How Mother’s Day Inspired One of the Most Iconic Trophies in Sports

Who knew that the Wanamaker Trophy has origins in a department store and the very first Mother’s Day?

May 12, 2023

Hi everybody,

Before we get to our regularly scheduled programming, I wanted to let you know that this was a big week here at ROS. Yesterday, we launched our newest narrative podcast, Counterattack, hosted by World Cup champion Briana Scurry. Throughout the show, Brianna investigates the story of Sinead Farrelly, whose brave decision to speak out against abuses ignited the revolution taking place in professional women’s soccer today. Farrelly and her fellow players are building upon the tradition of players like Briana to change the game and forge a new path forward—for themselves, for their league, and for the next generation of little girls with big soccer dreams.

You can listen to episode one now wherever you get your podcasts.

And now, here’s a story about the little-known connection between Mother’s Day and next weekend’s PGA Championship.

This Sunday, while the rest of the country heads to brunch and buys bouquets of flowers, the sports world will celebrate Mother’s Day in its own unique way. Baseball bats and mitts will turn pink, and we’ll remember some of the day’s most iconic moments: Oakland A’s journeyman Dallas Braden hurling a perfect game in honor of his late mother, the New York Rangers’ Martin St. Louis scoring a playoff goal days after his mother passed, or the Charlotte Hornets’ Jamal Mashburn scoring 31 points in a playoff game while his mother, who had been battling colon cancer, sat courtside cheering loudly.

But there’s another, lesser-known connection between sports and Mother’s Day. The same family and store that popularized Mother’s Day is also the birthplace of the PGA and the namesake of the hallowed Wanamaker Trophy given to the winner of the annual PGA Championship. This year, Mother’s Day and the PGA just so happen to collide on the calendar; exactly one week after we celebrate our mothers, we’ll hand out the Wanamaker Trophy once again.

As the story goes, Mother’s Day was born out of grief—and a daughter’s dedication. Anna Jarvis was one of the 10 children who witnessed her mother teach her community the best methods for raising children, cooking, and keeping a home. One day, her mom told her that she wished that there could be a day specifically meant to honor the sacrifices of mothers everywhere, and a year after her mom passed, Anna went to work making that wish a reality. She wrote letters to state lawmakers, to powerbrokers, and even President Theodore Roosevelt. Yet the cause struggled to gain traction, and nobody paid her much attention.

Nobody except for John Wanamaker.

Wanamaker owned an opulent department store in Philadelphia, and yes, he loved his mother. But he also smelled an opportunity. So, in May 1908, he invited Jarvis and hosted a grand Mother’s Day celebration at his store that featured music and speeches. By 1914, he would give away a whopping 49,000 carnations to mothers who shopped at his store—that was the same year that he petitioned Congress, successfully, to make the celebration an annual holiday.

All the while, John Wanamaker’s son, Rodman, was working for the family business and learning the art of marketing and public persuasion from his father. Rodney watched the way that his father took Jarvis’ idea and turned it into a national movement, and he decided to apply those techniques to a cause close to his heart.

The younger Wanamaker loved golf. He loved playing it and watching it. But golf wasn’t hugely popular in the US at the time, and all its best players remained amateurs. Wanamaker thought that if he could create a professional league, he could increase the popularity and visibility of the sport. In turn, like Mother’s Day had driven business to the department store, Wanamaker might be able to sell more golf clubs.

In 1916, Wanamaker called three dozen of the most famous names in golf to a meeting, and when they walked out of the room, they had founded the Professional Golfer’s Association, or PGA. There would be an important championship held every year, and it needed a trophy.

Just as Mother’s Day had its carnations, Wanamaker commissioned a grand, 27-pound silver cup for the PGA Championship that has become one of the most iconic trophies in sports.

And so, this weekend, while you look at a lush bouquet, or next, when you look at that silver trophy, you might realize that, yes, we really should thank our mothers for everything. Even the PGA Championship.

A huge thanks to reader Jared Hoffman who suggested this story for the week. If you ever have a suggestion, or just want to say hello, simply reply to this email.

And of course, thanks to my own mama, who deserves a 27-pound, solid silver trophy of her own.

How Mother’s Day Inspired One of the Most Iconic Trophies in Sports

Who knew that the Wanamaker Trophy has origins in a department store and the very first Mother’s Day?

Discussion about this post