Although it was named in 1985, the trophy was first awarded in 1967, when the
St. Louis Cardinals defeated the
Boston Red Sox. Coincidentally, the
1967 World Series was nine months after the
first Super Bowl, where the
Green Bay Packers were awarded the AFL-NFL World Championship Trophy for defeating the
Kansas City Chiefs (the trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy prior to
Super Bowl V following Lombardi's death in September 1970). The trophy was not without precedent in Major League Baseball: the
Dauvray Cup (named after actress
Helen Dauvray) was awarded to the winner of the World Series between the National League and the
American Association from 1887 to 1890, and when a solitary major league remained, to the winner of the National League pennant, from 1891 to 1893. The Dauvray Cup was to be held by the victorious team and was to be relinquished the following year when (and if) a new champion team emerged. The Dauvray Cup mysteriously vanished following the 1893 series and has never been located. From 1894 to 1897, the
Temple Cup was awarded to the winner of a postseason contest between the two top National League clubs. A new Commissioner's Trophy is created each year, much like the
Anschutz Trophy, the
O'Brien Trophy and the
Lombardi Trophy, and unlike the
Stanley Cup, which is passed from champion to champion (the NBA's former championship trophy, the
Walter A. Brown Trophy, was passed from champion to champion through
1976; a newly-designed trophy which was to become the O'Brien Trophy debuted in
1977). Since
2017, when the
Houston Astros won the World Series at
Dodger Stadium, the championship presentation occurs on the field even if the champion clinches the title on the road. Since its inception, the only year that the Commissioner's Trophy has not been awarded was 1994, when the
players' strike ended the season on August 12, resulting in the cancellation of the entire post-season. The
New York Yankees have won the most Commissioner's Trophies, winning seven World Series since 1977. The
Los Angeles Dodgers has won five trophies, a National League record. it was subsequently repaired. In 2020, in discussing the punishments for the
Houston Astros sign stealing scandal, which did not include stripping the Astros of their 2017 championship, commissioner
Rob Manfred referred to the Commissioner's Trophy as "a piece of metal." Following criticism for the dismissive nature of the remark, Manfred issued a public apology. ==Design==