America's Cup

“ Whilst Britain abandoned her narrow deep type, America soon also began to modify the old shallow centre-board sloop type, and so between 1887 and 1893 the rival types began to converge very rapidly, until the old idea of a race for the America’s cup being a test of a British type against an American type completely died out. ”

“ We build palaces, and spend on an evening's entertainment what would have been a fortune fifty years ago. We have private palace-cars, and luxurious yachts for pleasure, and others for speed, so swift that the "America's Cup" has remained in our keeping all these years. ”

“ National Prizes: First, the championship silver cup (value, $175) , to be held by the winner until the next annual competition; inscribed on the cup, in raised ornamental letters, is, “This Cup Represents the Pistol Championship of the United States of America”; the name of the winner, the year and the score are also engraved on the cup each year; to the winner is also awarded a gold medal (value, $25) , with the same inscription on the reverse side as appears on the cup. ”

“ The general feeling on this side among the very best authorities on the subject is certainly that a keel racing cutter can be designed and built to compete with any centreboard vessel, and the victory of 'Vigilant' in the late races has not yet convinced that excellent sportsman and practical yachtsman the (p. 107) owner of 'Valkyrie' that nothing but a centreboard can win the America Cup. One thing must be remembered: it is neither centreboard nor keel per se that makes a perfect racer; it is the happy combination and balance of quantities that get the much-coveted 'gun' at the finish. ”

“ The America Cup races were set to begin on October 5 and four following alternate days, the first, third, and last to be 15 knots from the lightship off Sandy Hook and return in a course parallel with the wind; the second and fourth races to be triangular, 10 knots on each leg, to start from the same point, and to have one leg to windward; all races to be started from a single gun, and to be sailed in a limit of six hours.
Earl of Dunraven's 'Valkyrie.'
As the day approached the excitement became intense ”

“ The races for the America Cup were, in their earlier stages, when Lord Dunraven was the challenger, more productive of friction than cordiality. Sir Thomas Lipton's indefatigable persistence in his efforts to "lift the Cup" from 1901 onward does not pass unacknowledged, but Punch's consolation is not free from irony:—
Bear up, Sir T. ”

“ Trophies for the different races, usually cups, are, almost without exception, the gifts of men in the United States who are devotees of the sport. Unable to participate themselves, they like to aid and encourage the event. The latest trophy, and the one which unquestionably will be most sought after this year, is the cup presented by John Borden, Chicago sportsman and millionaire, who joined the Club last summer while in Nome. ”

“ The fashionable day par excellence is "the Cup day," a day on which the upper ten assemble on the Royal heath in their greatest numbers, "the ladies ablaze with dresses of gorgeous hues, tempered with trimmings of taste." This racing trophy—the Cup—which many [Pg 52] owners of race-horses would rather win than any other race however richly it might be endowed, was founded, in 1771, by the Duke of Cumberland, the subscription being limited to 5 gs. ”

“ Whether after a time Cups do not outlive the good they originally did, is a point outside the scope of the general argument that they have a material effect in encouraging the game, and stimulating the players when encouragement and stimulant are needed. If you seek the measure of the good the Football Association Cup has done to disseminate as well as to consolidate the game, you have only to look around. Nor, as far as one can see, is there the smallest evidence to show that either those who play or the public which support football are suffering from a surfeit in this particular direction. ”

“ It’s only a thousand and the gold cup for the winner of the hundred mile race.”
[109]
“I know it, but it’s the cup I want for a trophy,” said Jerry. “We don’t really need the money, but I like the glory. Besides, going after a height record is rather monotonous, just circling about in a spiral. Of course it’s sensational for the crowd to watch, and that’s why the management offer a big money prize for it. ”

