**** A Time-line of Trophies ****
The club trophies are set out in chronological order below:-
1918 - Men’s Singles Championship; sometimes known as the Club Championship, it is the oldest trophy in club competition. It was presented by a founder
member of the club; Mr B T Greening.
1937 - Men’s Handicap Trophy; presented by Mr D C Larg who was Club Champion in 1930 and 1935, and represented Herts County.
1948 - Eadie Cup; regarded as the Junior Championship Trophy, it was presented by Mr John Eadie. He was Club Champion 7 times between 1930 and 1959,
Club President in 1951 and was made Life Member in 1978. No one winning this trophy, the Championship or the Men’s Handicap can
compete for the Eadie Cup again.
1966 - Men’s Pairs; presented by Mr A Brearley; who, in 1954 won the Eadie Cup.
1971 - Bennett Cup; qualifiers are men over the age of 65. It was presented by Mr Wally Bennett, who was made a Life Member in 1976.
1974 - Ladies’ Singles Championship; presented by Mr John Moore for the newly-formed Ladies’ Section. He was Club President that year and was made a Life
Member in 1983.
1975 - Ladies’ Pairs; presented by Mrs Lillian Morrison, wife of the Club President of that year.
1975 - Mixed Pairs Trophy; presented by Mrs Betty Stevens, Ladies’ Captain of that year.
1976 - Ladies’ Senior Citizens Plate; presented by Gwen Ward, who was Ladies’ Secretary the previous year.
1977 - Officers’ Singles Trophy; presented by Mrs E Millar in memory of her late husband, Mr Bob Millar, a club stalwart. Mrs Millar was Ladies’ Champion in
1980 and won the Ladies’ Senior Citizen’s Plate in 1976 and again in1981.
1979 - Men’s Over 65 Pairs; presented by Mr Sam Stevenson, whose wife became Ladies’ Secretary the following year.
1979 - Partners’ Pairs; formerly, Husband& Wife Pairs, sometimes known as the “Divorce Stakes”, presented by Mr& Mrs Osie and Jean Jack. Jean was Ladies’
Captain in 1981, won the Ladies’ Handicap the same year, and the Ladies’ Senior Citizens Plate in 1979 & 1980.
1979 - Ladies’ Handicap; Inaugurated by the Club, but without a named sponsor.
1981 - Grant Cup; presented by the daughters of Mr Arthur Grant as a tribute to his memory.
1982 - Frampton Cup; this started as a ladies’ triples trophy, then it became a mixed triples trophy, but now is the ladies’ equivalent of the Eadie Cup. It was
presented by Gladys Frampton; Ladies’ Captain in 1987 she won in the Mixed Pairs in 1981 & 1988, Partner Pairs in 1988 and the Ladies’ Handicap in
1989.
1992 - Two Wood Pairs; also known as The Jersey Bowl, it was presented by Mr Clive Lewis, who went on to become Men’s Captain in 1995.
1995 - Good Sports Triples; donated by Good Sports. This competition is played in a single afternoon between mixed triples teams drawn
from a hat. Each team plays 3 games of 6 ends. The winner is the team with the highest positive shot difference.
1998 - Barlow/Redford Trophy; presented by Tony Redford, Barlow Redford Insurance Brokers to winners of a mixed triples knock-out played within one
day.
2000 - Fixed Jack; A singles knockout competition for both men and ladies played up to and including the semi-final stage within the morning and afternoon
sessions of the same day. The final takes place on Finals Weekend.
2000/2001 Short Mat; Four trophies introduced Open Singles, Pairs, 2 wood Pairs and League knock-out. New trophies for each of these competitions were
bought by the club in our Centenary Year.
2002/2003 Short Mat; Kate Cooke Rose Bowl; Ladies singles trophy presented in memory of Kate by her family. Kate was key figure in the formation of the
Short Mat Section.
