| The Telephone Trophy is the name of the | | | | a half and five hours. |
| traveling trophy given every year to the winner | | | | While both the Mizzou football program and the |
| of the college football game played between the | | | | Cyclones are both members of the Big 12 |
| University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU for short) | | | | Conference (and in fact both members of the Big |
| and the Iowa State University Cyclones (often | | | | Twelve North sub-division) the two colleges are |
| abbreviated ISU). The history of this coveted | | | | not normally associated as rival institutions the |
| award known as the Telephone Trophy dates | | | | way other more prominent rivalries are. The origin |
| back to the year 1959. | | | | of the Telephone Trophy has more to do with an |
| The physical nature of the Telephone Trophy is | | | | odd story than an actual hated rivalry. |
| that of a rotary phone from a bygone era. As | | | | When these two schools played each other in |
| opposed to a touch tone phone with buttons the | | | | 1959 there were some complications with the |
| rotary style of early phones has as circular turn | | | | telephone systems that were used to allow |
| style that is used to dial numbers. Before the | | | | coaches on the field to communicate with |
| proliferation of touch tone phones the rotary | | | | coaches upstairs in the coaches boxes (a perched |
| phone was a more time consuming way to place | | | | position that allows for great visibility of the entire |
| calls. The receiver, portion of the rotary phone | | | | field from an aerial perspective). Standard practice |
| used for listening, is colored half red (Iowa State | | | | dictates that Missouri coaches on the field would |
| color) and half yellow (Mizzou color). On the base | | | | have closed access to communicate with Missouri |
| of the Telephone Trophy are the engraved | | | | coaches in the box and Iowa State coaches on |
| scores of every game played for the traveling | | | | the field would have closed access to |
| trophy between Iowa State University and the | | | | communicate with Iowa State coaches in their |
| MU. | | | | box. Up until just before the game kicked off |
| The University of Missouri is located in Columbia, | | | | coaches from both teams were able to listen in |
| Missouri. This predominately college town is | | | | on communications from the other team. The |
| centrally located in the state of Missouri. Iowa | | | | wiring mishap was correctly right before the |
| State University is located in Ames, Iowa which is | | | | game started. To commemorate and make light |
| centrally located within that state. A distance of | | | | up the mix up the service provider in the area |
| 275 miles separates the two schools. The 275 | | | | (Northwestern Bell) had a trophy made in honor |
| miles between the two college campuses can | | | | of the incident. That trophy would become the |
| normally be covered in a car in between four and | | | | traveling Telephone Trophy for decades to come. |
