# First cup (sports trophy) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 17, 2024, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985 "2024-06-17T17:20:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2024, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/1 "2024-06-17T17:20:33Z")
World Cup, Stanley Cup, America’s Cup, Apple Cup, Ryder Cup… Some time way back, someone gussied up a two-handed drinking cup and made it into a sports trophy. What was that first Cup trophy? [Since when do thread titles have to be at least 10 characters? Silly Discourse.] ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/2 "2024-06-17T17:42:20Z")
Of the ones you list, I think the America’s Cup is the oldest, originally awarded in 1851. > **[History of the America's Cup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_America%27s_Cup)** > > The America's Cup is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. > The cup was originally known as the 'R.Y.S. £100 Cup', awarded in 1851 by the British Royal Yacht Squadron for a race around the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. The winning yacht was a schooner called America, owned by a syndicate of members from the New York Yacht Club (NYYC). In 1857, the syndicate permanently donated the trophy to the NYYC, under a Deed of Gift that renamed the trophy as the 'America'... The British Open in golf has a trophy known as the Claret Jug. It could hold liquid, but it’s more of a serving container than one you’d drink from. The jug only goes back to 1872. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/3 "2024-06-17T17:43:30Z")
Wikipedia said that in the 1600s there was a “two-handled sterling cup” called the Kyp Cup. In the ancient Greek era, there were silver cups given out to winners, but those probably weren’t customized/trophy-ized in that sense. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/4 "2024-06-17T22:14:39Z")
The Royal Musselburgh Old Club Cup has been awarded continuously since 1774. > **[History 1760 - 1828 - Royal Musselburgh Golf Club](https://www.royalmusselburgh.co.uk/history/history-1760-1828/)** > > \[vc\_row type=”full\_width\_background” full\_screen\_row\_position=”middle” column\_margin=”default” column\_direction=”default” column\_direction\_tablet=”default” column\_direction\_phone=”default” bg\_image=”5398″ bg\_position=”center center”... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/5 "2024-06-17T22:26:46Z")
One of the traditional prizes in the ancient Olympics was the athlete’s weight in olive oil. I’m guessing that it was delivered in a container that looked something like that. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/6 "2024-06-18T01:49:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One of the traditional prizes in the ancient Olympics was the athlete’s weight in olive oil. I’m guessing that it was delivered in a container that looked something like that No, the oil prize was contained in [amphorae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphora). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/7 "2024-06-18T02:29:43Z")
I dunno, amphorae don’t look so very different from trophy cups, to me. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2024, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/8 "2024-06-18T05:16:15Z")
Amphorae have pointed bottoms, rather than the flat bottoms of trophy cups. As far as the Kyp Cup, I have a suspicion that that wasn’t the first cup trophy. Massachusetts in 1699 was just kind of an out-of-the-way place for starting such a tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/9 "2024-06-19T12:42:57Z")
Most trophy cups have pointed bottoms, too (plus some sort of base they’re mounted on so they’ll stand up). Compare these trophies: [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81uHXYcZX6L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81uHXYcZX6L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg) ![Olympus Metal Cup Trophies](https://builder.crownawards.com/StoreFront/ImageCompositionServlet?files=jsp/images/products/CRSVOC8.gif,,&width=378&trim=true) [![](https://d3u7mdguozhy5k.cloudfront.net/images/81-004_lg.jpg?v=0000000000) ](https://d3u7mdguozhy5k.cloudfront.net/images/81-004_lg.jpg?v=0000000000) with these amphorae: [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcToNRVK7ldyNxNv5iZyWaEgarRTZ5ovW574ww&s) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcToNRVK7ldyNxNv5iZyWaEgarRTZ5ovW574ww&s) [![](https://www.hellenic-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/659a.jpg) ](https://www.hellenic-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/659a.jpg) Now, of course, there are also plenty of both that don’t look as much like the other. But that just shows that designs have changed over time. It still looks consistent with a gradual evolution from one to the other. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-cup-sports-trophy/1002985/10 "2024-06-19T16:36:21Z")
The first Queen’s/King’s Plate ( “a plate to the value of 50 guineas”) was presented in 1860 to the winner of that named horse race in Toronto. Despite the name, the winning owner is presented with a gold cup, rather than a plate. It has been held every year ever since (war or no war). [King’s Plate - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Plate)