The Super Bowl Trophy Was Born, And Still Lives In New Jersey

PARSIPPANY, NJ — New Jersey ... er, New York teams might have been shut out of the Super Bowl this year (sorry, Giants and Jets fans), but the Garden State still has a connection to the biggest game of the year.

Since 1967, the trophy given to the winning team has been crafted in New Jersey, most recently at the Tiffany & Co. workshop in Parsippany on Sylvan Way.

The 22-inch-tall trophy was originally designed by then-Tiffany & Co. Vice President Oscar Riedener, who sketched the trophy's basic design during a meeting with then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.

It wasn't until 1970 that the trophy took on its current name in honor of Vince Lombardi, the former coach of the Green Bay Packers who won the first two Super Bowls.

The trophy, which is topped by a regulation-sized replica football, made entirely of sterling silver, is created by master artisans at Tiffany & Co. who use silversmith techniques such as spinning, chasing, hand engraving and polishing, the company said.

After the clock hits triple-zero and a new football champion is crowned, the trophy is passed around to each member of the franchise, but the handling of the jewelry is short-lived. The trophy is then taken back to Tiffany's workshop where the name of the winning team is hand engraved on its base.

The Parsippany workshop is also the birthplace of other famous trophies. A second Tiffany & Co. production will be on display after the big game, the Pete Rozelle Trophy, which is presented to the Super Bowl's most valuable player. The trophy is named for the former commissioner who is credited with widening the sport's popularity, helping to make it what it is today.

Here are other famous trophies created in Parsippany:

• The National Basketball Association's Larry O'Brien Championship trophy
• Major League Baseball's World Series trophy
• The U.S. Open Tennis Championship trophies.

With Reporting By Kim Tran, Patch Staff

28 Jan 2001: A general view of the Lombardi Trophy being held aloft before the Super Bowl XXXV Game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Ravens defeated the Giants 34-7.Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport