Vince Lombardi Trophy
| Vince Lombardi Trophy | |
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 The Vince Lombardi Trophy |
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| Awarded for | Winning the Super Bowl |
| Presented by | National Football League |
| Location | Super Bowl (rotates cities) |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1967 |
| Currently held by | New York Giants |
| Official website | SuperBowl.com |
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl. In February 2012, the New York Giants won the trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
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[edit] History
During a lunch with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle in 1967, Tiffany & Co. vice president Oscar Riedner made a sketch on a cocktail napkin of what would become the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Since then the trophy has been exclusively handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. in Parsippany, New Jersey.[1] The trophy was first awarded to the Green Bay Packers in 1967 (when the Super Bowl's official designation was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game) after they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
Initially inscribed with the words "World Professional Football Championship" and generally referred to as the world championship trophy, it was officially renamed in 1970 in memory of legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi after his sudden death from cancer and to commemorate his victories in the first two Super Bowls.[2] In 1971, it was presented for the first time as the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl V when the Baltimore Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys 16-13.[3]
Since Super Bowl XXX, it is presented to the winning team's owner on the field following the game. Previously, it was presented inside the winning team's locker room. In the case of the community-owned Packers' two titles since Super Bowl XXX, the team's President & CEO has accepted the trophy.
Unlike trophies such as the Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup, a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is made every year and the winning team maintains permanent possession of that trophy, with one notable exception being Super Bowl V's, won by the then-Baltimore Colts. The city of Baltimore retained that trophy as part of the legal settlement between the team and the city after the Colts' infamous "Midnight Mayflower" move to Indianapolis, Indiana on March 29, 1984. Since then, both the relocated Colts and their replacement in Baltimore, the Ravens, have won the Super Bowl and earned trophies in their own right.
[edit] Appearance
The Vince Lombardi Trophy stands 22 inches (56 cm) tall, weighs 7 pounds (3.2 kg) and depicts a regulation-size football in kicking position on a stand with three concave sides. It is made entirely of sterling silver.
The words "Vince Lombardi Trophy" along with the roman numerals of that year's Super Bowl are engraved on and 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.[4] It is then sent back to the winning team for them to keep.
For the first four championship games, both the NFL and the AFL logos were in the center of the trophy. Starting from Super Bowl V through XLII, the old NFL shield has been on the forefront. As of Super Bowl XLIII, a newer, modernized NFL shield (with eight stars and a rotated football designed akin to that atop the trophy) replaced the older logo. Otherwise, the trophy has had no significant changes made since the first Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers are the only team with all 3 versions having won Super Bowls I, II, XXXI, and XLV.
[edit] Teams with the most Vince Lombardi Trophies
The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the most Vince Lombardi Trophies, with six. The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys are tied for second with five each. The Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants are in third with four and the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders are all in fourth with three.
Although no team has ever won three straight Super Bowls, two teams have won three Lombardi trophies in four years. They are the Dallas Cowboys (1992, 1993, 1995) and the New England Patriots (2001, 2003, 2004). Also noteworthy is that the Pittsburgh Steelers have won four Super Bowls in six years (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979) and was the first team to win four Lombardi trophies overall.
[edit] Gallery
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Three of the four Lombardi trophies belonging to the Green Bay Packers, including the first two trophies ever awarded.
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Lombardi trophies belonging to the San Francisco 49ers, the first team to win five.
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The three Lombardi trophies belonging to the New England Patriots.
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The Giants four Lombardi Trophies.
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vince Lombardi Trophy |
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