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

But the Americans always seemed one step ahead. The US defender of the trophy, Enterprise, used technology from the aeronautical industry and had an even lighter mast made of aluminium.

A large section of the American public seemed to be rooting for the Scotsman rather than their own countrymen - but that "auld mug" as Lipton called the America's Cup was to elude him once again.

At the finish as the crew of Enterprise celebrated a decisive 4-0 victory, Lipton was seen smiling as he watched, again endearing him with Americans for his spirit of competition but grace in defeat.

He described the America's Cup as the most "elusive piece of metal in all the world" but said the thirty years he spent chasing it brought him some of happiest hours of his life and "splendid friends".

Lipton was by now 82 and his American supporters were determined that his good-humoured pursuit of his great sporting ambition should not go unrecognised.

The Hollywood actor and newspaper columnist Will Rogers and the mayor of New York organised a public appeal to raise money for an alternative trophy for the man who Rogers had often described affectionately as the "world's best loser".

Thousands of Americans contributed. Donors included future US president Franklin D Roosevelt and miners from Utah who supplied 25kg of silver which was used by Tiffany's to construct the trophy's base.

The two-handled cup itself was made of solid gold, decorated with shamrocks with the inscription "To the Gamest Loser in the World of Sport".

Laurence Brady, director of the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation, says the generosity was all the more remarkable given that it was at the height of the Great Depression.

"People lined the streets applauding him as he made his way from his hotel to the presentation ceremony at New York City Hall," he said.

"It was a gift from ordinary Americans to a man whose sense of humour and sportsmanship they admired."

Many of the donations for the trophy appeal were accompanied by letters [BBC]

The many letters sent in by contributors were turned into a bound volume presented to Lipton along with the spectacular trophy.

The mayor Jimmy Walker joked that he was "possibly the world's worst yacht builder but absolutely the world's most cheerful loser".

Roosevelt wrote: "Sir Thomas and his good sportsmanship are a lesson to every American."

Lipton was so overcome by emotion that he was unable to finish his speech and a friend had to step in to deliver his words of thanks.

Sir Thomas Lipton died a year later. He bequeathed the bulk of his fortune "to benefit the poor of Glasgow" while his many sporting trophies were also donated to the city of his birth.

The fate of the Lipton Cup is currently unknown. Its monetary value is estimated at £490,000.

As a symbol of sportsmanship, many would argue it is priceless.

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