The coveted top honor in college football, the crystal “Coaches’ Trophy”, as it is known, was presented to the University of Florida on the field following the Gators’ win over Oklahoma at the FedEx BCS Championship Game in January in Miami in an on-field ceremony following the game.

The “official” name for the “Coaches’ Trophy” is….

…the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Championship Trophy and is awarded by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to the winner of college football’s BCS National Championship Game, which determines the national champion for purposes of the Coaches Poll. The trophy has been awarded since 1986 and has been tied to the winner of the BCS National Championship Game since 1998. The winning institution retains the AFCA Trophy for permanent display on campus, as a new one is awarded every year.

The trophy is made of a Waterford® Crystal actual size crystal football affixed to an ebony base, and has an estimated value of over $30,000 (est.2009). The overall trophy is 34 inches tall and weights 45 pounds. The football portion of the trophy weighs approximately 7 pounds. It is handmade by an artist in Ireland and takes nearly 3 months to complete. The handmade Crystal football is an exquisite design that contains intricate deep cuts that reflect a rainbow of color and light – making each one truly a work of art. It is designed to become a cherished heirloom. This elegant trophy is a proud treasure symbolizing monumental hard work, dedication and success. It is the top award in NCAA Division 1 Football.

The trophy has undergone several sponsorship changes over the years. It was sponsored by the Gerrits Foundation during the initial 1986 and 1987 seasons. Pepsi came aboard as a co-sponsor in 1988 and 1989. McDonald’s was the sole sponsor from 1990 until 1992. Sears became the trophy’s sponsor in 1993 and remained so until 2001. Circuit City assumed sponsorship duties for the 2002 season. ADT Security Services, the current sponsor, took over in 2003. As the sponsor obtains naming rights to the trophy, its current name is actually the “ADT National Championship Trophy.”
Since 1986, the winner of the UPI or USA Today Coaches’ Poll has received the Coaches’ Trophy.

A little known fact of the Coaches’ Trophy… is that in 2006 the triumphant University of Florida football team suffered an accident with the BCS championship trophy. The awarded and coveted crystal trophy was knocked off its pedestal and destroyed. No details of who was responsible or how it was destroyed are known. A new trophy was created and presented. The Gators have won three national championships, also earning crystal footballs in 1996 and 2006.

What is the only championship trophy of the major professional sports leagues (NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA) that is not named after a particular person? …

The “Flying Hawaiian” (Shane Victorino) kisses the Commissioner’s Trophy

… The Commissioner’s Trophy, which was awarded last night to Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Champion – the Philadelphia Phillies. The other professional sport league awards are named after Lord Stanley (the Stanley Cup -NHL), Vince Lombardi (the Vince Lombardi Trophy -NFL), and Larry O’Brien (Larry O’Brien Trophy – NBA).

Winning the Commissioner’s Trophy last night brought tears of joy to the eyes of grown men, and to a city starved for a winner. Trust me, having been born and raised in Philadelphia – it was an experience seeing the streets of the city fill to capacity with cheering passionate fans. As Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams (ex-player and current broadcaster) said so accurately “winning the championship allows all of us to act as if we are all 8 years old once again”…without a care – experiencing sheer joy. Winning the ultimate award in your profession, after years of sacrifice and hard work, brings emotion – heartfelt, deep emotion. The presentation of the Commissioner’s trophy captures and symbolizes the accomplishment.

The Commissioner’s Trophy, designed by Lawrence Voegele, of Owatanna, Minnesota, was first awarded in 1967, when the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Red Sox. The trophy is unlike the Stanley Cup, which is passed down, year by year, to the champions of the National Hockey League, a new Commissioner’s Trophy is created each year, much like the Vince Lombardi Trophy of the National Football League and the Larry O’Brien Trophy of the National Basketball Association.

The current trophy, was redesigned slightly in 1999 and made by Tiffany & Co and presented for first time at the conclusion of the 2000 World Series, which was won by the New York Yankees. The trophy is presented to the ownership of the World Series-winning team by the Commissioner of Baseball. In addition to the team trophy, each player recieves a World Series Championship Ring.

