The sterling silver Commissioner's Trophy is valued at around $15,000

Major John W. Griffith was a World War I U.S. Army veteran who believed greater competition would fill youngsters with courage. The American Legion created the nation's first organized youth baseball league, now played by 100,000 people each summer.

Each year, the winner of the MLB World Series is honored with the Commissioner's Trophy. This professional sports league award has been administered since 1967 and was named years later, in 1985. 

The 30 teams that make up the MLB battle it out for this trophy and the World Series title. The Yankees have seven Commissioners' Trophies, the most of any team in the MLB. Since their inception, the Yankees have won 27 World Series, with seven won following the creation of the Commissioner's Trophy.

Below is a look into the history of the Commissioner's Trophy, and the awards that came before. 

Each MLB season, 30 teams battle it out for the Commissioner's Trophy. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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The Commissioner's Trophy is given to the MLB team who wins the World Series. Other professional sports league trophies in the United States and Canada, excluding the Commissioner's Trophy, are named after a person. 

For example, the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup, Major League Soccer's Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, the National Basketball Association's Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy and the National Football League's Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Commissioner's Trophy was first awarded in 1967 to the St. Louis Cardinals, when they defeated the Boston Red Sox. It was not given its current name until 1985.

The only year that a Commissioner's Trophy was not given since its creation was in 1994, during the player's strike