District championship era (1881-1950)

In 1881, Pennsylvania State College played its first collegiate game against Lewisburg where they won 9-0.^[13] This was the first team fielded by any of the Big Three. The Western University of Pennsylvania introduced football in 1890 and West Virginia University introduced football in 1891.

The first game played between any of the three was on November 6, 1893 when Penn State defeated WUP 32-0.^[14] The rivalry between the three schools rapidly formed as Pittsburgh, then WUP, regularly battled West Virginia and Penn State, who played an imbalanced series in Pittsburgh. Notably, Penn State versus West Virginia became an extremely heated rivalry as the two met in 1904, 1905, 1906, 1908, and 1909 in State College. WVU was shut out each time. They met again at Yankee Stadium in 1923. The result was a 13–13 tie.^[15]

In 1900, the first rivalry qualifying season took place as Western University played both Penn State and West Virginia. Western University lost both matchups, making the first result a split championship between Penn State and West Virginia.^[16][17]

In 1904, the first full round-robin took place, meaning each of the three teams played both of the others. West Virginia went 0-2 in the rivalry, Penn State went 1-1, and Western went 2-0 as part of their undefeated 1904 campaign. By 1908, the battle between the three was considered a championship and representative of supremacy in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and a 1921 article from The Pittsburg Press referred to a triangular rivalry between the schools as they competed for the "sectional title".^[18][19] By the 1930s, the trio was simply referred to as "the east's Big Three"^[20]

Overtime, Central and Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio became considered the Tri-State district for college athletics. Pittsburgh (formerly WUP), Penn State, and West Virginia were the district's powerhouses and the title of "Big Three" was synonymous with their dominance of the district's less prominent collegiate teams: the "Little 15" also sometimes called "West Penn Class B" and annual battles for the "district championship".^{[10][11][18][21]}

Local newspapers frequently included a spot in the sports section of their daily paper which included the overall and head-to-head records of the Big Three and Little 15/West Penn Class B.^[22] The two groups were also sometimes referred to as the "Tri-State Big Three Conference" and "West Penn Class B Conference" respectively.^[23]

The Tri-State district also included a scoring title awarded to the player from a Big Three school with the most points scored over the course of a given season.^[21][22][24]

The district title or district championship was not replaced by the Old Ironsides Trophy, although it was eventually pushed out of relevance in favor of the battle for the trophy. The title coexisted with the trophy for years as a distinct rivalry and competition.^[12][25]

Old Ironsides Trophy era (1951–1984)

Bob Orders (left) and Art "Pappy" Lewis (right) holding the large, 3-sided Old Ironsides Trophy

The Old Ironsides Trophy was introduced to the triangular rivalry between Pennsylvania State College (now Pennsylvania State University), The University of Pittsburgh, and West Virginia University in 1951 by the Pittsburgh Junior Chamber of Commerce.^[26][27] Upon its introduction it was believed to be the heaviest trophy in the world at 150 pounds,^[28] although some sources place the trophy at 200 pounds.^[29] The 4 foot tall trophy consists of a 3 foot tall stainless steel triangular prism mounted onto a similarly stainless steel triangular base. On each side of the trophy is a plaque representing one of the three schools as their name appeared at the time of the trophy's introduction (Pennsylvania State College became Pennsylvania State University in 1953).^[30] Atop the pillar sits a "nearly regulation sized" football presumably also made of stainless steel.^[26] Later images also show that the teams' winning seasons were engraved below their respective plaque.^[31]

The trophy was traditionally awarded to the victorious team's head coach or a chosen position coach, in the case of then Penn State quarterback coach Joe Paterno following the 1964 season,^[32] at the annual Pittsburgh Junior Chamber of Commerce banquet or Curbstone Coaches awards banquet in the Roosevelt Hotel or the Sherwyn Hotel.^[27][33][32] The Roosevelt Hotel has since been repurposed a high-rise apartment complex called "The Roosevelt Building"^[34] and the Sherwyn Hotel is now Point Park University's Lawrence Hall.^[35] There is also at least one instance of the presentation taking place at the weekly Junior Chamber of Commerce luncheon in the Old Vienna Restaurant.^[29]

The trophy in 1958 with victory plaques shown. Left to right: Penn State Coach Rip Engle, Pitt Co-Captain Don Crafton, Pitt Coach John Michelosen.

During the 1952 season, the trophy was presented by former Pitt halfback Emil Narick to The University of Pittsburgh's athletic director Tom Hamilton. Hamilton was head coach for the Panthers in their 1951 season during which Pitt defeated both Penn State and West Virginia, thus winning the first year of competition for Old Ironsides. Unlike subsequent seasons, the inaugural presentation of the trophy was done during halftime of that season's Backyard Brawl prior to the universities' marching bands taking the field.^[36] West Virginia went on to win that game 16-0.^[37]

The trophy in 1966

However, from its inception the trophy was met with little fanfare. Coverage of the trophy largely focused on its size and weight, in particular the difficulty of transporting the trophy.^[38] There was little to no coverage outside of the tri-state area and within ten years of the trophy's use, the originator of the idea was unknown. Despite all this, the teams and coaches turned out to the annual ceremonies awarding the victor and fought for possession of the monolith.^[39]

A 1975 article in Penn State's Daily Collegian student newspaper reported that the trophy had sat in "its homely location between the men's and women's rooms in the upstairs hallway of Rec Hall for 10 years."^[40] The trophy had not been updated since 1970 and the article describes the trophy's poor condition in minor detail.^[40]

The Pittsburgh Junior Chamber of Commerce sponsored Old Ironsides at its introduction and in each year it was officially presented. Additionally, the Jaycees were also tasked with organizing the presentation until the ceremony was handed off to the Curbstone Coaches.^[26][27] From the conclusion of the 1981 season through the 1983 season, Penn State retained possession of the trophy. When the West Virginia Department of Athletics requested the trophy be handed over by Penn State in 1984, a search of their office and museum proved fruitless.^[41] Similar searches at The University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University also yielded no trophy. Since then, there have been no public efforts to locate the trophy.^[42]

The fate of the Old Ironsides trophy is unknown.

District championship era (1881-1950)

Only seasons with at least one district game shown

Old Ironsides Trophy era seasons (1951-1984)