By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Pelham Mayor Gary Waters attempted to recruit help on Sept. 16 in carrying out what he said will be one of his most unpleasant duties since being elected to office.

“I discovered I can’t lift that thing alone. I am hoping I can have some help,” Waters jokingly said of the Game Ball trophy during a Sept. 16 Pelham City Council work session.

Since receiving the Game Ball trophy – which is awarded to the winner of the annual Pelham High School-Thompson High School football rivalry game – in 2007, Pelham has retained possession of the coveted item.

Over the past few years, the trophy has migrated from a shelf in the mayor’s office to a public display in the Pelham City Hall lobby.

But the trophy soon will have a new home for at least a year in the newly constructed Alabaster City Hall off 11^th Avenue after Waters travels to the THS pep rally on Sept. 20 to present the Game Ball to this year’s victor.

“I hate to admit we lost it,” Waters said. “It’s my sad job to take it back to Alabaster.”

Thompson downed the visiting Panthers 31-16 on Sept. 13, snapping a five-game Pelham winning streak in the series.

The trophy, which has been passed between the two cities for about 25 years, is made of materials significant to both cities’ history.

The base of the trophy is a block of heart pine timber taken from the floor of the old Pelham School, which was located where the Pelham City Hall currently stands.

Small golden plaques depicting the score of many of the games are attached to the sides of the wooden block.

Attached to the top of the block is a bronzed football tee the Warriors used during their 1980 state championship game. On the tee is a bronzed Panther football used during one of the first THS-PHS games.

On each side of the game ball are wooden spindles used at the old Buck Creek cotton mill in Alabaster. Tiny eagles crafted by a local trophy shop are perched atop each spindle.

According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Pelham leads the all-time series 20-16.