[1] The approximately 30-inch-high (76 cm) silver cup cost $800 (equivalent to $27,000 in 2023) and was donated by coal, citrus, and lumber baron William Chase Temple (1862–1917), a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates at the time.

The Pirates' president, William Chase Temple, felt that his team should have the option of having a playoff series to claim the title.

However, after that 1894 series, the New York Giants cheated some Baltimore Orioles players out of their money, tainting the Cup and prompting Temple to sell the Pirates in disgust.

[3] The Baltimore Orioles appeared in every Temple Cup series, winning the last two and thus coming the closest to gaining permanent possession of the trophy.

Lack of enthusiasm on the part of the players doomed the series; their apathy spread to the fans, few of whom attended Temple Cup games in later years.

[5] In 1951, Temple's daughter donated the Cup to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,[6] where it remains today in Cooperstown, New York.