Nat Moore Trophy: How the prestigious statue is made
MIAMI - We are nearing the finish line to see who the winner will be for the Nat Moore Trophy and on December 19th, one of the four finalists will win it all.
CBS Sports Miami's Trish Christakis shows us how the actual Trophy came to be.
Deran Wright, the trophy's sculpture artist, uses the traditional method of lost wax bronze to create his works.
He says, "It's a lot of fun. This is where it really happens."
The timeline to complete it all? Longer than you'd expect.
"Takes about a month and a half to complete everything….about 18 different stations. Make sure there's no seamlines or air bubbles or pockets. Every spot…."
But what if there is a minor imperfection?
"Sometimes you out a patina on it and they start over they sandblast it off re-weld the mistake and start the patina process again."
It's an intricate and dangerous process with extremely high temps and heavy materials. It's not solid bronze - you wouldn't be able to carry it, but the award is different than most.
"If they were solid they would sink into the earth. Bronze is a heavy material. Anyways, they pour it about half inch thick. The Nat Moore Award... the legs attached to the base is solid."
Between crafting the mold of the trophy to weekly touch-ups and finally getting to this part….
"We'll cut the screws off and sandblast it."
All to get the final product for the best high school football player In South Florida.
"It really captures the spirit of Nat Moore being at the top of your game which is where he was when that photograph was taken and of course all the young men that receive this award. They know the feeling of being at the top of your game."
The voting period to pick the winner runs through Nov. 30. >>>>(If you are on our mobile app, and do not see the poll above click here)
The winner will be announced live on Dec. 19 with a prime-time special airing on WBFS/TV 33 and streaming on CBSMiami.com. You can watch a trophy preview show on Nov. 24 at 10 a.m. on CBS Miami.