Best Rivalry Trophies in Sports

Key Insights:

• College football has the richest and most genuinely bizarre rivalry trophy culture in sports, with objects ranging from a six-foot axe to a cast-iron frying pan to an old water jug someone left behind in 1903
• The Golden Boot between LSU and Arkansas weighs nearly 200 pounds and is made from 24-karat gold, which is either the most impressive trophy in college sports or the most impractical one depending on who has to carry it
• Most professional sports rivalries fight for league hardware rather than dedicated rivalry trophies, which makes the college football tradition uniquely visual, weird, and worth knowing about

Iconic College Football Rivalry Hardware

These are the trophies that have been fought over long enough to develop their own mythology. Every one of them has a story and most of those stories are genuinely strange:

1. Paul Bunyan's Axe, Minnesota vs. Wisconsin — A six-foot axe with every game score painted on the handle, introduced in 1948 to replace an earlier trophy that was literally a slab of bacon. The winning team traditionally sprints to the opponent's sideline to symbolically chop down their goalpost. A six-foot axe replaced a piece of bacon as a rivalry trophy and everyone involved acted like that was a completely normal progression.
2. Stanford Axe, Stanford vs. Cal — Dating back to an 1899 baseball game, stolen and recaptured multiple times before becoming the official football trophy in 1933. The Axe Committee still guards it before the Big Game every year as though it is a national security asset. A piece of sports equipment with its own security detail is a level of commitment that deserves respect.
3. Golden Boot, LSU vs. Arkansas — A four-foot trophy shaped like the combined outlines of Louisiana and Arkansas, made from 24-karat gold and weighing nearly 200 pounds. It is one of the heaviest trophies in college football and also one of the most expensive. Someone at LSU or Arkansas has to physically lift this thing every year and that detail never comes up enough.
4. Little Brown Jug, Michigan vs. Minnesota — A five-gallon water jug Michigan left behind accidentally in 1903 that became the oldest FBS rivalry trophy in existence. Michigan forgot a water jug and somehow that turned into over a century of competitive tradition. The sport is genuinely incredible.
5. Old Oaken Bucket, Indiana vs. Purdue — A bucket supposedly from an Indiana farm with a bronze I or P link added to the chain every year by the winning side. The chain now functions as a complete historical record of the rivalry going back to 1925. A bucket with a chain is doing more documentation work than most sports archives.

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Weird and Wonderful Rivalry Trophies That Need More Recognition

College football did not stop at axes and jugs. Somewhere along the way someone decided that a frying pan, a keg of nails, and a telephone were all perfectly reasonable things to compete for and nobody stopped them:

1. Golden Egg, Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State — Shaped like an old-style football that resembled a large egg, which is how it got its nickname before the name made it onto the official trophy. Two SEC programs fighting over something called the Golden Egg is very on-brand for a conference that has never once been accused of taking things too seriously.
2. Iron Skillet, TCU vs. SMU — A literal cast-iron frying pan introduced after a fan was reportedly seen frying frog legs at a pre-game tailgate. The connection between frog legs at a tailgate and a rivalry trophy is unclear but TCU and SMU have been competing for a skillet for decades now and the origin story remains completely unverified and completely beloved.
3. Keg of Nails, Louisville vs. Cincinnati — Allegedly created by fraternities to symbolize that the winner is tough as nails. The actual keg is a ceremonial replica at this point but the concept of two programs fighting over a keg of construction hardware remains one of college football's finest decisions.
4. Telephone Trophy, Iowa State vs. Missouri — A telephone-shaped trophy commemorating a legend about an accidentally open phone line between press boxes that was used to coordinate plays. Whether the story is true is debatable. Whether a telephone trophy is an excellent idea is not debatable at all.
5. Bedlam Bell, Wagon Wheel, Oil Can, and everything else — College football trophy lists include wheels, bells, peace pipes, brass spittoons, and dozens of other regional oddities each with their own origin story. The sheer volume of bizarre objects being competed for across the country is either the best thing about college football or the most confusing depending on your level of familiarity with the sport.

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Pro and International Rivalry Trophies

Professional sports rivalries mostly fight for league hardware rather than dedicated rivalry trophies, which is either a missed opportunity or proof that the pros are less fun than college football depending on your perspective:

1. Yankees vs. Red Sox — No dedicated rivalry trophy. Both teams compete for the World Series every year and the championship hardware effectively becomes the rivalry prize. Two of the most storied franchises in American sports history and neither one bothered to commission a special trophy. Huge missed opportunity for someone to suggest a giant baseball made of baked beans.
2. El Clasico, Real Madrid vs. Barcelona — La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies function as rivalry spoils because every title either team wins is viewed through the lens of the other. No dedicated hardware but every trophy ceremony feels like a message sent directly across the rivalry.
3. Old Firm, Celtic vs. Rangers — Same dynamic as El Clasico. Scottish league and cup trophies become rivalry prizes by default. The lack of a dedicated Old Firm trophy is a genuine oversight that someone in Scottish football should address immediately.

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Rivalry trophies exist because someone at some point decided that winning a game was not enough and that winning a game while also taking possession of a large decorative axe was significantly better. College football understood this completely. Professional sports mostly missed the memo. The objects on this list are strange, specific, and in several cases completely impractical, which is exactly what makes them perfect.

FAQ

What is the oldest rivalry trophy in college football?

The Little Brown Jug between Michigan and Minnesota is recognized as the oldest FBS rivalry trophy, dating back to 1903 when Michigan accidentally left a water jug behind after a game and Minnesota refused to return it.

What is the most valuable rivalry trophy in college sports?

The Golden Boot between LSU and Arkansas is made from 24-karat gold and weighs nearly 200 pounds, making it one of the most expensive and physically demanding rivalry trophies in college football.

Why do most pro sports rivalries not have dedicated trophies?

Professional leagues award standardized hardware like championship rings and cups rather than rivalry-specific objects. The college football tradition of bespoke rivalry trophies developed organically over decades and was never formally adopted at the professional level.

What is the strangest rivalry trophy in college football?

The Iron Skillet between TCU and SMU, introduced after someone was reportedly frying frog legs at a tailgate, makes a strong case. The Keg of Nails between Louisville and Cincinnati is a close second for the category of trophies that sound completely made up until you look them up.

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