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Wanamaker Trophy Is Big for Y.E. Yang, But Doesn’t Touch the Heaviest Trophies in Sports

Aug 17, 2009, 2:05 PM UTC

CBS Sports seems designed for golf coverage. From the dulcet tones of Jim Nantz to analysis by former major champions like Nick Faldo and Ian Baker Finch to the quips of Gary McCord and David Feherty, the CBS coverage is almost always fantastic.â†µâ†µWhen the 91st PGA Championship concluded Sunday with a thrilling victory by Y.E. Yang, CBS called on veteran announcer and awards presenter Bill Macatee to do the honors. â†µ

â†µâ†µPresenting a trophy cannot be easy, with the logistics of holding one microphone for yourself, the presenting PGA member, the winner, and in yesterday’s case, an interpreter. Macatee always seems solid in capturing the situation, adding a touch of reverence and necessary context to the major championship moment. Like most golf tournaments, the awards presentation yesterday took place on the 18th green, in front of a gallery of on-lookers, so Macatee might have forgotten he was on TV, where people can Google things very quickly. Or he was given really bad information:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“That, by the way, is the heaviest trophy in sports,” Macatee told the Yang as he hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy over his head. “Twenty-seven pounds. I know you’ve been working out, but that’s pretty hard to lift. Surely, you don’t mind.”â†µâ†µâ†µMacatee clearly isn’t a hockey fan. The Stanley Cup, by the way, first presented in 1893 as small decorative bowl, now weighs more than 34.5 pounds.â†µ

â†µâ†µThere are others, as well. The BCS National Championship Trophy, by the way, weighs so much, teams are just given the removable crystal football to hoist after wining the title. With the enormous black base included, the trophy for football’s BCS Champion weights 45 pounds.â†µ

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â†µThe Barclay’s Premiership trophy, by the way, given each year to the winning squad in England’s premier division of soccer, stands just 30 inches tall -- when compared to the Stanley Cups 35.25 inches – but weights 25 kg, converted to be around 56 pounds. â†µ

â†µâ†µBut those are team sports. Maybe Macatee meant the Wannamaker was the heaviest trophy given to an individual. Well, that wouldn’t be true either. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Woodlawn Vase is presented annually to the winner of the Preakness Stakes. The vase is made of 400 ounces of sterling silver – or 30 pounds, by the way – and while it cost $1,500 to make the vase in 1860, it is now estimated to be worth $4 million dollars. â†µ

â†µâ†µNothing, however, can outdo the Borg-Warner Trophy, given to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 every year since 1936. Made of sterling silver, the trophy is more than five feet tall and weights nearly 153 pounds. I don’t care how much you work out, that one might be tough to lift over your head. By the way.â†µ

â†µâ†µSurely there are others. Share in the comments below. By the way, the threshold set by Macatee is 27 pounds.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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