The Miami Lakes Lion Club has been a long-time sponsor of the Big T Trophy game, an annual award given to the winner of high school football rivals Hialeah Miami Lakes and Hialeah high schools.
In the organization’s fifth decade of sponsoring the game, the Lions Club presented a new trophy to the teams on September 11 at Milander Stadium in Hialeah.
The Trojans won in a shutout, 24-0.
Named for the Trojans and Thoroughbreds, the Big T Trophy was first awarded in 1972 under the joint sponsorship of the Palm Springs and Miami Lakes Lion Clubs.
The trophy traveled between schools, but spends most of its time at HML, so in 1981, the trophy was retired and placed on permanent display at the school.
By 1982, the Palm Springs Lions Club had disbanded and the Miami Lakes Lions Club continued the tradition on its own.
After another 10-year run, the second Big T Trophy was retired to the HML trophy case in 1991.
It was joined by the third Big T Trophy in 2001.
In 2002, then-Miami Lakes Lions Club President Carl Franklin and charter member Charlie Pinkerton presented HML athletic director, Michael Colby, with a check for $442 to pay for a new Big T Trophy.