GETTYSBURG, Pa. – This Saturday will feature the 100th meeting between Gettysburg College and Franklin & Marshall College and to commemorate the occasion, a new award called the "Lincoln Football Trophy" was crafted.
 
The Lincoln Trophy is more than a wooden carving molded in the shape of a former President's hat. It contains a wealth of history that stretches back more than 150 years.
 
The initial thought behind the award was to find something to represent the rivalry between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall, a series that dates back to 1890. The two institutions and surrounding communities are connected by one stretch of road, Route 30, better known as the "Lincoln Highway."
 
Gettysburg head football coach Barry Streeter made the suggestion of making the trophy look like President Abraham Lincoln's stove-pipe hat and so began the process of designing and creating the award.  
 
The imagination held nothing to the final product. Over the course of the last several weeks, local historian and woodworker Bill Hewitt dedicated his time in molding what at first look appears to be simple wood.
 
The wood, however, contains a history that predates the Gettysburg-F&M football rivalry by nearly three decades. The pieces used in the creation of the award were pulled from two "witness trees" that stood tall during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
 
One tree was an oak that overlooked the position of Confederate troops as they assaulted the Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, and Round Tops on July 2. The other stood outside the Christ Lutheran Church which served as one of the first hospitals established to treat wounded soldiers during the battle.
 
It is also believed President Lincoln passed by both of these trees on the day he gave his Gettysburg Address four months after the battle.
 
A bullet from the battle was found within one of the trees and has been embedded within the trophy itself, safely ensconced under hat.
 
The trophy is created out of one of the greatest historical moments in the history of our country and going forward, it will carry on the legacy of athletic rivalry between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall on the football field.
 
Immediately following Saturday's contest, which begins at 1 p.m., a short ceremony will be held to present the trophy to the winning team. The trophy will remain at the winning team's institution until the battle resumes the following year.