Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy appeared in 1934 as a large traveling award for the National Football League. A group of early NFL owners commissioned the piece to honor their friend Ed Thorp who died in June of that year before the trophy was created.
Six individual versions of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy were awarded between 1934 and 1961 according to later findings. This complexity added layers of confusion about which physical object had gone missing from public view for decades.
Historian Cliff Christl solved the puzzle regarding the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy in June 2018 by tracing its path back through team records. The restored trophy now displays names from 1934 through 1969 with gaps where engraving never occurred.
The completed Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy lists champions from 1934 to 1967 but omits several teams including the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles. Researchers found that the Baltimore Colts and Minnesota Vikings who won in 1968 and 1969 also lack any inscription.
In 2015 the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy resurfaced at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame alongside two other copies. It remains on display today as the same object given to the Packers in 1961.