2003/2004 Short Mat; Eric Guest Cup; Men’s singles trophy presented by Jean Guest in memory of her husband. Eric played a key role in the formation
of the Short Mat Section, Chairperson from it’s inception in 2000 to 2003 and won the Open Singles in 2002/2003. Eric had previously won the
outdoor Club Singles Championship in 1999.
2004 - Cooke Trophy; this competition is open to all playing members of the club. It was presented by the family of Kate and Reg Cooke as a tribute to their
memory. Reg was Men’s Captain in 1993 and President in 1995. He was also President of St Albans & District BA in 1996. Kate was Ladies’ Captain in
1997.
2006 - Australian Pairs; presented by Kevin Brazier. This is a mixed pairs’ competition, played in the
evening in accordance with “Aussie rules”. Kevin was Green Keeper from 1985 to 2007, Men’s Captain in 1999 and President in 2001.
2008 - Wightman Cup; presented to the club by St Albans & District BA on their Golden Jubilee (our Centenary) and awarded to the winner of the New Bowler
Gala. The competition tests the skills of new bowlers and both men and ladies are eligible provided they have had less than 3 years bowling experience
on outdoor surfaces. Gordon Wightman, a club stalwart, was one of its first registered coaches. He was Club Secretary from 1975 to 1986 and 1992 to
2001, Men’s Captain in 1976, President in 1989 and made an honorary Life Member in 1995. Gordon won the St Albans & District Officers Singles in
1982 and was in the team winning the County Triples in 1987 (Worthing representatives).
2011 - Minor League: devised by Steve Pariser specifically for the 28 newest bowlers to play and mark a series of singles matches. Trophy donated by George
Tutt.
The list for the outdoor season now contains 23 trophies compared with a single trophy for the first 19 years. Clearly, the ladies’ game had the effect of doubling the number of trophies during the 70s, but even so, this was a decade when competitions and trophies really took off.
In today’s setting, a player could enter at least 10 club competitions and a similar number at District and County level. On top of these, there are the Club
Leagues and Club Friendly games to play as well, not to mention Galas and Special Matches.
Some might say, “You know, that is an awful lot of bowls!”
The club trophies are set out in chronological order below:-
1918 - Men’s Singles Championship; sometimes known as the Club Championship, it is the oldest trophy in club competition. It was presented by a founder
member of the club; Mr B T Greening.
1937 - Men’s Handicap Trophy; presented by Mr D C Larg who was Club Champion in 1930 and 1935, and represented Herts County.
1948 - Eadie Cup; regarded as the Junior Championship Trophy, it was presented by Mr John Eadie. He was Club Champion 7 times between 1930 and 1959,
Club President in 1951 and was made Life Member in 1978. No one winning this trophy, the Championship or the Men’s Handicap can
compete for the Eadie Cup again.
1966 - Men’s Pairs; presented by Mr A Brearley; who, in 1954 won the Eadie Cup.
1971 - Bennett Cup; qualifiers are men over the age of 65. It was presented by Mr Wally Bennett, who was made a Life Member in 1976.
1974 - Ladies’ Singles Championship; presented by Mr John Moore for the newly-formed Ladies’ Section. He was Club President that year and was made a Life
Member in 1983.
1975 - Ladies’ Pairs; presented by Mrs Lillian Morrison, wife of the Club President of that year.
1975 - Mixed Pairs Trophy; presented by Mrs Betty Stevens, Ladies’ Captain of that year.
1976 - Ladies’ Senior Citizens Plate; presented by Gwen Ward, who was Ladies’ Secretary the previous year.
1977 - Officers’ Singles Trophy; presented by Mrs E Millar in memory of her late husband, Mr Bob Millar, a club stalwart. Mrs Millar was Ladies’ Champion in
1980 and won the Ladies’ Senior Citizen’s Plate in 1976 and again in1981.
1979 - Men’s Over 65 Pairs; presented by Mr Sam Stevenson, whose wife became Ladies’ Secretary the following year.
