Governors' Cup

Governors' Cup

Replica Governors' Cup
Award details
Sport	Baseball
Given for	Winning the International League championship
History
First award	1933
Editions	84
First winner	Buffalo Bisons
Most wins	Columbus Clippers, Rochester Red Wings : 10 times
Most recent	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

The Governors' Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champion of the International League, one of the two current Triple-A level minor leagues of Major League Baseball.

In 1933, Frank Shaughnessy, General Manager of the League's Montreal Royals, introduced a new playoff system to International League President Charles H. Knappe and the Governors' Cup was born. Shaughnessy, who would ultimately serve as International League President from 1936 until 1960, was interested in developing a way for more than two clubs to share in the excitement of post-season play. His playoff format, devised to maintain the interest of fans and players alike during the Depression era, provided an opportunity for four teams to participate rather than only two. Several other leagues, including the Pacific Coast League, noticed the success of the "Shaughnessy Plan" and followed suit.

In response to the new playoff format, the Governors of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York and the Lieutenant Governors of the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario sponsored a trophy to be awarded annually to the winner of the International League playoffs. The trophy, designed by the Supervisor of International League Umpires and silversmith W. B. Carpenter, was created out of solid silver and has been appraised at over $3,000.

In 1988, International League President Harold Cooper donated the trophy to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where it is on permanent display. A new trophy of the same name was minted in its place and is presented annually to the winner of the Governors' Cup Championship Series.