Fantasy Football Trophies Engraving Part 3

One of the great features of a fantasy football perpetual trophy is that you can update it every year with the league winner. On a fantasy football trophy equipped with detail plates, you simply detach a plate and take it to your local engraver with the winner's information.

Individual detail plates are generally not very large, and some consideration should be given as to exactly what will be included on the plates, so there is a consistent appearance to the plates year after year. Click on the detail plate pictures in this post to get a better view.








The less text on the plate, the bigger it will be. I suggest no more than 3 lines for a detail plate, with a max of 20 characters per line, and even 20 characters is pushing it a bit.

Some of the most popular information to include on a detail plate is:

1. Year
2. Team Name
3. Owner's Name
4. Season Score

A good layout would be:

2004

Bubba's Bombers

Jim Glass

Some fantasy football leagues that have been around for a while, and have many past winners elect to do "list style" engraving. Rather than use the little detail plates, I make large plates for the side, and engrave the information in a line. While I personally like the look of detail plates, for some leagues this is a better option.

As with anything in life, there are pros and cons to list style engraving. On the positive side, you can fit more winners on the side of the fantasy football trophy. If you have quite a few engravings, it looks cool.

On the down side, if you don't have many winners, or whole plates that are not engraved, it can make the trophy look empty.

Also, yearly updates can be more expensive. It can be difficult to match the exact font (unless the same engraver made the first engraving) and to get the line in the exact position. For this reason, many engravers will just redo the entire plate, and that's where the expense comes in.

Detail plates are also covered with clear tape that protects them from scratching. It is removed prior to engraving. With list style plates, the tape has been removed, so care must be used when transporting it to the engraver.

Please feel free to ask any questions, and check out my Fantasy Football Trophies at Sculpture Alley!

Fantasy Football Trophies Engraving Part 2

Once you have selected a fantasy football perpetual trophy, you will need to decide on the text for the header or title plate. Many perpetual trophies feature a large plate which will accept more text than a keeper award. In my Engraving Part 1, I suggest around 60 characters for a keeper award, but a large header plate can easily fit 100 characters.

That doesn't mean you should do 100 characters, it just means you can. The nice thing about a large header plate is that you can make your league name really shine by engraving it in large type.

Take a good look at the header plate. Do you like the engraving style? Does it look cool to you? Do you want another font? Before you buy, contact the dealer and ask about your options. Don't be afraid to ask questions! A good trophy dealer will offer you options, and should have samples for you to look at.

Let's get back to what text to put on a fantasy football perpetual trophy header plate.

1. The league name is obviously most important. Many customers ask for their league initials, such as CKFFL. On a large header plate, you can actually spell out the league name. In the trophy shown above, I used the league initials in a decorative medallion.

2. Most folks will want the words "Fantasy Football League" on the header plate.

3. Champion, Champions, or Championship Trophy. This lets everyone know what this trophy is about! You can also have a league start date, for example "Est. 1992"

Many people submit their header plate information in all caps like this:

GRIDIRON GODS
FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
CHAMPIONS

This is fine, but consider that having all the type in caps doesn't draw attention to any particular part of the engraving. Experiment with different formats; some caps, upper and lower case, perhaps a portion in italics. For example:

GRIDIRON GODS

Fantasy Football League

CHAMPIONS

Here is another cool option for league initials. In this plate, I curved the league name around a football graphic, and put the league initials inside the football.


Give some thought and planning to your header plate, and you'll have a fantasy football trophy that you and your league can be proud of for many years.

Please feel free to ask any questions, and check out my line of fantasy football perpetual trophies, loser trophies and more at Sculpture Alley!

Fantasy Football Trophies Engraving Part 1

Engraving is a huge part of the Fantasy Football Trophy. Personalizing the trophy is what makes it yours, and unique to your league. I am asked so many questions about engraving, I had to make a FAQ page to answer some of the more common issues.

In my opinion, less is more when it comes to engraving. The more text you try to squeeze on a plate, the less emphasis is placed on key elements of the engraving. The engraving tells a story, the who, what where, when and why of an event. It may include some or all of this information.

The most common question I am asked is, "How many letters can I fit on a plate?"

For a regular trophy, sculpture or keeper, a good rule of thumb is 60 characters, in 3 lines with 20 characters each. Most plates can accept this much text, look nice, and still be easily read. I see some dealers advertising more characters and more lines, but you will need a magnifying glass to read your plate! It is important that your trophy dealer uses their experience to guide you as to what will or will not fit. I review all engraving and formatting via email so that people will have a good idea of what the finished product will look like.

Perpetual Football Trophies with large header plates can accept more engraving, I will be covering this in Engraving Part 2.

There are a few key points to keep in mind when submitting your engraving.