1979 - Partners’ Pairs; formerly, Husband& Wife Pairs, sometimes known as the “Divorce Stakes”, presented by Mr& Mrs Osie and Jean Jack. Jean was Ladies’
Captain in 1981, won the Ladies’ Handicap the same year, and the Ladies’ Senior Citizens Plate in 1979 & 1980.
1979 - Ladies’ Handicap; Inaugurated by the Club, but without a named sponsor.
1981 - Grant Cup; presented by the daughters of Mr Arthur Grant as a tribute to his memory.
1982 - Frampton Cup; this started as a ladies’ triples trophy, then it became a mixed triples trophy, but now is the ladies’ equivalent of the Eadie Cup. It was
presented by Gladys Frampton; Ladies’ Captain in 1987 she won in the Mixed Pairs in 1981 & 1988, Partner Pairs in 1988 and the Ladies’ Handicap in
1989.
1992 - Two Wood Pairs; also known as The Jersey Bowl, it was presented by Mr Clive Lewis, who went on to become Men’s Captain in 1995.
1995 - Good Sports Triples; donated by Good Sports. This competition is played in a single afternoon between mixed triples teams drawn
from a hat. Each team plays 3 games of 6 ends. The winner is the team with the highest positive shot difference.
1998 - Barlow/Redford Trophy; presented by Tony Redford, Barlow Redford Insurance Brokers to winners of a mixed triples knock-out played within one
day.
2000 - Fixed Jack; A singles knockout competition for both men and ladies played up to and including the semi-final stage within the morning and afternoon
sessions of the same day. The final takes place on Finals Weekend.
2000/2001 Short Mat; Four trophies introduced Open Singles, Pairs, 2 wood Pairs and League knock-out. New trophies for each of these competitions were
bought by the club in our Centenary Year.
2002/2003 Short Mat; Kate Cooke Rose Bowl; Ladies singles trophy presented in memory of Kate by her family. Kate was key figure in the formation of the
Short Mat Section.
2003/2004 Short Mat; Eric Guest Cup; Men’s singles trophy presented by Jean Guest in memory of her husband. Eric played a key role in the formation
of the Short Mat Section, Chairperson from it’s inception in 2000 to 2003 and won the Open Singles in 2002/2003. Eric had previously won the
outdoor Club Singles Championship in 1999.
2004 - Cooke Trophy; this competition is open to all playing members of the club. It was presented by the family of Kate and Reg Cooke as a tribute to their
memory. Reg was Men’s Captain in 1993 and President in 1995. He was also President of St Albans & District BA in 1996. Kate was Ladies’ Captain in
1997.
2006 - Australian Pairs; presented by Kevin Brazier. This is a mixed pairs’ competition, played in the
evening in accordance with “Aussie rules”. Kevin was Green Keeper from 1985 to 2007, Men’s Captain in 1999 and President in 2001.
2008 - Wightman Cup; presented to the club by St Albans & District BA on their Golden Jubilee (our Centenary) and awarded to the winner of the New Bowler
Gala. The competition tests the skills of new bowlers and both men and ladies are eligible provided they have had less than 3 years bowling experience
on outdoor surfaces. Gordon Wightman, a club stalwart, was one of its first registered coaches. He was Club Secretary from 1975 to 1986 and 1992 to
2001, Men’s Captain in 1976, President in 1989 and made an honorary Life Member in 1995. Gordon won the St Albans & District Officers Singles in
1982 and was in the team winning the County Triples in 1987 (Worthing representatives).
2011 - Minor League: devised by Steve Pariser specifically for the 28 newest bowlers to play and mark a series of singles matches. Trophy donated by George
Tutt.
The list for the outdoor season now contains 23 trophies compared with a single trophy for the first 19 years. Clearly, the ladies’ game had the effect of doubling the number of trophies during the 70s, but even so, this was a decade when competitions and trophies really took off.
In today’s setting, a player could enter at least 10 club competitions and a similar number at District and County level. On top of these, there are the Club
Leagues and Club Friendly games to play as well, not to mention Galas and Special Matches.
Some might say, “You know, that is an awful lot of bowls!”