The Best Championship Trophies

The best championship trophies in sports are those trophies that tell stories of where they've been, the talented athletes that have raised them in the past and the ones that, well, have been shattered, dented and damaged in celebration. Some are arguably harder to win than others but each signifies that a sports team or athlete prevailed and won the championship in their respective sports.

Once you weed out the non-trophy awards, like Olympic medals and championship belts, and the non-championship trophies, like the Heisman Trophy, famous sports trophies fall into two categories. Some, like the Indianapolis 500 Borg-Warner Trophy, are one of a kind with the same trophy handed to the winner of the annual event then handed back months later. Others, such as the Lombardi Trophy, given to the winner of the Super Bowl in the NFL, are created each year and given to the teams to keep for eternity. Either way, winning such trophies is no easy task.

Many say that the Stanley Cup, given to the National Hockey League annual champion, is the hardest in sports to win and thusly is also the best trophy. But once teams win the 35-pound silver chalice, the names of the players and other prominent staff members involved are etched on the rings of the cup forever. The Indianapolis 500 Borg-Warner Trophy takes a similar approach but instead adds the 3D face of each annual winner to the auto racing award to honor the victors.

Though the inspirational stories of how teams persevered to win these championships are great for the history books, the real juicy stories come when teams and athletes celebrate with these famous trophies. Tales of the Stanley Cup in swimming pools and the Coaches Trophy, the $30,000 Waterford Crystal football-shaped trophy given to the BCS Champion in NCAA Football, being shattered happen more than one would think.

So whether the best trophies in sports have been handed down from team to team, or athlete to athlete, for decades or created annually with the hopes that they won't be broken before the year is up, all of these famous sports championship trophies are highly coveted by the teams and athletes that compete for them year round. Which sports championship trophy do you think is best? Tell us by adding your own selections for the best professional sports trophies, voting up those you love and hate, or re-ranking this list as you see fit. It's up to you to decide the best professional sports trophies.

Check out more lists like the worst championship trophies ever presented, the most difficult trophy to win, and a collection of awesome championship belts to win.