin retired after the game also and expected to be named head coach, but assistant coach Nick Skorich
782-623: The trophies, such as the two replicas the Green Bay Packers won in 1936 and 1939 , have Thorp misspelled as Thorpe, showing that the name Ed Thorp was not a household name at the time. The original theory of what happened was that the Minnesota Vikings , who were thought to be the last to win the Trophy in 1969, somehow lost it when the league switched over to the Lombardi Trophy the following year. The Vikings, after winning
816-487: The trophy handoff. From Super Bowl I to Super Bowl XXIX , the trophy was held by the commissioner to begin the ceremony and the commissioner then handed the trophy directly to the team owner in the winning locker room. The lone exception to this was in Super Bowl V where the trophy presentation ceremony wasn't done by the commissioner but instead by Vince Lombardi 's widow, Marie. From Super Bowl XXX to Super Bowl XXXIX and from Super Bowl LIV to Super Bowl LVII ,
850-559: The trophy two out of three consecutive years: The Dallas Cowboys (1992, 1993, 1995) and the New England Patriots (2001, 2003, 2004) and (2014, 2016) and (2016, 2018). The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979). As an individual player, Tom Brady , a former quarterback with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers , won seven Super Bowls in his career, more than any single NFL franchise. As an individual coach, Bill Belichick ,
884-401: The trophy was set on the stage to begin the ceremony and the commissioner handed the trophy directly to the team owner on the field. From Super Bowl XL to Super Bowl LIII , and again since Super Bowl LVIII , a former NFL player, usually a past Super Bowl MVP or notable figure of the host city's franchise, brought the Lombardi Trophy to the center of the stadium, as he walked past members of
918-640: The trophy, but no engravings are present honoring either one. Non-winners (5): Pittsburgh Steelers , San Francisco 49ers , Dallas Cowboys , Atlanta Falcons , New Orleans Saints , Minnesota Vikings Vince Lombardi Trophy The Vince Lombardi Trophy , also known simply as the Lombardi Trophy or just the Lombardi , is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League 's championship game,
952-452: The winners engraved on the rediscovered base from the 1952 Detroit Lions to the 1967 Green Bay Packers (with the exception of the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles ) and that the trophy was the same one that had been given to the Packers in 1961, which was confirmed to be the traveling Ed Thorp Trophy. After the base was discovered, it was reattached to the trophy, thus fully listing the winners from 1934 through 1969 (except 1960, 1968, and 1969) and
986-406: The winning team. Players who have partaken in Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremonies are listed below: 1960 Philadelphia Eagles season The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise 's 28th season in the National Football League , and finished with the Eagles' win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFL championship game to get their third league title . The victory over
1020-551: Was an expansion draft to stock the Dallas Rangers , who soon changed their name to the "Cowboys." In this draft the Eagles lost tight end Dick Bielski , tackle Jerry DeLucca , and linebacker Bill Striegel to Dallas. As since 1951 , the Eagles held training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania . The 1960 NFL draft and the 1960 AFL Draft were held separately for college players (the common draft
1054-435: Was discovered that, contrary to original belief, there had been only six of the individual trophies awarded to teams for their victories, with five of them coming during then-NFL president Joseph Carr 's life, and a sixth not long after his death: Those of the 1934 and 1938 New York Giants , the 1935 Detroit Lions , the 1937 Washington Redskins , and the 1936 and 1939 Green Bay Packers , along with one trophy given out to
Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-464: Was found to have been in the possession of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame instead of with the Vikings. Initially, the NFL didn't know how it got there and many theories on how it got there were proposed. Also, the trophy only included the engraved names of the winners from the 1934 New York Giants to the 1951 Los Angeles Rams , adding to the mystery. The trophy was put on display at the Packers Hall of Fame. After some research by various teams, it
1122-422: Was initiated in 1967 ). The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away. During the 1960 season, Chuck Bednarik is perhaps best known for knocking Frank Gifford of
1156-657: Was produced by Tiffany & Co. in Newark, New Jersey . Others have since been handcrafted by the company in Parsippany, New Jersey . As of 2017, the trophy is produced at the Tiffany & Co. Forest Hill manufacturing facility in Cumberland, Rhode Island . The first trophy, inscribed with the words "World Professional Football Championship," was awarded to the Green Bay Packers on January 15, 1967, after they defeated
#932067