Trophy Winners The Stories Behind The Engraving

When someone receives a trophy, it’s a clear statement about personal achievement.

A trophy is also tangible evidence of their achievement – far more so than a certificate or a plaque. They’re talking points – conversation starters – and they give the recipient an opportunity to relive their special moment .

In all seriousness, a trophy can do what a piece of paper can’t. A trophy is ‘evidence’ that that person has done their best and achieved something special. And which winner can resist displaying their achievements on their desk, mantelpiece or windowsill for all to see.

A trophy also lends weight to the importance of the event or the achievement.

Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not always possible to erase an engraving on a trophy - and there are some very amusing stories about how some engravers have made mistakes on some hugely important sporting cups

And even though machine engraving has replaced much of the old-fashioned and time-honoured craft of hand-engraving, the principle is the same, says one of the industry leaders in Perth trophies, Accent Trophies. If the input is wrong, the result will be too

The most famous engraving mistakes have been made on what’s been called the most important sporting trophy in the world - the Stanley Cup.

The Stanley Cup is the ice hockey trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs champion. It’s well known for many reasons, not least of all because of all the mistakes on the engraving, and a contributing factor may just be that the names of ALL the winning players, coaches, management and club staff are engraved on the trophy...meaning there’s much more room for error.

For example, Dickie Moore won six cups and his name was spelled five different ways on the badge, the engraving for Glenn Hall came out as ‘Glin’, Bob Gainey turned out to be ‘Gainy’, the 1972 Boston Bruins came out as ‘Bqstqn’ and Pat McReavy turned out to McCeavy.

Imagine the pressure on the engraver to get it right on all the high profile trophies and plaques around the world. One of the longest-serving engravers was Alex Harvey, who engraved the champion golfer of the year’ on the Claret Jug for over 30 years - and who NEVER made a mistake on the precious trophy cup

“Engraving is an art, and if anyone has a valuable or even just a sentimental trophy, cup or plaque, it’s worth having it done by professionals,’ says the Perth trophy experts, Accent Trophies