| Dauvray Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First awarded: | 1887 |
| Last awarded: | 1893 |
| Current location: | Unknown |
| Last holder: | Boston Beaneaters |
| Most Cups: | Boston Beaneaters (3) |
TheDauvray Cup was achampionshiptrophy awarded inprofessional baseball from 1887 to 1893.[1][2] Named after stage actressHelen Dauvray, who presented the cup, it was initially awarded to the winner of theWorld Series between theNational League andAmerican Association. It was the first World Series trophy.[2] The last National League-American Association series was in 1890, with the latter collapsing after the end of the following season. The cup was then awarded to the winner of theNational League pennant. Like theStanley Cup ofice hockey, the same trophy was used each season rather than a new one being made.[1] The Dauvray Cup has since been lost.
The cup was named for its presenter,Broadway actressHelen Dauvray.[2] In 1887, Dauvray began a relationship withJohn Montgomery Ward,shortstop for theNew York Giants and futureHall of Famer. Their marriage was announced in October of that year during the World Series.[3]
Dauvray first announced her intentions to present the trophy in newspapers on May 21, 1887. The announcement described the cup as "a $500 silver cup" in "the form of a true lovers' cup ... about twelve inches high".[4][5] On June 1, the Gorham Silver Company began the process of creating the trophy. When some, including National League presidentNicholas Young, suggested that the trophy was more for the owner of the winning team than the players, Dauvray agreed to award gold medals to the players of the winning team as well as one umpire.[3][6][7] Some newspapers at the time, including theBrooklyn Eagle andPolice Gazette, dismissed the trophy as a publicity stunt designed more to promote Dauvray herself than out of a fondness for baseball.[3]
The Dauvray Cup was first won in 1887 by theDetroit Wolverines of the NL, who defeated theSt. Louis Browns in the1887 World Series.[7] It would also be won twice by Ward's Giants, in 1888 and 1889.[1] The cup was last awarded in 1893 to theBoston Beaneaters. The Beaneaters had won the cup three years in a row, having won the NL pennant in 1891 and 1892 as well. The rules established at the creation of the cup stated that it would permanently belong to the first team to win it three years in a row.[1][4][6] Dauvray, by that time no longer much interested in either Ward—they would divorce in November that same year—or baseball, took no steps to provide a new Dauvray Cup to replace the retired one.[8] A replacement would be provided byWilliam Chase Temple, president of thePittsburgh Pirates, which became known as theTemple Cup.[1]
According toJohn Thorn, official historian ofMajor League Baseball, the last mention of the presence of the Dauvray Cup was on November 12, 1893, inNewport,Kentucky. By June 1894,Sporting Life was wondering in print what had happened to it.[8] The current location of the Dauvray Cup is unknown.
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