Morning journal and courier., 1891-12-18
COLLEGE CUPS.

u"ph8-In6 IfeAG s'AeHHAB OA
 the. Intercollegiate Association-A
 Marvel of the Silversmith's Art
 The Mott Haven Cup-The Yale and
 Harvard Track Athletic CuP-The
 Yale Two-NIile Ricycle Cup and
 the Mile Run Cup-Last, Hut Not
 Least, the Class Cups and the COndi-
 tfons Under Which They Are Won.
 Among the most cherished treasures of college are the Cups" And they are rightly held in such esteem, being trophies from many hard fought field and repre- senting an immense outlay of mind and muscle. And that atheletics demand brain work no one at all familiar with the inner mechanism of modern ath letics, be it foot ball, row ing or track athletics can doubt Yale has won her share of these prizes, and it would take too long to describe in detail the amount of silverware that has been carried off by her victorious offspring in the various arenas of athletics. But few words concerning the cups of to-day.
 Without doubt the challenge cup of the Intercollegiate Tennis association is by far the most beautiful as we'll as the most valuable one, which has as yet appeared among the colleges. It is now held by Harvard, who won it in the intercollegiate tennis tournament this fall at the grounds of the New Haven Lawn club, when, as will be remembered, Hovey of Harvard and Wrenn of the same college first in the doubles. Last year, too, liar yard men went back carrying the cup with them, through the ef- forts of MT. Hovey. In '89 Huntington of Yale won, '8S and '87 Sears of Harvard, 'S6 Brinley of Trinity, and in '85, the year that the cup was presented, Knapp of Yale was the victor in the sin gles So far as the record now stands Har yard has held the cup four years, Yale two and Trinity one. Those who saw the cup grounds this fall during the tournament workmanship it was. Standing over two feet high, of solid silver, with it's mas sive double handles, it is as superb 8 specimen of silver carving and engraving as exists in the country. Tiffany was the maker. The shape is that of the conven- tional Glowing cup" On one side are en- graved the names of the winners and their scores, while the rest of the shining sur face is utilized by various appropriate ath- letic insignia and engravings. The inside is plain and triply gilded, while the han dies are beautifully carved.
 One of the lasting sorrows among the Yale men of muscle is the recent loss of the celebrated 'fMott Haven cup" Yale held this in '89, when the team included such winners as Sherrill, the famous sprinter; Williams, the holder of the worlds record in the high hurdles; Sherman, the great jumper and pole vault, CT, and others of equal note. But in go Harvard won it for the fifth time and it became hers permanently, it being 8 ''limit cup" that is, cup needing to be won fixed number of times to insure possession.
 Another cup is now up for competition between Yale and Harvard alone and is a ten-year cup, the college winning it the greatest number of times during that period becoming it's owner. This was presented only last year by certain prominent and wealthy graduates from both colleges, who still preserve lively inter est in all the athletics of their respective universities. Harvard won it last year at the meeting at Holmes field by the over whelming score of 85 points to 27 The cup has not been put on exhibition except in New York, but is one of Tlffany's and is much the same in shape and design as the tennis cup, the carvings of course diff fering considerably as to subject and size
 There are at present in Yale but two college cups open to competition. These are the cup of the old Yale bicycle club (now disbanded) first offered for competi- tion in the spring of 'SS and the "mile run cup." The former must be won three times to insure possession and can only be competed for at the annual scratch spring games. It was won first by Weare, 'S9S, then Clarke, '91S, held it for two years, while, Allen, '93, holds it this year. The cup itself is a smal one of oxydized silver, much in the shape of miniature beer mug, with the names of the winners on one side and the inscription "Yale Bicycle Club'' engraved on the other in ornamental script.
 There is considerable mystery about the donor of the 'Fmile run cup" It was pre- sented in go under the express stipulation that no efforts should be made to discover the giver However, it is pretty generally understood that it came from Harman go, the greatest distance runner Yale ever had and who holds the Yale records for the mile and two-mile run. This cup can be competed for by any scratch man at any regular games of the Y. A. A. at the field. It was won last Spring by Williams '92, and is now held by Scoville '93. The cup is a beautifully shaped one q typical loving cup, large at the bottom and tapering symmetrically upwards, while the quaint shaping of it's massive handles and the exquisitely ornamented border at the base are beautiful specimens of silver work. The value is estimated at consider ably over a hundred dollars.
 Before closing the subject of cups there is one other kind of cup, which certainly merits special mention-the class cup. This article, the very mention of which brings suspicious color to the faces of all amorously inclined seniors, is open for general com petition among graduates alone, and any attempt of any undergraduate to obtain possession of the coveted trophy would be counted foul in every sense of the word. To be more explicit, the class cup is awarded to the first fortunate man who becomes "happy papa" after leaving his Alma Mater. It is custom of time-hon- ored antiquity, and no we'll conducted class would ever think of graduat- ing without appointing a cup com mittee, whose duty it is to investigate all claims as soon as made, and awarded the cherished cup to it's righuful owner. It was formerly the custom to have the pre- sentation take place at the first biennial reunion of the class, when the happy father, the blushing mother and the usual squalling infant were publicly presented with the silver trophy in the presence of the admiring and envious class. Where npon it became the duty of the newly en- rolled "pater familias" to respond, amidst thunders of applause, to the presenta- tion speech. But that custom is thing of the past, and the chairman of the cup committee now sends it by express, which is probably quite as satisfactory to the recipient. The cup is bought by sub scription procured through the class just before commencement.