All-Pro

Last updated

All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list that consists of at least 22 players, one for each offensive and defensive position, plus various special teams players depending on the press organization that compiles the list. All-Pro lists are exclusively limited to the major leagues, usually only the National Football League; in the past, other leagues recognized as major, such as the American Football League of the 1960s or the All-America Football Conference of the 1940s, have been included in All-Pro lists.

Contents

Beginning in the early 1920s, All-Pro teams have traditionally been assembled from press polls of individually voting sportswriters. [1] After polling the writers, the votes are tallied to determine the selected players and the results have historically been published through various news syndicates. Today, the teams are mostly published online or announced on various televised sports programs. Some organizations publish two All-Pro lists, a "First Team" and a "Second Team," with the first consisting of more prominent players than the second.

The Associated Press (AP) and its All-Pro selections are the most widely recognized today. [2] [3] Other polls include the United Press International All-Pro poll, which began in the 1940s and continued in various forms until 1997, the Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Pro team, which ran from 1955 until 1992, and the Pro Football Writers Association All-Pro teams, which were inaugurated in 1966 and continue to be released annually. The NFL itself compiled official All-Pro lists beginning in 1931 but abandoned the practice in 1942.

The All-Pro designation, while not officially sanctioned by the NFL, is generally considered a more prestigious honor than selections to the Pro Bowl, the NFL's annual all-star game. [4] A minimum of twice as many Pro Bowlers are selected as first and second team All-Pro slots combined. This is because, in 2010, the date of the Pro Bowl game was permanently moved to the week before Super Bowl, ensuring that the Super Bowl would always be the last game of the season. Since they are preparing for the championship, all Pro Bowl selections bound for the Super Bowl are replaced by alternates, as are any Pro Bowl selections who decline to play due to injury or lack of interest. Both the original selection and alternate will be credited as being a member of that year's Pro Bowl squad. This results in a larger number of picks than the All-Pro list, which does not have alternates.

Selecting entities

National Football League

The NFL compiled its own 11-man "All-League" teams beginning in 1931. [5] Through the 1939 NFL season players selected to this elite list were chosen by the coaches of the league; however, beginning in 1940, the selection of this team was turned over to the membership of the Professional Sports Writers Association. [5] Selection of this team ended after the 1942 season. [6]

Associated Press

The AP began selecting All-Pros in 1940, and is the longest running annual selector of the top NFL players. [7] The All-Pro Team is an annual selection of the best players in the NFL by position as selected by a national panel of AP media members. Unlike selection to the Pro Bowls, votes are cast for outstanding players by position without consideration for whether the player competes in the American Football Conference (AFC) or National Football Conference (NFC).

The first team consists of the top one or two players at each position; the second team consists of the runners-up at each position. One player is selected at quarterback, fullback, tight end, center, punter, place kicker, and kick returner, while two players are selected at running back, wide receiver, offensive tackle, offensive guard, outside linebacker, inside/middle linebacker, defensive end, defensive tackle, cornerback, and safety. In 2016, for the first time, the AP picked specific positions on the offensive line, a "flex" player on offense, and a fifth defensive back. [8] In 2020, the “flex” position was discontinued and replaced with a 3rd wide receiver slot. [9] Beginning with the 2022 season, voters list choices for both the First and Second Teams; prior to 2022, voters only listed candidates for the First Team, with the Second Team made up of the runners-up (if any) at that position.

The AP claims that the selection panel is a national one, but some NFL media markets such as Detroit, a city that has had an NFL team since 1934, do not have a vote. [10]

United Press International

Also a press poll, it began in the 1930s and continued until 1969. In 1970 UPI began selecting All-AFC and All-NFC teams, which ran through 1996.

The Sporting News

The Sporting News published All-Conference teams beginning in the 1950s. In 1980 it began choosing an All-Pro team, rather than two All-Conference teams. Since its teams are published in Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the NFL, they are recognized by the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Newspaper Enterprise Association

The Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Pro team was different from the press polls. It was created by Murray Olderman in 1955 and considered the "players' All-Pro Team" as it was a poll of NFL players as opposed to writers, which were used by other publications. [11] [12] [13] In 1984, sportswriter Paul Zimmerman touted the NEA for its All-Pro team, since they involved polling the players, rather than sportswriters' opinions. [13] The NEA poll was last published in 1992. [11]

Pro Football Writers Association

The PFWA All-NFL Team was inaugurated in 1966 and is still released each year. A press poll of the members of the Pro Football Writers Association, it has been released since the 1990s in Pro Football Weekly. Additionally, the editors and writers of Pro Football Weekly have personally selected All-AFC and All-NFC teams since 1970.

