Did You Know? Vince Lombardi Trophy Made at Tiffany & Co. in Rhode Island

When the Kansas City Chiefs became the winners of Super Bowl LVII, they also became the proud recipients of the Vince Lombardi trophy.

The Vince Lombardi trophy is synonymous with greatness, and a little piece of that greatness begins in Rhode Island every single year.

Tiffany & Co. has been manufacturing the iconic trophy since the very first Super Bowl, and since 2017, it has been created in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

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History of the Lombardi Trophy

Before it was dedicated to Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi, the sterling silver award was called the “World Championship Game Trophy” when it was first presented in 1967 to the Green Bay Packers at Super Bowl I.

After Lombardi passed away in 1970, the trophy was renamed in his honor.

How Tiffany & Co. and Football Came Together

The Professional Football Hall of Fame shared the unique story of how the trophy was designed.

In 1967, Commissioner Pete Rozelle took charge of finding a trophy. In his pursuit to align the trophy with his “vision of everything about the game being first-class,” Rozelle contacted Tiffany & Co., where the design chief, Oscar Riedner, was tasked with designing a trophy for a sport he knew nothing about.

“Reidner went to FAO Schwartz and bought a football that he put on his kitchen table,” shared the Hall of Fame. “The next morning he grabbed a box of Cornflakes, poured them into a bowl, and stared at the football while eating. Upon finishing his Cornflakes, he took a pair of scissors, started cutting the empty box, and transformed it into a trophy base atop which the football could sit."

A few days later, Riedner developed a sketch of his design on a cocktail napkin, and it has stuck for 52 years.

Iconic Trophies Being Made in Rhode Island

The 7-pound Lombardi trophy was originally produced by Tiffany & Co. in New Jersey, but since 2017, it has been made in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

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And the Lombardi trophy isn’t the only trophy being curated at this facility.

“Each year, 65 trophies are made by the skilled craftspeople at our hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island,” said Tiffany & Co. “From football and baseball to basketball, tennis and beyond, every Tiffany trophy requires countless hours of labor and a relentless dedication to craftsmanship.”

Whether or not a New England team makes it to that pivotal moment of championship greatness, we Rhode Islanders can feel a sense of pride when that trophy is hoisted in the air. That symbol of greatness had its origins in the small town of Cumberland, and that's a huge win for the state.