On Oct. 14 in this space, I wrote about a football game between Chatfield and St. Charles. The story included information about the Armistice Day Trophy, which those teams have been playing for since 1947.
Seeing that trophy on the field in St. Charles reminded me of some of the other great traveling trophies I have seen during many years of writing about high school football in Minnesota. The Hammer. The Milk Jug. The Battle Axe. At least nine rivalry games are known as the Battle for the Paddle.
There are at least two Little Brown Jugs, one Victory Jug, one Brown Jug and at least two trophies known simply as the Jug. Several trophies are named after highways or streets.
I asked folks who follow me on Twitter and are plugged into the MSHSL Facebook page to tell me about their favorite football traveling trophies. The response was immediate and powerful. If you haven’t seen the many photos of trophies that have been posted on the MSHSL Facebook page, you really should because it is quite amazing.
People also have shared some interesting, weird, sometimes goofy stories of how the trophies came to be. Here are a few samples…
--Plainview-Elgin-Millville football coach Kevin Lamb and Lake City coach Trevor Narum were college roommates in Winona, living on Franklin Street. So, their teams play for the Franklin Street Helmet.
--After football players from Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton and St. Clair helped fill and set sand bags when their communities suffered from flooding in 2016, the Sand Bag Trophy was born.
--Proctor and Hermantown play for The Hammer, a giant wooden hammer that is a symbol of the railroad history of the two towns.
--St. Charles and Lewiston-Altura play for TWO trophies. In the mid-2000s coaches from both schools thought it would be fun to have a traveling trophy. Each team created a trophy (unbeknownst to the other school). Lewiston-Altura decorated a golden hammer with the handle half orange and half red, while St. Charles created the Highway 14 Sign.
--In Rochester, the football teams from Century, Mayo and John Marshall battle for The Addington Jug. The school that beats the team possessing the jug takes it home and paints it in their school colors.
--Luverne and Pipestone have played for the Battle Ax (pictured) since 1957. The ax head is red on one side and green on the other, representing the schools’ colors. And for good (and hilarious) measure, the sophomore teams play for the Hatchet and the ninth-grade teams play for the Butter Knife.
Here’s a list of football traveling trophies that has been compiled based on input from so many of you. This is in no way a complete list and some of these rivalries are no longer current. But what a fun project!
FOOTBALL TRAVELING TROPHIES
Addington JugRochester Century, Rochester Mayo and Rochester John Marshall
Armistice Day TrophyChatfield vs. St. Charles
AxeMinnesota School for the Deaf vs. Wisconsin School for the Deaf
Bemidji vs. Moorhead
Bay BellMinnetonka vs. Wayzata
Babe’s BellBemidji vs. Brainerd
Battle AxLuverne vs. Pipestone (Hatchet and Butter Knife)
Battle for the AppleApple Valley vs. Eastview
Battle of the BellHouston vs. Lanesboro
Battle for the PaddleRogers vs. Elk River
Cambridge-Isanti vs. St. Francis
Hawley vs. Barnesville
Annandale vs. Litchfield
Anoka vs. Champlin Park
Medford vs. Bethlehem Academy
Littlefork-Big Falls vs. Bigfork
Detroit Lakes vs. Peham
Jackson County Central vs. Windom
Big CatLakeville North vs. Lakeville South
BlockIrondale vs. Spring Lake Park
Bloomington City TrophyBloomington Jefferson vs. Bloomington Kennedy
Brown JugWaconia vs. Chaska
BumperFoley vs. Little Falls
FootballMorris Area/Chokio-Alberta vs. Minnewaska
Franklin Street HelmetPlainview-Elgin-Millville vs. Lake City
Golden HelmetKittson County Central vs. Grygla
Golden FootballMahnomen/Waubun vs. Ada-Borup/West
HammerProctor vs. Hermantown (pictured)
Lewiston-Altura vs. St. Charles
HatchetSt. Paul Harding vs. St. Paul Johnson
HelmetTracy-Milroy-Balaton vs. Murray County Central
St. Charles vs. Dover-Eyota
Highway 2 Road Sign TrophyFosston vs. Bagley
Highway 14 SignSt. Charles vs. Lewiston-Altura
Highway 53 Bridge BattleVirginia vs. Eveleth
Highway 99 Border BattleNicollet vs. Cleveland
37th Avenue Street SignMinneapolis Edison vs. Columbia Heights
JugMankato East vs. Mankato West
Greenway vs. Grand Rapids
Little Brown JugFairmont vs. Blue Earth Area
Zumbrota-Mazeppa vs. Kasson-Mantorville
Cannon Falls vs. Kenyon-Wanamingo
Moose Lake/Willow River vs. Barnum
Minute ManNorth St. Paul vs. Tartan
Morrison County Milk JugRoyalton vs. Upsala/Swanville Area
MusketSt. Paul Central vs. St. Paul Highland Park
NickelRoseau vs. Warroad
Old Highway 169 Blvd TrophyJordan vs. Belle Plaine
Old Oak BucketFairmont vs. Jackson County Central
Sandbag TrophySt Clair vs. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton
SledgehammerRogers vs. Monticello
Caledonia vs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Stump TrophyCrosby-Ironton vs. Aitkin
Tractor TrophyFarmington vs. Northfield
Victory JugChaska vs. Chanhassen
WedgeNorwood Young America vs. Sibley East
See more photos on the MSHSL Facebook page.
Follow John on Twitter: @MSHSLjohn