Name/Title
Spartan Statue Master's Masonic TrophyDescription
Spartan Statue given as the Master's Trophy by the Lansing Masonic Lodge in the 1950s. This was presented to Ralph H. Young upon his retirement from MSC in 1953. Each of the half dozen trophies were hand made by the Statue's original artist Leonard Jungwirth.
The Master's Trophy, presented at the All-Sports Night by the Masonic Lodges of Lansing and East Lansing.
From 1951 to 1954, the two lodges hosted the annual All-Sports Night at the Lansing Masonic Temple. In 1950, the lodges assembled a team of five local sports reporters to select the recipient of 'The Master's Trophy.' The trophy went to the individual who contributed the most to Michigan State athletics over the course of the preceding year. The trophy was presented four times, 1951-1954, (each trophy represented the impact made over the course of a year, so the 1950 trophy was presented in 1951, the 1951 trophy in 1952, and so on). The recipients were:
--Dean Lloyd C. Emmons (1950). Emmons was the Dean of the School of Science and Arts at Michigan State and was instrumental in MSC's admittance to the Big Ten Conference. He served as Michigan State's faculty representative to the Big Ten from the school's admittance in 1948 through his retirement in 1952.
--Clarence L. "Biggie" Munn (1951). Munn was Michigan State's head football coach from 1947 to 1954, then athletic director from 1954 through 1971.
--Hugh Duffy Daugherty (1952). Duffy was Michigan State football's line coach from 1947 to 1954, then head football coach from 1954 through 1972.
--Ralph H. Young (1953). Young was Michigan State's football coach from 1923 to 1927, during which time he was also the director of athletics. Young remained as Michigan State's athletic director from 1923 through his retirement in 1954. Young's 'Master's Trophy' is pictured below, along with a close up of the presentation plaque on the front.
The trophies were replicas of the original Spartan statue, and were each individually crafted by Leonard D. Jungwirth, the Michigan State art professor who sculpted the original Spartan statue, unveiled in 1945. During his 1954 Master's Trophy acceptance speech, Young indicated that he presented Jungwirth with the idea for the Spartan statue after seeing USC's Trojan statue while attending the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Other accounts indicate that President John Hannah tasked Jungwirth with designing the statue upon his appointment to the presidency in 1941.
The first three Master's Trophies were voted upon by local sportscasters. Based on news reports, it seems that the fourth trophy, awarded to Young, was decided upon by the Master Masons from five local lodges. Young was decided upon unanimously as the recipient in his final year as MSC Athletic Director, 1953-1954.
The Master's Trophy is about 14" tall with its wood base.