“ As so frequently happens, Thanksgiving Day was overcast and cold, the air having a tang as of threatening snow.
"Bully football weather!" shouted the fans, as they crowded into the great park-like field at Columbia; the toss of a coin during the week having given Frank's team the privilege of playing on their home grounds.
There was even a greater crowd present than on the occasion of the game with Clifford. This struggle was to effectually decide the ownership of that coveted silver cup, and the championship of the tri-school league for the season. ”

“ Whatever, however, may be urged to their disadvantage, the fact remains beyond dispute that where Cup competitions have been introduced football has not only increased in popularity, but new clubs have sprung up and, as a natural consequence, players have multiplied. The extraordinary development of the Association game during the last fifteen years is beyond all doubt attributable in a very great measure to the influence of the Cup. ”

“ It is the day when men win cups who never won cups before. All Class-A men are barred; it is strictly a Class-B party. Those with handicaps from twelve to twenty-four are eligible, and there are cups for all sorts of things—the best gross, the best first nine, the best second nine, the best score with one hole out, the best score with two holes out, and so on. Sam always buys the big cup himself—the one for the best gross score—and he sandbags his friends into contributing at least a dozen smaller trophies. ”

“ I am happy to say that there is a prospect of racing reform being extensively carried on with a view to materially curtailing the number of meetings, and when that desirable consummation has been reached I hope for an increased interest to be displayed in other field sports which (cricket and Base Ball included) have suffered from the general attention paid to the turf with its more exciting attraction in the shape of betting. Our great Winter game, as you are doubtless aware, is football, neither Rugby nor Association rules, but a game played under rules of Australian origin. ”

“ The New Manhattan Athletic Club, or rather its athletic directors, were considerably surprised, I know, at the attitude taken by this semi-professional element among the New York school-boys. It had been their intention to offer a valuable trophy in the form of a cup, to be contested for on this occasion, in addition to individual medals, and they had even gone so far as to consult with the President of the National Association concerning the order for this cup. But when they found that their interest in school-boy athletics was apparently unappreciated, they gave up the idea entirely. ”

“ A series of international races held during the first decade of the century, known as the Gordon Bennett Cup Races, came to an end because the French objected to the stipulation in the Deed of Gift of the cup that in the race each country should be represented by a team of three cars, which gave a country with a small industry practically the same chance of winning as a country with a large industry. ”

“ Holders, for a season, of the Stanley Cup, they are past masters in the art of skating and stick handling, and because of the high perfection which the game has attained in Manitoba, they will ever be dangerous rivals for any team in the east that captures the coveted trophy. ”

“ The Cutler athletes deserve the highest praise for the work they performed. They came on the field with Barnard and Berkeley strong favorites, and they went into every event with an earnestness and energy that were finally rewarded by victory. Cutler's score was 34-1/2 points, with Barnard second, having 30, and Berkeley third, with 27. Next year there will be a hot struggle between Barnard and Cutler for the final ownership of the cup, which will then be decided, unless some other strong team is developed, to come in and secure the trophy for a year's custodianship. ”

“ I believe you might have carried off the gold prize cup won by Gilbert in the golf tournament last year, perhaps thinking it a lark. So I am prepared to say to you here and now, if such was the case, and you will immediately restore my property to me, I will say nothing about it. If you refuse, it will go hard with you."
"But Mr. Dennison!" expostulated Frank, "we have never so much as set eyes on any sort of a gold loving cup, so you can see how impossible it would be for us to hand it over to you." ”

“ If you're a professional dancer at Geisenheimer's, you aren't supposed to advertise the fact. The management thinks that if you did it might send the public away thinking too hard when they saw you win the Great Contest for the Love-r-ly Silver Cup which they offer later in the evening. Say, that Love-r-ly Cup's a joke. I win it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Mabel Francis wins it on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. It's all perfectly fair and square, of course. It's purely a matter of merit who wins the Love-r-ly Cup. Anybody could win it. Only somehow they don't. ”

