Trophies, Awards and Medals Trivia Quiz

Answer: yachting

The British Royal Yacht Squadron's Trophy was renamed the America's Cup in 1851 after the schooner "America" was the first to win in a race around the Isle of Wight. This award is the oldest active trophy in sports. The cup was donated to the New York Yacht Club and was held there until 1983 when the Royal Perth Yacht Club became the second owners of the trophy. Over the years, it has been one of the most difficult sports trophies to win and has been held primarily by the United States.

Answer: auto racing

The Borg-Warner Trophy was commissioned by automotive supplier, BorgWarner. It is housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in Speedway, Indiana USA, and presented to the winner of the Indianapolis 500, held at the end of May every year. The trophy was first unveiled in 1936 by Speedway owner Eddie Rickenbacker (yes, THAT Eddie Rickenbacker!).

The first winner was racer Louis Meyer. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears have all won the trophy multiple times.

Answer: golf

It seems golfers like to give themselves all kinds of awards, e.g. the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, Arnold Palmer Award, Charles Schwab Cup and Byron Nelson Award, all of which have been given out since 1980 on for Championship golf. The Claret Jug was formerly known as the Golf Championship Trophy, and is presented to the winner of the The Open (aka the British Open).

The original Claret Jug, kept at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, was first presented in 1872 to golfer Tom Morris who won the The Open three years in a row.

Answer: cycling

The Yellow Jersey (maillot jaune) is given to the winner of the three week Tour de France, a yearly multiple stage bicycle race. The debut of the Yellow Jersey was either 1913 or 1919 ("the records are unclear"). The sponsor of the race was 'L'Auto', a yellow newspaper which, no doubt, affected the color of the jersey.

The best known winner of the Yellow Jersey was Lance Armstrong with his seven consecutive victories (now expunged). Side note: the first Tour de France (before the Yellow Jersey) was won in 1903 by Maurice Garin; in the second year, Garin was stripped of his title...for cheating!

Answer: American football

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is presented in early December to the most outstanding player in college football in the USA, a player who continually exhibits both integrity and the pursuit of excellence. The trophy is in the form of a football player holding a football in his left arm while holding out his right hand in a defensive stance.

The award was first presented in 1935 for "the most valuable football player in the East" by the Downtown Athletic Club (DAC); it was later broadened to include players west of the Mississippi. Jay Berwanger was the first recipient of the award.

Answer: baseball

The Commissioner's Trophy is presented every year by the Commissioner of Baseball to the Major League Baseball team that wins the World Series. It is the only championship trophy (in the four major sports, [NFL, NBA, NHL and NBA] and Major League Soccer in the USA) to NOT be named after a specific person.

While this trophy has been awarded since 1967 (when it was awarded to the St. Louis Cardinals), it did not receive its current name until 1985. Since its inception, the only year the trophy was not presented was 1994 (strike year).

Answer: tennis

The Davis Cup was named after Dwight Davis, the founder of the tennis competition in 1900. It was presented as the prize for an international challenge match between the United States and the British Isles. It has grown to become one of the largest annual international team competitions in sports. The official name of the Davis Cup is the International Lawn Tennis Challenge Trophy, also lightheartedly called "Dwight's pot".
Side note: The Davis Cup spent both World Wars in a bank vault in New York.

Answer: olympics

The ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years in Olympia, Greece. The first 'modern' Olympics for amateur athletes was held in Athens in 1896. Under the IOC, the Games brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes competing in 43 events.

The second Olympics was held at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and was notable for being the first time women were able to compete. In that first modern Olympiad, a medal was designed and cast in silver for first place and bronze for second place, accompanied by a Victory Certificate.

It was not until 1904 that winners received solid gold medals.

Answer: basketball

The Naismith College Player of the Year Award is an annual award given to the men's and women's top collegiate basketball ("roundball") players in the USA. The award is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball in 1891. The first award was presented to male players in 1969 and was expanded to include women in 1983; the final winners are declared in April.

The winners of this award represent a "who's who" of famous basketball players, e.g. the first male winner was UCLA's Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Both Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson have won the award three times.

Answer: rugby union

The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy for the Rugby World Cup Competition. The ornate Cup is a 1906 trophy based on a design from 1740. Apparently, the 'home unions' insisted on the name Webb Ellis in order to revive the notion that Reverend William Webb Ellis (1806-1872) invented rugby during a football (i.e. soccer) match.

It is alleged that, when he was a pupil at Rugby School in 1823, he defied soccer convention by running with the ball in his hands...and the rest, as they say, is history!