Check your spelling. Seriously, use a spell checker, and triple check the spelling of names. The trophy dealer has no way of knowing what is correct, and they will do exactly what you submit.

Many people submit engraving like this:

Bob "Bubba" Smith Red Zone FFL Champion

A long single line like this doesn't work. The text is made smaller due to the limit of the plate length, and the rest of the plate (above and below the engraved line) looks empty.

Break apart your engraving to add emphasis, for example:

Bob "Bubba" Smith

Red Zone FFL Champion

or

Bob "Bubba" Smith

Red Zone FFL

CHAMPION

or

RED ZONE

Bob "Bubba" Smith

FFL Champion

This will make your engraving go smoothly with the trophy dealer, as they will know exactly what you want. You can make elements larger, bold, italics and caps easily in most email programs. Don't hesitate to experiment with different formats to get the engraving exactly as you want it.

Please feel free to ask any questions, and check out my entire line of Fantasy Football Trophies at Sculpture Alley!

Fantasy Football Perpetual Trophies Part 3

Some of the most expensive "toppers" of the Fantasy Football Trophy are the cups and metal footballs. They are not all created equal, and you should read the descriptions carefully to determine the true quality of an item.

The base of the fantasy football trophy is a major factor in the price. Genuine walnut is the best material for bases, it is beautiful and strong, but be prepared to pay extra for this very expensive material. Look for terms like "Walnut like" and "wood base." These terms apply to laminate pressboard bases, which are great looking and reasonably priced, but if I was considering a $150 or more fantasy football trophy, I would want real walnut.

I am always suspicious of a trophy that does not ship fully assembled. This means something is prone to breakage. This points to a potential weakness in either the main component or the base. If the base is genuine walnut, the weak spot is the sculpture or topper. If the base is not walnut, most likely the topper is heavy, and can crack the top of the base in shipping. This is an important point if you are looking for a traveling trophy, one that ships to the annual winner.

Assembling trophies is a pain in the neck, and trickier than it sounds. You will need a long 7/16 nut driver or ratchet extension, and lots of patience. A common mistake is to overtighten the component, and crack or strip the topper, or cross thread the mounting rod.

If you do find yourself in the position of having to mount your own trophy, make sure to place the trophy on a soft cloth or pillow to protect the surface. Do not allow the sculpture or topper to slide or swivel around on the top of the base, this will avoid scratches. Tighten the top to almost snug, adjust the piece to the desired position, and then tighten one or two more turns.

All Sculpture Alley perpetual football trophies ship fully assembled, and in a reusable shipping box.

Fantasy Football Perpetual Trophies Part 2

What makes one fantasy football trophy more expensive than another? Most of the time it boils down to the materials and components used to make the trophy. Size isn't always an issue. One could construct a gigantic trophy from inexpensive materials, while a more modest trophy could be made of higher quality, and therefore more expensive components.

Most fantasy football trophies feature some item, a ball, sculpture or trophy figure.

The least expensive of these is the trophy figure. Back in the old days, trophy figures were made of metal, most that you see now are made of plastic. There are still some metal figures out there, but if it is metal, the trophy dealer will be quick to point this out, as they are more expensive.

Resins. These have flooded the market in recent years, and you see them everywhere in the form of sculptures. Resin sculptures are synthetic polymers, in other words, plastic. Detailed and fairly strong, they are very popular in the trophy industry. Resin production in the United States is limited, due to environmental regulations, so 99 percent of these items come in from China.

Sculptures that claim to be genuine cold cast bronze, genuine bonded marble, and secret process metal are all in fact, resins. This really bugs me, and it's something I think everyone should know. Don't be fooled into thinking you are buying a genuine bronze or marble sculpture. The nicest of these are the plated resins, which will advertise gold plated, copper plated, etc. They look very nice, but are still essentially resin.

Composite/HydroStone. These sculptures are made from mineral based casting compounds, and are produced in the United States. The advantage to these is the variety of colors and finishes available. Usually the finish process involves coating with metal powders and shavings, like in the auto industry. These pieces tend to be quite heavy, and also can fool people into thinking they are bronze. The most famous of these would be the Austin sculpture "The Long Bomb."

Want to check out some of my perpetual trophies? www.SculptureAlley.com

Fantasy Football Perpetual Trophies Part 1

The Big Daddy of the Fantasy Football Trophy realm is the perpetual, or championship trophy. A perpetual trophy is one that is awarded year after year, and usually has or can accept small plates for engraving the name of the annual champion. I call these detail plates.

Perpetual trophies can be very fancy, equivalent to college and professional level awards, and the biggest of them can sport a hefty price tag of several hundred dollars. There are however, many excellent choices available at a reasonable price, so don't think your league can't afford one!

Before you start shopping, consider the needs of your league.

