The Baird Brothers Trophy is awarded the winner of the annual college football game between the Spartans of Case Western Reserve University and the Fighting Scots of The College of Wooster. The idea for the trophy originated with brothers Bob and Bill Baird, economics professors at Case and Wooster, respectively, for whom the trophy is named. The trophy was created by American artist Eugenie Torgerson, who was married to Bob Baird at the time. The winning school gets to keep the trophy, a distinctive chain of brass fish representing each game played in the rivalry, and gets to add a new fish to the chain to represent that year's game. A four-inch blue gill signified the first 21–14 narrow win for Case Western Reserve. Other fish represented on the trophy include a northern pike, a flounder, a carp, a walleye, a catfish, a rainbow trout, a sturgeon, a sucker, a crappie, a muskie, a sheepshead, a gar, a largemouth bass, and a smallmouth bass.[1]

Baird Brothers Trophy
Teams
First meetingSeptember 22, 1984
Case Western Reserve 21, Wooster 14
Latest meetingOctober 6, 2012
Case Western Reserve 31, Wooster 28
Statistics
Meetings total25
All-time seriesWooster leads 13–12
Largest victoryWooster 49, Case Western Reserve 7 (2004)
Longest win streakWooster, 10 (1995–2006)
Current win streakCase Western Reserve, 6 (2007–present)
Baird Brothers Trophy is located in Ohio
Case Western Reserve
Case Western Reserve
Wooster
Wooster
Locations in Ohio

In 1996, Sports Illustrated recognized the Baird Brothers Trophy as one of the most distinctive in college football.[2] In October 2012, the trophy was highlighted on ESPN College GameDay.[3]

Wooster leads the series 13–12.[4]

The teams last met on October 6, 2012 at Cleveland, a 31–28 victory for Spartans.[5]

Game results

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Case Western Reserve victoriesWooster victories
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 September 22, 1984 Wooster, OH Case Western Reserve 21–14
2 September 21, 1985 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 37–0
3 October 26, 1986 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 17–0
4 October 25, 1987 Wooster, OH Case Western Reserve 20–13
5 October 15, 1988 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 38–27
6 October 14, 1989 Wooster, OH Wooster 35–14
7 September 29, 1990 Cleveland, OH Wooster 22–15
8 October 5, 1991 Wooster, OH Wooster 23–20
9 October 15, 1994 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 40–23
10 October 14, 1995 Wooster, OH Wooster 14–13
11 September 28, 1996 Wooster, OH Wooster 21–7
12 September 27, 1997 Cleveland, OH Wooster 21–14
13 November 7, 1998 Wooster, OH Wooster 42–16
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
14 November 6, 1999 Cleveland, OH Wooster 31–27
15 September 28, 2002 Wooster, OH Wooster 27–22
16 September 27, 2003 Cleveland, OH Wooster 62–33
17 September 25, 2004 Wooster, OH Wooster 49–7
18 September 24, 2005 Cleveland, OH Wooster 38–21
19 September 23, 2006 Wooster, OH Wooster 21–7
20 September 22, 2007 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 30–17
21 October 11, 2008 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 28–7
22 October 10, 2009 Wooster, OH Case Western Reserve 53–32
23 October 23, 2010 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 28–14
24 October 22, 2011 Wooster, OH Case Western Reserve 24–21OT
25 October 6, 2012 Cleveland, OH Case Western Reserve 31–28
Series: Wooster leads 13–12

References

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  1. ^ Beck, Stan; Wilkinson, Jack (19 September 2013). College Sports Traditions: Picking Up Butch, Silent Night, and Hundreds of Others. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810891210 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "SPARTAN SPORTS INFORMATION – BAIRD TROPHY..." Case Western University athletics. Archived from the original on 2009-10-16.
  3. ^ "Baird Brothers' Trophy Featured on ESPN's College GameDay". 21 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Case Western Reserve vs Wooster (OH)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  5. ^ "Spartans Start Fast, Win Baird Brothers' Trophy Game, 31-28". Case Western Reserve University Athletics. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2019.