Trophy one had to hold small yellow spittoon (8)
I believe the answer is:
cuspidor
'spittoon' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'trophy one had to hold small yellow' is the wordplay.
'trophy' becomes 'cup' (cup is a kind of trophy).
'one had' becomes 'Id' ('I'd' can mean 'one had').
'to hold' indicates putting letters inside.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'yellow' becomes 'or' (heraldic term).
'cup'+'id'='cupid'
'cupid' placed around 's' is 'cuspid'.
'cuspid'+'or'='CUSPIDOR'
(Another definition for cuspidor that I've seen is " Spittoon".)