Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BASEBALL TROPHY

Date

1897

Materials

LEAD, WOOD, SILVER PLATE

No. Pieces

1

Height

30.8

Length

21.4

Width

14

Description

TROPY/LOVING CUP, SILVER PLATED. PARTIAL CLEANING ON MIDSECTION OF TROPHY TO REMOVE OXIDIZATION. ROUND BASE WITH THREE BASEBALL BATS CONNECTING AND SUPPORTING VESSEL TO BASE. CENTER OF BASE IS A SPHERE RESEMBLING A BASEBALL. BODY OF VESSLE READS: “QUEEN VICTORIA’S JUBILEE, JUNE 22, 1897, LETHBRIDGE VERSUS CARDSTON, PRESENTED BY THE UNION BANK OF CANADA, WON BY.” VESSEL HAS TWO RIBBED HANDLES WHICH MATCH RIBBING ON THE BASE, RIM, NECK, AND MOUTH OF VESSEL. WHITE PAINT REMNANTS BETWEEN THE RIBBING.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

SPORTS

History

DONOR DISCOVERED TROPHY AT “THE FREE STORE” LOCATED ON HORNBY ISLAND, BC IN 2006. DONOR WANTED TROPHY BECAUSE, “IT LOOKED UNIQUE [AND IT FILLED AN] AREA IN OPEN SHELVING”. DONOR THOUGHT THE TROPHY WAS WEIRD AND FIT WITH HER THEME OF COLLECTING WEIRD THINGS. COINCIDENTALLY THE DONOR RE-LOCATED TO LETHBRIDGE AROUND 2006/07 AND BROUGHT THE TROPHY WITH HER. THE DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATION MARKED THE 50TH YEAR OF QUEEN VICTORIA’S REIGN. THE YEAR BEFORE, SHE SURPASSED HER GRANDFATHER KING GEORGE III AS THE LONGEST REIGNING MONARCH IN BRITISH HISTORY. THE FESTIVAL CELEBRATING BOTH HER DIAMOND JUBILEE AND HER RECORD LENGTH REIGN WERE CELEBRATED ACROSS THE BRITISH EMPIRE. TO CELEBRATE THE DIAMOND JUBILEE, LETHBRIDGE HELD A CELEBRATION. ACCORDING TO THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD FROM JUNE 23, 1897, "MANY BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE CITY RAISED FLAGS AND THE CELEBRATION BEGAN WITH A PARADE… CARDSTON WON THE TOSS AND TOOK THE FIELD, AND LETHBRIDGE RAN UP 6 RUNS IN THE FIRST INNING. CARDSTON RETIRED WITH A GOOSE EGG. SCORE 6-0. IN THE SECOND INNINGS LETHBRIDGE MADE 4 MORE, WHILE CARDSTON ONLY MADE 1. SCORE 10-0. IN THE THIRD INNINGS LETHBRIDGE WAS RETIRED FOR 1 RUN WHILE CARDSTON ADDED FIVE. SCORE 11-6. BOTH TEAMS GOT DOWN TO PLAYING AND IN THE FOURTH AND FIFTH INNINGS NEITHER SIDE HAD SCORED A RUN. SCORE 11-6. IN THE SIXTH INNINGS LETHBRIDGE ADDED 1 TO THEIR SCORE, WHILE CARDSTON ADDED 5 TO THEIRS, MAKING THE SCORE 12-11. IN THE SEVENTH INNINGS, LETHBRIDGE WERE AGAIN WHITEWASHED, WHILE CARDSTON ADD4ED THREE TO THEIR SCORE MAKING THE TOTAL 14 TO 12 IN FAVOR OF CARDSTON. IN THIS INNINGS LETHBRIDGE CHANGED PITCHERS, PUTTING GRIMES IN THE BOX IN PLACE OF WERTHEIM. IN THE EIGHTH INNINGS LETHBRIDGE ADDED 1 MORE TO THEIR SCORE WHILE CARDSTON WERE RETIRED WITH A CIPHER. SCORE 14-13 IN CARDSTON’S FAVOR. JUST AS THE NINTH AND LAST INNINGS WAS STARTING, AND WHEN THE EXCITEMENT WAS AT ITS HIGHEST, A HEAVY RAIN SHOWER FELL AND THE GAME HAD TO BE STOPPED. THE RAIN WAS OF SHORT DURATION, HOWEVER, AND THE SUN COMING OUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER, DRIED THE GROUND SO RAPIDLY THAT THE FAME WAS ABLE TO BE PROCEEDED WITHIN HALF AN HOUR FROM THE TIME IT WAS STOPPED. IN THIS INNINGS LETHBRIDGE ADDED 8 TO THEIR SCORE, MAKING A TOTAL OF 21. CARDSTON WERE PRETTY WELL DISCOURAGED AT THIS STATE OF THINGS, AND ON GOING TO BAT WERE RETIRED FOR ANOTHER GOOSE EGG, WHICH LEFT THE GAME AT 21 TO 14 IN FAVOR OF LETHBRIDGE. MR. D. CARNEY ACTED AS UMPIRE AND GAVE GOOD SATISFACTION. NOTES. AT THE START OF THE FAME IT LOOKED AS THOUGH IT WOULD BE A ONE-SIDED AFFAIR. BUT AFTER THE CARDSTON BOYS GOT WARMED UP THEY PUT UP A GOOD FAME, AND HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE PLAY OF GRIMES THE RESULT WOULD POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. THE CARDSTON TEAM WAS KICKING AT THE INTRODUCTION OF GRIMES, WHO, THEY CLAIMED WAS AN OUTSIDER. THEY WERE RIGHT IN THEIR KICK AS GRIMES WAS A MAN FROM BELT, AND IF IT WAS LETHBRIDGE AGAINST CARDSTON, AS WAS SUPPOSED, HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PERMITTED TO PLAY. GRIMES WAS BY ALL ODDS THE BEST PLAYER ON THE FIELD, EITHER AS A FIELDER OR PITCHER HE FAR EXCELLED ANY OF THE OTHER PLAYERS.” OTHER ATHLETIC EVENTS WERE HELD INCLUDING: TUG-OF-WAR, FOOT RACES AND A FOOTBALL GAME. A LARGE MEAL AT TOWN HALL WAS PREPARED AND THE EVENING CONCLUDED WITH FIREWORKS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20110014000

Acquisition Date

2011-05

Collection

Museum

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