TOP TEN ICONIC TROPHIES
When placing your sporting spread bet, you could be forgiven for forgetting the prize on offer for the teams and competitors.
Sports trophies can become iconic for their sheer image and design; others are become iconic for the history, prestige and what they symbolise.
Whether it is the history associated with the Ashes urn or the green jacket awarded to the Masters winner, or the design and uniqueness of the Stanley Cup or annually commissioned Vince Lombardi trophy, they are all events that attract masses of spread betting activity in their own right.
FA Cup
The FA Cup (Football Association Cup) is the oldest domestic cup competition in the world. The first FA Cup Final took place at the Kennington Oval in 1872 between Wanderers and Royal Engineers, but its spiritual home has always been Wembley Stadium. Recently, the final has had to be switched to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff whilst Wembley has undergone renovations. However, Wembley is now hosting the world famous final once again which is one of the biggest spread betting events of the year.
World Cup
There have been two trophies used since the first World Cup in 1930. The first was the Jules Rimet trophy which was used between 1930-1970 and famously lifted aloft by Bobby Moore at Wembley in 1966. The second was introduced for the 1974 World Cup and is called the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The Jules Rimet trophy was named after the then FIFA president whose vote was the deciding factor in the first ever World Cup competition. The trophy went missing in 1966 and after a nationwide hunt, a small dog called Pickles found it under an old newspaper. Both trophies measure a little over 14inches and the FIFA World Trophy is presented to the victorious captain at the climax to the biggest sporting and football betting event in the world.
Ryder Cup
Samuel Ryder, from just outside London, came up with the idea to hold a competition between golf players from Europe and the USA. He donated the gold trophy that was given to the winning captain during the inaugural year competition in 1927. Since then the Ryder Cup has become one of the biggest sporting events on the planet – taking place every two years on a rotational basis between the US and Europe. Punters have latched onto the tournament as well and big golf spread bets are placed on individual matches as well as the final outcome. Europe have won the last two Ryder Cups and are hot favourites to make it three in a row.
Claret Jug – The Open Golf Championship
The original Claret Jug was first awarded in 1873 to Tom Kidd, who had just claimed his fifth Open title in a row. The current model was created in 1928 and presented to the victor, Walter Hagen. Padraig Harrington won the trophy in 2007 and he will have to return it before next year’s Open. The Open is one of the highlights of the summer and the only golf major tournament to take place in Europe. Commentators regularly like to bet on the exact moment when the engraver will be able to finally decide if a player has won and he can do the speedy job.
Green Jacket – The Masters
Augusta has become synonymous with the green jacket ever since it was first awarded to the winner in 1949. The jacket is awarded to members of the Augusta National Golf Club and the winner of the Masters becomes an honorary member of the club. Famed for its treacherous greens and water features, the green jacket ceremony is the pinnacle of the sport for the golfer and they are handed the garment by the previous year’s winner. Only players like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, who have won the tournament in consecutive years, are given the jacket by the Chairman of the Augusta National. Tiger Woods has been sent off favourite to win the last six Masters.
Ashes
The Ashes was first coined following the first defeat of England by Australia in 1882, in which a newspaper referred to the death of English cricket. A small terracotta urn containing a burnt bail was handed to the England captain by a group of Melbourne women during the next tour to Australia – immortalising ‘The Ashes’ forever. Australia have traditionally been the dominant team in recent Ashes series and regained them in Australia in 2006. England had claimed the series in 2005 following a flood of money on key batsmen Kevin Pieterson and Andrew Flintoff scoring huge totals in comparison to the predictions made by spread bettors.
Calcutta Cup
The Calcutta Cup is awarded to the winner of the Scotland v England rugby international as part of the annual Six Nations tournament. The original trophy was made in India, it stands at 45cm high and has three snakes as the handles. The cup was first played for in 1879 and has become a key fixture of the winter sporting schedule. England have the better record in one-on-one fixtures and when they win the trophy is put on display at rugby headquarters in Twickenham.
William Webb Ellis – Rugby World Cup
William Webb Ellis is known as the founder of rugby – when during a game of football he picked up the ball and ran to place it over the line. The William Webb Ellis Trophy or Webb Ellis Cup was created especially for the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987. England are the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to have won the cup following their victory in Australia in 2003. The three other winners of the cup are South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, but England in 2003 managed to hold off all of the competition to claim victory and once again cause millions of punters to take huge chunks of money out of the bookies satchels.
America’s Cup
The America’s Cup is thought to be the oldest trophy in worldwide sport. It was created in 1848 and handed to the first winning captain of the yacht America in 1951. There are very strict rules and guidelines for any challenging yacht and they must comply with the Deed of Gift which has been going since 1953. The race is regarded as the most important sailing event in the world and people regularly refer to the trophy as the ‘Auld Mug’. The United States, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia are the only countries in the world to have ever lifted the America’s Cup.
Yellow Jersey – Tour de France
Still the most watched sporting event in the world, the Tour de France is perhaps the most gruelling competitive race anywhere in the world. Winners need to be able to adapt to mountains, speed trials and long, hard days in the saddle if they are to win the Tour and ride up the Champs Elysses wearing the famous yellow jersey. The jersey was introduced in 1919 because it was decided the leader of the tour needed to stand out from the rest of the cyclists. The leader of the Tour is the cyclist with the least amount of time spent on the road. Recently the Tour has been under intense criticism due to drugs and betting scandals, but organisers are now hoping that the glory days can return.
Larry O’Brien Trophy - Basketball
The Larry O’Brien Trophy was made in 1977 and is awarded to the winner of the NBA finals each year. Larry O’Brien was the former commissioner of the NBA and each year a new one is created so winning teams can keep their own unique version. The trophy weighs approximately 16 pounds and is designed with a basketball at the top of it, standing at over 2 feet tall. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the US and college basketball is particularly popular amongst the betting fraternity.
Vince Lombardi Trophy – Super Bowl
The winners of the Super Bowl each year are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Lombardi was the legendary Green Bay Packers head coach and the trophy was renamed to honour his two victories in the first ever Super Bowls. Similarly to the Larry O’Brien Trophy at Basketball, the Vince Lombardi Trophy is made especially for the winner of the Super Bowl each year and is kept as a memento of their victory. Punters in the UK traditionally stay up all night for the Super Bowl and bet millions each year.
Stanley Cup – Ice Hockey
Ice hockey’s most famous tournament is the annual Stanley Cup. It is awarded to the winners of the National Hockey League (NHL) from teams in both Canada and the USA. One of its unique features is that each player and coach has their name engraved on the trophy. The original trophy was bought by Lord Stanley of Preston in 1888 who had become obsessed with ice hockey. There are now two other versions as well as the original trophy which can be viewed in Toronto at the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. American sports are increasingly popular worldwide from a betting point of view and huge events like the Stanley Cup attract millions of dollars in online betting.
