End of Nearly 70-Year Mystery: 1923 Cigar Ash Sports Trophy Resurfaces | Page Not Found

A trophy created to commemorate football matches between Australia and New Zealand has unexpectedly resurfaced, football officials said on Tuesday, solving a sporting mystery that has puzzled historians for nearly 70 years.

Inside the ornate wooden trophy is a small silver shaving box containing the ashes of the cigars smoked by the captains of Australia and New Zealand — Alex Gibb and George Campbell, respectively — after the two teams met in 1923, the first game between the two countries on Australian soil. The box belonged to a soldier who participated in the historic Battle of Gallipoli, also known as the Battle of Dardanelles, in Turkey, one of the most costly and tragic of the First World War.

The Anzac Soccer Trophy was last seen in 1954. The wooden trophy was constructed from a blend of Australian maple and New Zealand honeysuckle. The silver shaving box was carried in 1915 by Private William Fisher, a football fan.

Football Australia announced the breakthrough as tens of thousands of people gathered at Anzac Day services to honor the Australian and New Zealand Armed Forces. The trophy was forgotten in a garage in the suburbs of Sydney (Australia).

“This is possibly the greatest domestic treasure there is in the game,” football historian Trevor Thompson was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse. “It’s full of images about the unity of the two countries, and the razor box that was in Gallipoli referenced the recent experience of fighting side by side during the First World War,” he added.

The trophy was created by the family of former Football Association of Australia chairman Sydney Storey.

“This is not just a trophy, it is a symbol of Australia and New Zealand working together, playing together and looking out for each other. It is very, very powerful,” the family said in a statement. “Of course, how it will be used again is up to Australia and New Zealand, but at least it is now available to football organizations as a first step.”