The stolen trophy that honours 'the world's most cheerful loser'

The stolen trophy that honours 'the world's most cheerful loser'35 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleCalum WatsonBBC ScotlandBettmann/GettySir Thomas Lipton acquired a lot of sporting trophies in his lifetime, though none so unique as the Lipton CupThe theft of an 18-carat gold trophy from Glasgow's Riverside Museum, revealed last week, has made news headlines but the Lipton Cup already had an extraordinary story long before a thief made away with it.In December 1930, weeks after his fifth and final attempt at winning the greatest prize in yacht racing, Sir Thomas Lipton was presented with an honour unique in the history of sport.It was not the America's Cup, the silver winner's trophy he had been chasing for three decades. Instead it was something far more meaningful - a respectful and affectionate tribute, paid for by public subscription, to a Scot who had won the hearts of the American public as the "world's most cheerful loser". Yachting is often thought of as a rich man's pastime and by the start of the 20th Century Lipton was very rich indeed - but he wasn't born that way.The young Tommy Lipton grew up in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, the son of Irish immigrants, often pushing a wheelbarrow from the docks to restock his father's shop.At the age of 15 he set off with just a few pounds in his pocket to America where a job in a huge New York department store opened his eyes to a new way of shopping. When he returned to Glasgow in 1871 he had a vision for how to make his fortune. Glasgow LifeThe 18-carat gold trophy vanished from Glasgow's Riverside Museum last yearWithin a few years Lipton's grocery stores were spreading across Britain. And in the 1890s he identified the mass market potential of tea, purchasing his own plantations in Sri Lanka. As his fortune grew he gained a reputation for philanthropy and global fame as a sportsman - particularly sailing. Between 1899 and 1930 Lipt...