It took the Astros 56 years to win a World Series trophy and only one week to damage it. According to a report from Wei-Huan Chen of the Houston Chronicle, among others, the 30-pound Commissioner’s Trophy slid off of a table during Wednesday’s “One Great Night in November,” a men’s-only fundraiser held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
According to the museum’s official statement, a guest grabbed for the trophy as it tumbled and inadvertently bent some of the flagpoles in the process. It appears to have been an easy fix for the conservation specialist in attendance, who whisked it away to a laboratory in the museum and returned it to Astros’ owner Jim Crane by the end of the night.
By far and away, the best detail of the story is in the Secret Service-level of attention brought about by the fall, per Chen: “Suddenly, men in tuxes were giggling about how ‘we’ll just have to win another one’ while a cohort of large men with earpieces assembled around the trophy like bodyguards.” This wasn’t the first time the trophy has gotten bent out of shape, but it’s definitely a less-thrilling tale than the crowd-surfing snafu during the Cubs’ celebration last year.