It is made of sterling silver and is 24 inches tall, excluding the base. It is 11 inches around and weighs approximately 30 pounds. The trophy features 30 gold-plated, hand-furled flags, one for each of the Major League teams. The flags surround and rise above an arched silver ox baseball with latitude and longitude lines that symbolize the world. The baseball also contains 24-karat vermeil baseball stitches. The baseball itself weighs over 10 pounds. The base contains the inscription and the signature of the commissioner. The estimated value of the trophy is approximately $15,000. The front design has been changed slightly from the last modification in 1999, now having two different size bases.

The previous design contained a gold crown at the top of a haloed gold metal circle with a silver metallic baseball at the base. Two logoed pins, representing the winning teams, were mounted in front of the metal halo. This design proved too delicate, which necessitated the redesign.

The Commissioner’s Trophy is awarded each year by Major League Baseball to the team winning the World Series. The World Series is played between the champion clubs of the American League and the National League, which collectively include 30 clubs based in the United States and one club from Canada. The “modern” World Series has been an annual event since 1903.

Baseball has employed various championship formulas since the 1860s. When the term “World Series” is used by itself, it is usually understood to refer to the “modern” World Series exclusively. The first modern World Series was between the Boston Americans (as in “American Leaguers” — now the Red Sox) of the American League and the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League in 1903. Boston won the Series 5 games to 3, helping to establish the new league’s credibility. However, the next year, the National League champion New York Giants refused to play the American League champions (Boston again) because of the alleged inferiority of the American League, along with the legitimate claim that there were no formal or standard rules for this championship (a factor which had helped kill the 1880s version of the Series). In response, the World Series was instituted in 1905 as a permanent institution, through which the leagues would “meet annually in a series of games for the Professional Base Ball Championship of the World.
The original World Series held in 1903, was a best of nine affair. No World Series was held in 1904 and the best of seven series was used until 1919. The five-of-nine format was used from 1919 through 1921, but it reverted back to a best-of-seven series in 1922. That is the same format used today.

The Emmy Award is an American television production award focused on entertainment, and is considered in equal prestige to the Oscars. Since 1949, the Emmy has represented the pinnacle of prime-time television excellence for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

History of Emmy Award
After rejecting 47 proposals for what was to become the Emmy® statuette, Academy members in 1948 selected a design that television engineer Louis McManus had created using his wife as a model. The statuette of a winged woman holding an atom has since become the symbol of the Television Academy’s goal of supporting and uplifting the arts and science of television: The wings represent ….

…the muse of art; the atom the electron of science.

After selecting the design for the statuette that would reward excellence in the television industry, Academy members were faced with decision number two: What to name the symbol.

Academy founder Syd Cassyd suggested “Ike,” the nickname for the television iconoscope tube. But with a national war hero named Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, Academy members thought they needed a less well-known name. Harry Lubcke, a pioneer television engineer and the third Academy president, suggested “Immy,” a term commonly used for the early image orthicon camera. The name stuck and was later modified to Emmy, which members thought was more appropriate for a female symbol.

Each year, the Television academy contracts to have approximately two hundred statuettes produced for the prime-time awards show and the three hundred for the regional awards. Although the numbers of categories rarely change, the possibility of multiple winners prompts the Academy to order extra statuettes. Surplus awards are stored for the following year’s ceremony.

The statuettes weigh four and three-quarter pounds and are made of copper, nickel, silver, and gold. Each one takes five and one-half hours to make and is handled with white gloves so as to leave no fingerprints. “It’s an intense process,” said an account executive for the manufacturer. “They are handcast, deburred, buffed, and hand polished.”

Three related but separate organizations present Emmy Awards. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors national prime time entertainment excluding sports. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognizes daytime, sports, news and documentary programming. And the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors programming originating outside the United States.

The best-known of the awards are the Primetime Emmys, and the Daytime Emmy Awards, with both having categories classified as Creative Arts Emmys. The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. Shirley Dinsdale has the distinction of receiving the very first Emmy in the first awards ceremony.

The Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. Ceremonies generally air in mid-September, on the Sunday before the official start of the fall television season, and are currently seen in rotation among the ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX network.

The Daytime Emmy Awards are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first daytime-themed Emmy Awards were given out at the primetime ceremony in 1972, but the first separate awards show made just for daytime programming was not held until 1974.

The Sports Emmys are presented for excellence in sports programming. The awards ceremony takes place every Spring, usually sometime in the last two weeks in April or the first week in May, and is held on a Monday night in New York City.

Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards are presented to individuals, companies, or to scientific or technical organizations in recognition for their significant developments and contributions to the technological and engineering aspects of television.

There are twenty chapters of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, located across the United States, that conduct regional awards to recognize excellence in all the regional television markets. Because the headquarters of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences are located in Los Angeles, the Academy also handles the Los Angeles area membership and regional awards. These awards are less glamorous than the Prime Time Emmys and are sometimes technical. The Regional Emmy Award is 11.5 inches (29 cm) tall with a base diameter of 5.5 inches (14 cm) and weight of 48 oz (1.4 kg), as opposed to the Primetime Emmy, which stands 15.5 inches (39 cm) tall with a base diameter of 7.5 inches (19 cm) and weight of 88 oz (2.5 kg).
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hands out awards which honor the best of non-US television.

Identifying these recipients can take months, with judging taking place at various international TV festivals. The best two programs from a particular genre in four regions are selected to go to a semifinal round, from which the nominees are derived. Every nominee is screened at a festival in New York the day before the awards ceremony.

For information please visit the following link of the Academy of Television arts & Sciences http://www.emmys.tv/index.php. Special thanks to wikopedia.com for contributing information.

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after 5 April 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in Newburgh, New York. The Purple Heart is the oldest symbol and award that is still given to U.S. soldiers in service, surpassed in history only by the long obsolete Fidelity Medallion.

The Medal
A Purple Heart is a heart-shaped medal within a gold border, 1 3⁄8 inches (35 mm) wide, containing a profile of General George Washington…

… Above the heart appears a shield of the Washington coat of arms (a white shield with two red bars and three red stars in chief) between sprays of green leaves. The reverse consists of a raised bronze heart with the words FOR MILITARY MERIT below the coat of arms and leaves. The ribbon is 1 and 3⁄8 inches (35 mm) wide and consists of the following stripes: 1⁄8 inch (3 mm) white 67101; 1 1⁄8 inches (29 mm) purple 67115; and 1⁄8 inch (3 mm) white 67101. As with other combat medals, multiple awards are denoted by award stars for the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, or oak leaf clusters for the Army and Air Force.

Intrinsically, the Purple Heart is the world’s costliest military decoration – nineteen separate operations are required to make it from the rough heart stamped from bronze to the finished medal, plated with gold and enameled in various colors, suspended from a purple and white ribbon.

History
The original Purple Heart, designated as the Badge of Military Merit, was established by George Washington—then the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army—by order from his Newburgh, New York headquarters on 7 August 1782.

General Washington is often pictured as a cold, stern soldier, a proud aristocrat, a martinet. Perhaps he was all of these at times. Yet we know he showed sympathy and concern for his troops, and was not too proud to pray, humbly on his knees, for his beloved country and for the men who served it, and him, so bravely and loyalty. His keen appreciation of the importance of the common soldier in any campaign impelled him to recognize outstanding valor and merit by granting a commission or an advance in rank for the person concerned. In the summer of 1782 he was ordered by the Continental Congress to cease doing so – there were no funds to pay the soldiers, much less the officers!

Deprived of his usual means of reward, he must have searched for a substitute. Shortly after receiving the “stop” order from Congress, he wrote his memorable General Orders of August 7, 1782, which read in part, the phrase: “Let it be known that he who wears the military order of the purple heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen.”

The Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers and fell into disuse following the War of Independence. Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially until after World War I.
On 10 October 1927, Army Chief of Staff General Charles Pelot Summerall directed that a draft bill be sent to Congress “to revive the Badge of Military Merit”. The bill was withdrawn and action on the case ceased on 3 January 1928, but the office of the Adjutant General was instructed to file all materials collected for possible future use.

A number of private interests sought to have the medal reinstituted in the Army. One of these was the board of directors of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum in Ticonderoga, New York.

On 7 January 1931, Summerall’s successor, General Douglas MacArthur, confidentially reopened work on a new design, involving the Washington Commission of Fine Arts. This new design was issued on the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth.

Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General, was named to redesign the newly revived medal, which became known as the Purple Heart. Using general specifications provided to her, Will created the design sketch for the present medal of the Purple Heart. Her obituary, in the 8 February 1975 edition of the Washington Post newspaper, reflects her many contributions to military heraldry.

