An international award named for its donor John Moores a wealthy sportsman from Birmingham England the John Moores Trophy was created in 1938 to recognize the World Amateur Baseball Champion. The original competition which was held that summer in England pitted a team of high school and college players from the United States coached by former major leaguer and international baseball advocate Leslie Mann against a squad from England which was comprised mostly of semi-pro players from the Yorkshire Lancashire League. Englands team was coached by George McNeil.

The first tournament was won by the players from England four games to one as they played in the following cities from August 13 through 18: Hull Rochdale Halifax and Leeds. The competition actually drew crowds of up to 10000 fans per venue. Moores was said to be so happy with the results that he decided to donate a trophy to the winners. Baseball was commanding a worldwide audience and much of that was due to Manns efforts who after retiring from professional baseball as a player and coach became an advocate for baseball as an international sport. He founded the U.S.A. Baseball Congress and organized a 20-game tour of Japan in 1935. Through his efforts baseball was selected as a demonstration sport in the 1936 Summer Olympics played in Berlin.

The World Amateur Baseball competition continued in 1939 with teams from Cuba and Nicaragua joining the mix. The Cubans led by their star pitcher Conrado Marrero went undefeated to claim the title. The same result held true the following year and is reflected on the trophy itself with special engravings that indicate the winner from each year. During the 1940s the tournament started to become a Central American and Caribbean affair. In 1942 in fact Team USA withdrew from the competition as a form of protest against the influence of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo as well as the onset of World War II. Over the years a total of 14 different countries participated in the competition each one represented with an enameled flag emblem adorning the trophys lower tier including Canada France China Peru Spain Nicaragua Mexico El Salvador Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The United States would eventually take top honors in 1956.

The truly elaborate trophy which stands 49 tall 17 wide and 17 deep is made almost entirely of sterling silver much of it hand tooled and weighs nearly 80 pounds. Its a masterful work of art as four sterling silver baseballs serve as its base while four 14 sterling silver bats provide the framework for a centerpiece that includes an over-sized globe-style baseball that sports a raised-relief map of the world thats complemented by decorative baseball seams. On the over-sized baseball is raised lettering that calls out: Worlds Amateur Baseball Championship. On the top of the trophy stands a 14 mythical heroic figure complete with an Olympic-style crown of olive leaves around his head. The intricate design work all around the trophy is breathtaking to behold.

On the back of the trophy the following words are engraved: Designed and Manufactured by Vaughtons LTD. Birmingham. England. The front of the trophy base is engraved with the following passage: Presented to the International Baseball Federation by John Moores Esq. President and Founder of the National Baseball Association England.

Includes a Letter of Provenance from the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection.