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History of the
Territorial Cup
The “Territorial Cup” also known as the
“Duel in the
Desert” is the rivalry between ASU and UA and is among the
nation's oldest and most heated rivalries, including the oldest trophy
in college football. The winner of the game is then given possession of
the Territorial Cup until the game is played the next year. In the
modern era of the game, it is played on the day after Thanksgiving (and
in recent years on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to accommodate
network television coverage).
The rivalry dates
back to before Arizona was admitted as a state,
and was a U.S. Territory. In the early history of Arizona, a resentment
between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson emerged. The University of
Arizona was founded in 1885 as the state's first university. The same
year, Tempe Normal School was founded as a small teacher's college in
the farming community of Tempe, just east of Phoenix. Over the years,
Tempe Normal School evolved into Arizona State Teacher's College, then
Arizona State College at Tempe, and eventually Arizona State University.
The cup was
originally awarded to the Arizona Territorial Normal School
football team for
winning the Arizona Territorial Football League Championship after a
season of three games in 1899. As a result, the cup is actually the
property of Arizona State University. The Normals, as they were known
at the time, were undefeated in gridiron matches with the Phoenix Union
High School (6-0), the Phoenix Indian School (6-0) and the University
of Arizona (11-2).
The first
“Big Game” against the University of Arizona was
played on Thanksgiving Day,
November 30, 1899 at Carillo Gardens field in Tucson before a vocal and
enthusiastic crowd of 300 fans. Newspaper accounts suggested this was
the University team’s first game and that the Normal squad
was
physically larger and better conditioned. The atmosphere was one of
genuine sportsmanship as the University students met the Normal team at
the train station, entertained them at a campus dormitory and hosted a
post-game Thanksgiving feast.
The cup itself is
silverplate over britannia base metal and was manufactured
by Reed and
Barton of Taunton, Massachusetts. It was a standard style priced at $20
in Reed and
Barton’s 1910 catalog. The inscription reads
“Arizona Foot Ball League 1899 Normal”.
All-Time
Football Results:
