CaptainHook Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) The NFL doesn't advertise the fact that even though the 46th Super Bowl will be played next week, there are 47 Vince Lombardi Trophies. It's one of those little known facts of Super Bowl lore. It happened because the late Carroll Rosenbloom, who originally owned the Colts and then swapped them for the Rams in 1972, used a clever maneuver to get his hands on the trophy the Colts won when they beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V after the 1970 season. Two years later, the Rams were up for sale and Rosenbloom wanted to own a team in Los Angeles, but didn't want to pay the capital gains tax that would have been due if he'd sold the Colts and bought the Rams. So he arranged a deal in which the late Bob Irsay bought the Rams and then traded them to Rosenbloom for the Colts. Since the trophy belongs to the franchise, not the owner, it remained in Baltimore. Rosenbloom, one of the shrewdest movers and shakers in the history of the league, figured out a way to get possession of it. When Super Bowl VII was played in Los Angeles after the 1972 season, he told the Colts he was going to have all the trophies in an exhibit at the commissioner's annual Friday night party. So a Colts employee took it to Los Angeles. It not only wasn't displayed at the party, Rosenbloom never returned it. When the Colts complained to former commissioner Pete Rozelle, he didn't want to hassle with Rosenbloom, who had a stormy relationship with the commissioner. So Rozelle authorized a replica to be made for the Colts. That trophy was hauled off to Indianapolis on March 28, 1984, when the Colts made their move in the middle of the night. Although the Indianapolis team kept the Colts' name, logo and all the records, they returned the trophy to the city of Baltimore as part of a settlement of a lawsuit over the move. The original trophy is believed to be in the possession of Georgia Frontiere, Rosenbloom's widow, who now owns the Rams and has since moved them to St. Louis. Frontiere has never acknowledged she has the trophy at her home and the NFL has let the matter drop. It's the NFL's version of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The first four Super Bowl trophies were not called the Vince Lombardi trophy. It was not until Super Bowl V, (the trophy in question), that it was named after the Packers coach. Edited January 25, 2012 by CaptainHook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 great read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 It has long been a dream of mine to have one of those made so I can display it in my office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadDawg Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 "...... Two years later, the Rams were up for sale and Rosenbloom wanted to own a team in Los Angeles, but didn't want to pay the capital gains tax that would have been due if he'd sold the Colts and bought the Rams. So he arranged a deal in which the late Bob Irsay bought the Rams and then traded them to Rosenbloom for the Colts." I know this about the trophy, but I find the escape of capital gains as a much bigger "maneuver". Back in 1972 dollars (prob only double digit millions of $$) is one thing but, I wonder how the sellers of today's teams ... at a $Billion+ ... handle realized capital gains taxes? . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 It has long been a dream of mine to have one of those made so I can display it in my office. hmmmmm..candidate for the next Huddle Award of the Decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MustOfBeenDrunk Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Great read : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrab Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Interesting story, curious where you got it from as it seems to be something that was copied but there is no link. I searched the net a little and found something very similar on a Saints board link Also found it here on Jacksonville Times Union paper link Not trying to rip you for not giving credit to the author, just wondering where the story came from and how long this has been around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 I was trying to find out who possesses the Lombardi Trophy the Colts won in Super Bowl V, and ran across the story. It did not have an author. I updated the years, as the story was 8 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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