The Commission of Fine Arts solicited plaster models from three leading sculptors for the medal, selecting that of John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint in May 1931. By Executive Order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart was revived on the 200th Anniversary of George Washington’s birth, out of respect to his memory and military achievements, by War Department General Orders No. 3, dated 22 February 1932.

The criteria was announced in War Department circular dated 22 February 1932 and authorized award to soldiers, upon their request, who had been awarded the Meritorious Service Citation Certificate, Army Wound Ribbon, or were authorized to wear Wound Chevrons subsequent to 5 April 1917, the day before the United States entered World War I. The first Purple Heart was awarded to MacArthur.

During the early period of American involvement in World War II (7 December 1941-22 September 1943), the Purple Heart was awarded both for wounds received in action against the enemy and for meritorious performance of duty. With the establishment of the Legion of Merit, by an Act of Congress, the practice of awarding the Purple Heart for meritorious service was discontinued.

By Executive Order 9277, dated 3 December 1942, the decoration was extended to be applicable to all services and the order required that regulations of the Services be uniform in application as far as practicable. This executive order also authorized award only for wounds received.

Executive Order 11016, dated 25 April 1962, included provisions for posthumous award of the Purple Heart.

Executive Order 12464, dated 23 February 1984, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist attacks or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force subsequent to 28 March 1973.

The Senate approved an amendment to the 1985 Defense Authorization Bill on 13 June 1985 which changed the precedent from immediately above the Good Conduct Medal to immediately above the Meritorious Service Medals. Public Law 99-145 authorized the award for wounds received as a result of friendly fire. Public Law 104-106 expanded the eligibility date, authorizing award of the Purple Heart to a former prisoner of war who was wounded before 25 April 1962.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law 105-85) changed the criteria to delete authorization for award of the Purple Heart Medal to any civilian national of the United States while serving under competent authority in any capacity with the Armed Forces. This change was effective 18 May 1998.

“Military Order of the Purple Heart,”
An organization now known as the “Military Order of the Purple Heart,” was formed in 1932 for the protection and mutual interest of all who have received the decoration. Composed exclusively of Purple Heart recipients, it is the only strictly “combat” organization in existence.

Funds for welfare, rehabilitation and/or service work carried on by the organization are derived almost entirely from the annual distribution of its official flower, The Purple Heart Viola. These are assembled by disabled and needy veterans, many of whom receive little or no compensation from other sources. Thus your contribution for a Viola serves a two-fold purpose – it helps the veteran who assembled it, and enables the organization to do many things in behalf of hospitalized and needy veterans and their families.

The Purple Heart Viola on your lapel is evidence that YOU have not forgotten the price of liberty paid in the past and still being paid by those who have borne the brunt of battle in defense of America.

Close relatives of Purple Heart recipients are eligible to belong to the Ladies Auxiliary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which does important work nationally and locally in Veterans’ Hospitals. Further information about the Order and its auxiliary may be obtained from the National Headquarters as listed below.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
Thank You to Wikipedia and The Military Order of the Purple Heart for providing the content of this page. For more detailed information please visit http://en.wikipedia.org

“Philly” (Philadelphia, Pa. USA) has a deep tradition in boxing. Being born and raised in Philly, we seem to have either adopted or been given the “Rocky” legacy. When visitors from all over the globe visit Philadelphia, their first point of interest to visit is to “run the Rocky steps”. Amazing! With all the American history and culture that exists in the city – a fictional character that was born in a 1976 (bicentennial year) movie – Rocky wins out? Why does this uplifting “one in a million” underdog who fights for and eventually wins a fictitious World Boxing Championship Belt strike such an emotional chord? I use the Rocky backdrop as an introductio to the story of this famous award, the Championship Belt.

Frazier-Ali World Heavyweight Championship Belt

Today a Championship Belt is used primarily…

… in combat sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling to signify the champions of the promotion or company, much like the Vince Lombardi Trophy or The Stanley Cup. This was not always the case. The history of this famous award started with boxing, much like the “Rocky” raw fisted struggle of human achievement and triumph.

History of the Belt
When was the tradition of awarding “Title Belts” started? Thomas “Tom” Cribb (the “Black Diamond”) was one of England’s most celebrated boxing champions in the early 1800’s. He made “milling on the retreat” acceptable as a mode of fighting. Upon his retirement in 1822, he was awarded a lion-skin championship belt, the first unofficial “title belt”. After retirement, Cribb maintained “The Union Arms” on Panton Street in Picadilly, London for many years, until he lost it in 1839. Cribb was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.

Prize belt presented to John L. Sullivan, bare-knuckle boxing champion, in 1887

When the modern authorities talk of the heavyweight championship of the world, they are probably referring to the championship belt presented to Sullivan in Boston on August 8, 1887. The belt was inscribed Presented to the Champion of Champions, John L. Sullivan, by the Citizens of the United States. Its centerpiece featured the flags of the US, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The “Boston Bully,” Sullivan was the most famous sports figure of his day. To honor their hometown hero, Boston fans raised $10,000 for this elaborate trophy. Encrusted with 350 diamonds (now lost) and decorated with Sullivan’s portrait and crossed Irish and American flags, the gold-plated belt has this inscription: “Presented to the champion of champions by the people of the United States.” In 1983 the Smithsonian acquired Sullivan’s belt for its sports history collection. It is impossible to say who the “first” heavyweight champion was, since the sport of boxing goes back as far as recorded history and there have always been large fighters. Even in the bare-knuckle era, “champions” were plentiful.

A competing “officially recognized” Championship belt in boxing had its origins in London back in 1909 with the “Lonsdale Belt”. The belt is named after Lord Lonsdale who was patron of the National Sporting Club. The Earl of Lonsdale was a keen boxing fan who supported boxing for many years. The Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize given by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale. It was originally presented to the champion in each British weight division and the holder could keep the belt if it was won and then defended two times. The belt was first won by Freddie Welsh in 1909 for winning the British lightweight title. Heavyweight Henry Cooper was the first person to win three Lonsdale Belts outright in his seventeen year professional career.

The belt is still won today and awarded by the British Boxing Board of Control although to keep it you must win and defend it three times. The belt is crafted from gold and porcelain and is therefore very expensive to produce.

The current Championship Belts awarded for boxing has its roots from The Ring (Ring Magazine -founded 1922) who began awarding championship belts in 1922. The first Ring belt was awarded to heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, the second to flyweight champion Pancho Villa. The magazine stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s, but began again in 2002 when it launched its new championship policy intended to reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given weight class. No other regularly-awarded belt (awarded to a champion upon becoming champion) prior to this one.

Champion Belt presenting organizations
In boxing, the individual organizations such as the World Boxing Council, The World Boxing Association, the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Organization each have their own unique championship belt that they award to the champions of each weight class. Boxers, especially the World Champions, strive to win the belt of all 4 organizations to unify their weight divisions.

Champions maintain permanent possession of these belts even upon losing their title, with a new belt made when a new champion is crowned.

Unlike Professional Boxing, Professional Wrestling has numerous World Champions and even more regionalized and specialized Championship Belts. The generally recognized World Championship Belts are those of World Wrestling Entertainment and The National Wrestling Alliance. The National Wrestling Alliance recognizes numerous regional Championship Belts such as The NWA North American Championship and The NWA British Commonwealth Championship. World Wrestling Entertainment currently has 3 Main Champions. The WWE Championship is the main championship belt of its RAW brand, the World Heavyweight Championship is the main championship belt of the SmackDown! brand,and the ECW Championship is the main championship of the ECW brand. The RAW and Smackdown! brands also have their own separate tag team Championship Belts and various lesser belts, but the ECW brand has one title.

Designs
Generally, boxing has many fewer uniquely designed belts than wrestling. The 4 major boxing governing bodies generally use the same belt design for all their champions, whereas wrestling companies use different styles for each Championship. The WWE has had 11 different belts to represent their World Title, The National Wrestling Alliance has stayed with the same design for over 30 years, sans the period between 1986-1993 when the “Big Gold” belt was the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title Belt. Beltmakers often create belts that not only set the Championships apart from the others, but become huge collector items as well.

These custom belts are generally made of Leather over-sized belts, with cast metal ornate belt buckles and or medallions. These belts are accented by numerous costume and real jewelry components to add to the presentation. The variations over the years are countless, with each being uniquely designed and manufactured.

Special thanks to wikopedia.com for contributing information.