The Stanley Cup. The MacNaughton Cup. The Dukes Cup?

 

The Twins and the Rays have a standing tradition called the Knutson Classic in which the two teams vie for superiority in the meaningless Grapefruit League games. The Twins and Red Sox have their Mayors’ Cup, which is the battle for Fort Myers, however, that does not have the same, um, interesting trophy. The Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino tweeted out a picture of Dukes’ Cup, the trophy that is awarded to the winner of the Knutson Classic. It is, well, interesting:

 

 

For those who were thinking that the cup may have once been property to the former Ray, Elijah Dukes, it is not. Apparently, the Knutson Classic is named for Dukes Knutson, a longtime press box attendant at Tropicana Field. According to La Velle Neal, Knutson was also originally from Duluth and attended the University of Minnesota.

 

With three games to go, the Rays are up 3-rip on the Twins and will earned the right to drink out of the beloved trophy (if they so choose).

That... is... awesome.

I needed a good smile -- thanks for this post.

Only one ball. Disappointing.

Dukes was a teacher when I was in High School in Duluth - an awesome guy!