“ The fear of inordinate betting, which it was predicted would inevitably follow the establishment of such competitions, has, as far as a lengthy and intimate knowledge of the working of one of the most important of them gives any weight, not by any means been realized. Nor has there been shown to have been any reason for the assumption that participation in a Cup competition would tend ipso facto to deaden the sensibilities or susceptibilities of either the managers of clubs or the players. ”

“ The most critical old-timer who ever wore a shoe could not have found fault with the preparations for the meet.
And many a man, indeed, who had been famous in his day, sat in the rows of seats which surrounded the Oval, eager to see the final contest for the cup, whose possession meant so much to the school victorious in this hard and well-fought fight. Fathers, uncles, elder brothers, small boys looking forward to the day when they, in turn, would take their places in the family procession, and come to Clinton, Fenton or Hopevale, as the case might be ”

“ Henry Peacock won the Brutus B. Hemmingway Cup!
Now as golf cups go the Hemmingway Cup is quite an affair—eighteen inches from pedestal to brim, solid silver of course, engraved and scrolled and chased within an inch of its life. Mr. Hemmingway puts up a new cup each year, the conditions of play being that the trophy shall go to the man making the best net score. A Class-B man usually wins it with a handicap of eighteen or twenty-four and the Class-A men slightingly refer to Mr. Hemmingway's trophy as "the dub cup." ”

“ Every citizen of this country who is blessed with organs of vision knows that whenever the elements are favorable and wherever grounds are available, the great American game is in progress, whether in city, village or hamlet, east, west, north or south, and that countless thousands of interested spectators gather daily throughout the season to witness contests which are to determine the comparative excellence of competing local organizations or professional league teams. ”

“ It is believed that the trophy contributed in this way to the rapid development of the automobile in the United States. The Vanderbilt Cup races were held annually in the United States under the auspices of the American Automobile Association.
The silver cup, measuring 23 inches high and 20 inches in diameter and weighing about 40 pounds, is engraved with statistics of the various races––such as dates, winners, types of cars, distances, and times. ”

“ A. G. Cutler, W. W. Kellogg, and J. A. Hendrick tied, and Cutler was winner on average. Other contestants were Frank Billiter, of Minneapolis, C. S. Schmitt, of Chicago, and W. A. Paige, of Boston, all new to this series of games.
Second Tournament for “Brooklyn Eagle” Gold Cup. Brooklyn, N. Y., January 13–18th, under patronage of Hanover Club and under auspices of the N. A. A. B. P. Four games apiece, 300 points, 14:2. Average of tournament, 5.32. Uniformity of runs and general averages is remarkable for players of their speed.
Championship of France at 18:2. ”

“ The Interprovincial Hockey Union, having been organized with the object of fostering the amateur spirit among hockey players, is, I think, deserving of every encouragement, and, if agreeable to your committee, I would be pleased to have the team winning the Interprovincial championship this year become the first holders of the cup and defend it should any challenges be received. ”

“ The Interscholastic Baseball Championship Cup, which has been played for for seven years, has finally been awarded to the Cambridge High and Latin School, their team having won it the greatest number of times. This cup is of solid silver, nearly nine inches high, in the form of a loving-cup with handles. In design the bowl rests upon a circular wreath of holly, and the bulge of the bowl itself is decorated with wreaths of wild roses. ”

“ As the summer drew to a close the annual team matches began, and we forgot Ambrose and all else in our anxiety over the fate of the Edward B. Wimpus Trophy.
Every golf club, you must know, has its pet trophy. Ours is the worn old silver cup that represents the team championship of the Association. A pawnbroker wouldn't look at it twice; but to us, who are familiar with its history and the trips it has made to different clubhouses, the Edward B. Wimpus Trophy is priceless, and more to be desired than diamonds or pearls. ”

“ And Crossfire challenges, fierce and bold, And the lead she'll have and the lead she'll hold, But at length gives way to the black and gold, Which away to the front is speeding. Carry them on and keep it up— A flying race is the Melbourne Cup, You must race and stay to win it ”