Championship rings have long been part of North American sports lexicon. Championship rings are mostly confined to North American sports. Since only one championship trophy is awarded by the league to the winning team, championship rings are distributed as a memento for the players and team officials to keep for themselves to symbolize their victory.
An individual's number of championship rings, rather than number of championship trophies, is often used by sportswriters as a tally of their personal success, since it is more appropriate to write that it is the team/franchise/club and not the individual who wins the championship trophy.
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Even if athletes are traded to other teams, their rings stay with them. It has become a far more accurate measure of an athlete’s status than simply their team’s titles. Championship rings function has a mini trophy which each player and team staff member can take home.
The "Big Four" and Championship Rings
The four best known (and expensive) championship rings are the ones from the "Big Four" major professional sports leagues in North America; the Major League Baseball's (MLB) World Series ring, the National Basketball Association's (NBA) championship ring, National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl ring, and the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup ring.
The Stanley Cup Ring
The Stanley Cup ring is a championship ring, an annual award in the National Hockey League given to the team that wins the Stanley Cup Final, a best-of-seven series to determine the league's champion that season. In addition to the winning players, teams give rings to coaches, trainers, scouts, executives, and other staff members.
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Teams often give rings to players who played for the team, but do not qualify to have their name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
Early History of Championship Rings
The first championship rings in North America were ordered by the Montreal Hockey Club for their players who won the 1893 Stanley Cup Championship - that’s 24 years before the NHL even existed! Unlike contemporary designs, these rings resembled a simple wedding band.
Its only adornments were two hockey sticks crossed over each other with a hockey puck in the middle and the letters MHC for Montreal Hockey Club. Engraved inside the 15k gold ring were the players’ names, the word “Champions,” the date, and the local jeweler’s hallmark. Despite the simplistic style, these rings auction for over $55,000!
Team photo for the Montreal Hockey Club in 1893.
Champion rings didn’t catch on right away and took some time to expand into other sports. The first World Series ring was awarded in 1922 to the New York Giants for their victory over the Yankees.
This ring was far more ornate than the Stanley Cup ring 29 years prior and featured a sparkling diamond in the center. The next year, the Yankees retook the title and opted for pocket watches as their commemorative prize instead. However, after the Yankees’ 1927 win, they returned to championship rings as their World Series prize.
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Prior to the first World Series-championship ring, baseball players in the early 20th century often requested other items in place of rings, including cufflinks and tie bars. Still, rings seemed to have that sticking power. Since 1932, every World Series-winning team has given rings to its players.
Evolution of Ring Design and Value
The earliest championship rings for major professional sports were relatively plain, featuring only a few diamonds or other precious stones (in setting or mounting). The increasing value and complexity of championship rings parallels the North American major professional sports leagues' growth in businesses and viewership, along with athletes' increasing salaries and endorsements in tandem with team owners' increasing ability and willingness to pay for more intricate rings.
This is in contrast to the 1970s and earlier where professional athletes typically worked another job in the off-season and leagues covered little (if any) of the cost of procuring championship rings - in that era team owners typically balked at paying for anything beyond relatively basic rings.
Each new ring design tries to out-do the previous year’s, creating excitement over its unveiling.
Championship Ring Policies and Costs
Championship ring policies differ between the four major professional leagues. NHL and MLB owners pay for the cost of the rings. The NFL pays up to $5,000 per ring for up to 150 rings for teams that win the Super Bowl. Teams can distribute any number of rings but must pay for any additional costs, and may offer lesser rings at their discretion.
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The winning team can typically present rings to whomever they choose, including usually, but not limited to: players (active roster or injured), coaches, trainers, executives, personnel, and general staff. In the NHL, since the Stanley Cup has limited space and stringent criteria, rings are often presented to current players who may not qualify to have their name engraved on the Cup.
Lesser Rings and Recent Trends
A recent trend over the last 15-20 years has been lesser rings awarded to front office staff. These are commonly called "B" and "C" level rings and are smaller and contain fewer diamonds or contain faux diamonds. The first instance of this was the Redskins Super Bowl XVII ring when many in the front office received rings that were not solid gold and contained cubic zirconia stones (which resemble diamonds).
When Tampa Bay won Super Bowl XXXVII, the players and coaches received rings with a diamond-centered Lombardi trophy. Some staff received rings with a metal Lombardi trophy and real diamonds surrounding the trophy and the "C" level ring did not contain any diamonds.
Manufacturers of Championship Rings
L.G. Balfour of Attleboro, Massachusetts and Jostens of Minneapolis, Minnesota are the two companies that have produced the majority of championship rings for the four major professional sports leagues. Tiffany & Co. and Intergold (now a Jostens subsidiary) compete with Balfour, Baron, Signature, and Jostens in the design and manufacturing of championship rings.
Tiffany has been gaining momentum with NFL teams, having made the Buccaneers XXXVII, Giants XLII, Saints XLIV, Giants XLVI, and the Seahawks XLVIII rings.
Rings as Collectibles
Genuine championship rings are popular sports memorabilia/collectibles that can fetch tens of thousands of dollars at auction. Dave Meggett is known to have placed his ring for sale on eBay. Two Super Bowl rings from the 1970s Steelers sold on eBay for over $32,000 apiece in mid-2008.
Patriots safety Je'Rod Cherry raffled his ring from Super Bowl XXXVI in November 2008 to benefit several charities working to help children in Africa and Asia. Tight end Shannon Sharpe, meanwhile, gave his first Super Bowl ring to his brother Sterling, who had his career cut short by injury.
In 2011, a Super Bowl ring belonging to Steve Wright, a lineman for the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s, sold for over $73,000 at auction. Three Super Bowl rings belonging to former Raiders' great Ray Guy brought over $96,000 at auction. In 2012, Lawrence Taylor's son sold his father's 1990 Super Bowl ring for more than $250,000.
As some professional sports leagues have become larger and more competitive, dynasties are quite uncommon and winning even one title is "a source of pride for the team, because you never know if you're going to win another one. It could be a one and only".
The late Kobe Bryant summed it up when he said “What does perfection look like to me? Championship rings.” They are synonymous with the pinnacle of athletic success.
| Ring Owner | Team | Event | Sale Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Meggett | [Team Name] | [Event] | eBay |
| Steve Wright | Green Bay Packers | Super Bowl | $73,000+ |
| Ray Guy | [Las Vegas] Raiders | Super Bowl | $96,000+ |
| Lawrence Taylor | [New York] Giants | Super Bowl 1990 | $250,000+ |
International Incidents and Other Leagues
In 2005, a minor international incident was caused when it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had taken a Super Bowl ring from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
The National Rugby League (NRL) - the premier Australasian competition for rugby league football clubs - also present rings for the players and coach of NRL Grand Final winning sides. After the 2004 NRL Grand Final which was won by the Bulldogs, one of their players, Johnathan Thurston gave his premiership ring to team-mate Steve Price who missed the decider due to injury.
The Melbourne Storm were stripped of their premierships in 2007 and 2009, but the players involved in those premierships were still allowed to keep their premiership rings.
In 2024, the Australian Football League (AFL) began considering offering championship rings to the AFL and AFL Women's (AFLW) Premiers. The winner of the Australian Supercross Championships also receives a championship ring.
Circuiti Gioielli, an Italian designer of sports-themed jewelry, has issued custom made North American style rings to several champions like World SBK's Ben Spies and MXGP's Antonio Cairoli.
In addition to the medals commonly offered in international competition, some governing bodies have been known to gift their champions with commemorative rings.
Whether the Bengals or the Rams win this weekend, we’ll all surely be treated to a spectacular ring design. The tradition of awarding championship rings is clearly going strong.
tags: #hockey #championship #rings