Spokane Naval Trophy goes to the USS Chancellorsville

The vaunted naval gunnery trophy created in Spokane nearly a century ago was awarded to a guided missile cruiser to recognize its battle preparedness in 2016.

The USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) won the Spokane Naval Trophy, which is sponsored by the Spokane Council of the Navy League.

The trophy was created in 1908 during a period of intense patriotism. It was sponsored by the Spokane Chamber of Commerce with support from veterans of the Spanish-American War and North Idaho mine owners, who donated silver and gold for the trophy, said Ivan Urnovitz, president of the Spokane Navy League council.

“It is quite a tradition our community started,” he said.

The trophy is now given to the best-prepared surface ship in the Pacific Fleet.

The 567-foot Chancellorsville was launched in 1988 and is in what’s known as the Ticonderoga class of vessels.

Its crew is made up of 33 officers, 27 chief petty officers and 340 enlisted personnel.

It is based in Yokosuka, Japan, making it a forward deployment for naval power in the western Pacific, Urnovitz said.

The Chancellorsville previously won the trophy in 1996.

According to a news release from Urnovitz, the trophy was cast from 400 ounces of silver and is valued in excess of $4 million. It is kept on permanent display at the Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters building in San Diego.