How many years do you envision keeping the trophy? If you have just started a league, or decided to make things official with a perpetual trophy, you might only need a trophy with 6 or 12 detail plates, and then upgrade if your league is still together after that time.

How many past winners do you have? Will they be included on the trophy? I make quite a few trophies where the league has 7 or more years of past winners. In those cases, I usually suggest a 15 or 18 year trophy although a few of my trophies can go up to 36 years. Also, there are some engraving options for mature leagues, such as eliminating the detail plates for a "list style" engraving format. I will be discussing engraving in depth in future posts.

Where will the trophy be kept? Will the yearly champion keep the trophy, and pass it on to the next winner? Will the trophy need to be shipped? This issue should be addressed by your league. If the trophy is to stay in a central location or be passed by hand to the next guy, it isn't a problem. If you are planning to ship the trophy, it needs to be professionally packed, or it will wind up broken and scratched. For my trophies, I use an expandable foam packaging system that perfectly forms around the trophy like a mold. Assuming the league retains the carton, it can be reused for several years.

What is your budget? Keep in mind that there can be upgrade costs to the trophy, like adding detail plates, and engraving past winners. Most fantasy football trophies include some free engraving, like the header or title plate, but additional engraving and plates are extra, and these costs can quickly add up. Don't forget to plan for your shipping costs too.

Please feel free to ask any questions! Want to check out some of my cool perpetuals? Visit us at Sculpture Alley!

Part 2 Consider your Fantasy Football Trophy Options

A nice mid-range trophy for your league is a Keeper award, meaning that the recipient "keeps" the trophy. It does not necessarily refer to a Keeper League versus a Dynasty League, although it can apply.

Keeper awards run from the moderately priced to the very expensive, depending on your budget (and your ego.) They can be purchased by the league, usually for last year's winner. Many times, individuals who have had to surrender the perpetual trophy purchase a keeper to commemorate their victorious season.

I like to offer a perpetual/keeper combination, so that if someone buys a perpetual trophy, there is a smaller matching version of the same item. Here is an example of a perpetual trophy and matching keeper:

Although they make look the same size in the photograph, the Perpetual is 15 inches high and the Keeper trophy is 8 inches high. I plan to discuss engraving in detail eventually, but for right now, let's just say that the Keeper trophy should contain the following information.

1. Year of the victory
2. Recipient's Name
3. League and/or Team Name

You can also include the word CHAMPION or other appropriate title, and season scores are a nice touch. You should be able to pick up a nice Keeper Award for $10.00 to $30.00.

Consider your options when buying a Fantasy Football Trophy Part 1

So you're thinking about buying a Fantasy Football Trophy? Perhaps you were the winner this year, and want to make your accomplishments part of the league history. Maybe you spotted something cool to put on the table at the draft, and along with the cash, the winner receives your great find.

Whatever your motivation, there are many different kinds of trophies available, and a few things to keep in mind when shopping.

Starter leagues might want a simple and inexpensive trophy, one that can be passed from winner to winner each year. Choices abound in the inexpensive category, most are a traditional style trophy, but there are some nice choices available without breaking the bank.

Bobbleheads are very popular, although I've never understood the fascination. Cheaply made, these types of trophies are not meant to last, planned obsolescence suggests that you break this trophy in a certain amount of time, and return to purchase another.

Check the measurements of any item you are interested in. The lowest priced trophies can be tiny, and might wind up being a joke trophy for your league. Imagine the space where you would display the trophy, something 3 or 4 inches high would be lost even on a desk.

Watch out for the $3.00 trophy. I've seen some dealers mounting a piece of trim on a small base and selling that. Trim is something meant to be used as an embellishment or additional decoration on a larger item. It is way too small and inconsequential to be used as the focal point of a trophy.

Looking at a trophy that is super low priced? Send me a link, and I'll tell you what it's really like, and what it's really worth.

Here are a few of my favorite lower priced trophies, both available for under $13.00 (including the one shown at the top of this post!)

World Class Recognition

It's funny how things work out sometimes. I have worked in the awards business for 10 years, and made hundreds of football trophies. Most of the time they were very simple, a sculpture with an engraved plate. Once in a while, I would get lucky and be asked to make something really special.

I started making Fantasy Football Trophies by accident. A few years ago, I met a guy in a fantasy league. He mentioned that they had a trophy, and when I saw it, I had to laugh. I ended up making a trophy for that league, and the word spread. I made quite a few trophies that first year, and in the process had a great time.

The Fantasy Football leagues are great to work with. They have a great sense of humor, and don't take themselves too seriously. The league names are absolutely hilarious. I take great pride in the Fantasy Football trophies I make, and I hope it shows. I hope you will stop by Sculpture Alley and check them all out!

Here are few of my favorites: