The Origins of the Award for Indy's Red Baron Fight

 

 

Unlike the Armistice Day Fits Tournament's Victory Medal, which has been presented to every Indy champ in squadron history, the winner's prize for Red Baron Fight has changed several times throughout the years. Most RBF winners have taken home some type of goblet, glass or cup for their efforts, but in the early years before the event built a history there was no real standard for the award.

 

Since no official scoring was kept in RBF I, the first award was presented in 1991's RBF II. It was a one-ounce bar of pure silver engraved with the event and date. There was no discussion of an award in advance of RBF II other than the general consensus that we wanted one. Nobody really knew what to get, so the decision on an award was put off until the week before the game. At that late date, Stephen took it upon himself to purchase something - anything - as a prize. On a recent trip to the local bank, he had seen a case of precious metal collectibles and found their silver bars particularly attractive. A big crowd was expected (eight would show for one of our largest games ever) and it was necessary to buy something that would hold universal appeal. Silver and gold have held universal appeal for roughly 5,000 years, so this seemed a safe bet. So he picked up a one ounce bar of pure silver for only five bucks and had it engraved with the name of the event and the date. Fortunately the group approved of the award.

 

But since Stephen moved the following year, Indy players were forced to consider other prize options. Later winners would receive a variety of awards, but by the mid-90's we had arrived at some type of cup as a loose standard for RBF's championship trophy. The 1997 winner received a glass tankard with an engraved metal plate, but since the trophy shop used a glue strip to mount the metal plate, it soon came apart and made for a lousy award.

 

Still, the idea of a drinking vessel as an award was supported by nearly everyone, so the search continued. Several different glass goblets were engraved (properly) and given as prizes throughout the late 90's, but we were forced to find another award yet again in 2002 when the firm which provided our glassware closed its retail outlet.

 

Because silver had been associated with RBF champions since the award's inception and engraved cups were well received as prizes, and because silver honor cups known as Ehrenbechers were popular in the World War I era, the silver goblet was a natural choice. The engraved silver goblet used today was first awarded for Graham Shepfer's victory in RBF XIV in April of 2003 and is a close cousin to the Ehrenbecher honor cups awarded to airmen during World War I.

 

The Silver Goblet seems to have built a following strong enough to contend as a permanent award and is a continuation of a tradition dating back over a century. It is on par with any prize given at any level of the game, and the only way to win it is by claiming the Red Baron Fight title. The availability and affordability of materials sometimes dictates minor changes, but a silver colored drinking vessel - with genuine silver content when possible - has emerged as the standard for the winner of Indy's Red Baron Fight.

 

Also see: Ehrenbecher Cups: the Lineage of Indy's Silver Goblet