The Sacred Cod Trophy was awarded to each season's winner of the American college football series between the teams of Boston University (Boston University Terriers), Boston College (Boston College Eagles), and College of the Holy Cross (Holy Cross Crusaders).[1]
| Sacred Cod Trophy | ||
 |  |  |
| Boston College Eagles | Holy Cross Crusaders | Boston University Terriers |
| Originated: | 1954 | |
| Ended: | 1962 | |
| Current Holder: | Holy Cross (Defunct) | |
| Boston College (3) 1954 1955 1958 | Holy Cross (2) 1956 1961 | Boston University (0) |
| Shared Awards (3) 1957 1958 1960 | ||
The Boston University-Boston College game was normally played in early to mid November, the Boston University-Holy Cross game normally played in mid October, and the Boston College–Holy Cross game played as the last game of the season.
At the end of the series, the Boston College Eagles holds the most trophy victories with 3, the Holy Cross Crusaders have won 2, and the teams have shared the trophy on 3 occasions.[2]
History of the trophy
The Sacred Cod Trophy was the idea of the Boston University chapter of the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity.[1] The trophy was first awarded in the 1954 season to Boston College. Boston College would dominate the BU-BC game during this span winning 8 of 9 games with Boston University's sole victory coming in 1959. Holy Cross would also dominate the BU-Holy Cross game winning 6 of 8. As a result, the BC-Holy Cross game would most often determine who wins the trophy. In 1962, the BU-Holy Cross game was not played due to the failure to find an available date, thus the trophy was not awarded.[2] The series would end in 1963 when Boston College and Boston University decided to no longer schedule each other. The 1963 game would be postponed due to the death of John F. Kennedy and would never be rescheduled.[3]
The trophy
The trophy was a gold cup topped with a cod fish a symbol of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[4] The name was inspired by the Sacred Cod, a wooden fish that has hung in the Massachusetts State House since the mid 1700s.
Game results and trophy winners
| Boston University victories | Boston College victories | Holy Cross victories | Shared trophies and tied games | No game played, no trophy awarded |
| Season | Trophy Winner | Boston University – Holy Cross score | Boston University – Boston College score | Boston College – Holy Cross score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Boston College (1) | Holy Cross 14–13 | Boston College 7–6 | Boston College 31–13 |
| 1955 | Boston College (2) | Holy Cross 20–12 | Boston College 40–12 | Boston College 26–7 |
| 1956 | Holy Cross (1) | Holy Cross 21–12 | Boston College 13–0 | Holy Cross 7–0 |
| 1957 | Shared (1) | Boston University 35–28 | Boston College 27–2 | Holy Cross 14–0 |
| 1958 | Boston College (3) | Holy Cross 16–8 | Boston College 18–13 | Boston College 26–8 |
| 1959 | Shared (2) | Holy Cross 17–8 | Boston University 26–7 | Boston College 14–0 |
| 1960 | Shared (3) | Boston University 20–14 | Boston College 23–14 | Holy Cross 16–12 |
| 1961 | Holy Cross (2) | Holy Cross 20–7 | Boston College 10–7 | Holy Cross 38–26 |
| 1962 | N/A | Not played | Boston College 41–25 | Boston College 48–12 |
| All-time Records | Holy Cross: 6–2 (.750) | Boston College: 8–1 (.889) | Boston College: 5–4 (.556) | |