The Dauvray Cup was a

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trophy A trophy is a tangible, decorative item used to remind of a specific achievement, serving as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most commonly awarded for sports, sporting events, ranging from youth sports to professional level athlet ...

awarded in

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

from 1887 to 1893. Named after stage actress

Helen Dauvray Helen Dauvray (February 14, 1859 – December 6, 1923) was an American actress.(20 February 1892)Our Gallery of Players - XXXIV. Helen Dauvray ''The Illustrated American'', p. 16, 35 She was a star in Bronson Howard's play ''One of Our Girl ...

, who presented the cup, it was initially awarded to the winner of the

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between the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

and American Association. It was the first World Series trophy. 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 the National League pennant. Like the

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, the same trophy was used each season rather than a new one being made. The Dauvray Cup has since been lost.

History

The cup was named for its presenter, Broadway actress

. In 1887, Dauvray began a relationship with John Montgomery Ward,

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

for the

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and future Hall of Famer. Their marriage was announced in October of that year during the World Series. 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". On June 1, the Gorham Silver Company began the process of creating the trophy. When some, including National League president Nicholas 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. Some newspapers at the time, including the ''

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'' and '' Police Gazette'', dismissed the trophy as a publicity stunt designed more to promote Dauvray herself than out of a fondness for baseball. The Dauvray Cup was first won in 1887 by the Detroit Wolverines of the NL, who defeated the St. Louis Browns in the 1887 World Series. It would also be won twice by Ward's Giants, in 1888 and 1889. The cup was last awarded in 1893 to the Boston 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. 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. A replacement would be provided by William Chase Temple, president of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, which became known as the Temple Cup. According to

John Thorn John Abraham Thorn (born April 17, 1947) is a German-born American sports historian, author, and publisher. Since 2011, he has served as the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball. Early life Thorn was born in Stuttgart, Germany ...

, official historian of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, the last mention of the presence of the Dauvray Cup was on November 12, 1893, in Newport,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. By June 1894, '' Sporting Life'' was wondering in print what had happened to it. The current location of the Dauvray Cup is unknown.

References

{{WorldSeries, state=collapsed Major League Baseball postseason Major League Baseball trophies and awards World Series trophies and awards Awards established in 1887 Awards disestablished in 1893 Lost objects 1887 establishments in the United States 1893 disestablishments in the United States