National Football League Players' Association

The NFLPA began selecting a Players' All-Pro team in 2022, voted on solely by NFL players.

Compensatory draft selections

The 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association specifically stipulated that being selected to either the AP or PFWA first teams (but not the Sporting News team) is a consideration in the ranking of players that determines the assignment of compensatory draft picks for teams losing free agents. [14]

Other selectors

Past

Present

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosey Brown</span> American football player (1932-2004)

Roosevelt "Rosey" Brown Jr. was an American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants from 1953 to 1965. He played college football for the Morgan State Bears and was selected by the Giants in the 27th round of the 1953 NFL draft.

Daniel Lee Dierdorf is an American sportscaster and former football player. He played 13 seasons (1971–1983) as an offensive tackle for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Schmidt (American football)</span> American football player and coach (born 1932)

Joseph Paul Schmidt is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions for 13 years from 1953 to 1965. He won two NFL championships with the Lions, and, between 1954 and 1963, he played in ten consecutive Pro Bowl games and was selected each year as a first-team All-Pro player. He was also voted by his fellow NFL players as the NFL's most valuable defensive player in 1960 and 1963, named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team, and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973.

The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Caspar Whitney and published in This Week's Sports. Football pioneer Walter Camp also began selecting All-America teams in the 1890s and was recognized as the official selector in the early years of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newspaper Enterprise Association</span> American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service

The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news service to the Scripps Howard News Service; it later evolved into a general syndicate best known for syndicating the comic strips Alley Oop, Our Boarding House, Freckles and His Friends, The Born Loser, Frank and Ernest, and Captain Easy / Wash Tubbs; in addition to an annual Christmas comic strip. Along with United Feature Syndicate, the NEA was part of United Media from 1978 to 2011, and is now a division of Andrews McMeel Syndication. The NEA once selected college All-America teams, and presented awards in professional football and professional [NBA] basketball.

Murray Olderman was an American sports cartoonist and writer. His artwork often accompanied the sports stories he authored. His art also has been used by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and hung above the Hall of Fame busts. The Hall of Fame made all of the artwork digital so it must be accessed by visitors to the hall through electronic kiosks.

Harold Leon Jackson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 through 1983. Jackson was drafted in the 12th round of the 1968 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. In 2014, Jackson was hired to serve as head coach at his alma mater Jackson State. He was fired five games into the 2015 season.

Otis Taylor was an American professional football wide receiver who played in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Prairie View A&M Panthers and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 1965 AFL Draft. He was also selected in the 15th round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, but he chose to play in the AFL for the Chiefs where he would spend his entire career.

The 1966 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1966.

The 1935 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1935. The nine selectors recognized by the NCAA as "official" for the 1935 season are (1) Collier's Weekly, as selected by Grantland Rice, (2) the Associated Press (AP), (3) the United Press (UP), (4) the All-America Board (AAB), (5) the International News Service (INS), (6) Liberty magazine, (7) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), (8) the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA), and (9) the Sporting News (SN).

This is a list of players named as All-Pros based on their performance in the 1968 AFL and NFL season. These lists provide a perspective into how players were judged against their peers by critics of their time. Players representing both the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) are included.

The 2014 All-Pro Teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and the Sporting News (SN) for performance in the 2014 NFL season. While none of the All-Pro teams have the official imprimatur of the NFL, they are included in the NFL Record and Fact Book and also part of the language of the 2011 NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described as an "All-Pro." The AP team, with first-team and second-team selections, was chosen by a national panel of fifty NFL writers and broadcasters. The Sporting News All-NFL team is voted on by NFL players and executives and was released January 20, 2015. The PFWA team is selected by its more than 300 national members who are accredited media members covering the NFL.

The 2015 All-Pro Teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), the Sporting News (SN), for performance in the 2015 NFL season. While none of the All-Pro teams have the official imprimatur of the NFL, they are included in the NFL Record and Fact Book and also part of the language of the 2011 NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described as an "All-Pro." The AP team, with first-team and second-team selections, was chosen by a national panel of fifty NFL writers and broadcasters. The Sporting News All-NFL team is voted on by NFL players and executives and was released January 12, 2016. The PFWA team is selected by its more than 300 national members who are accredited media members covering the NFL.

The 2016 All-Pro teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and Sporting News (SN) for performance in the 2016 NFL season. While none of the All-Pro teams have the official imprimatur of the NFL, they are included in the NFL Record and Fact Book and also part of the language of the 2011 NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described as an "All-Pro." The AP team, with first-team and second-team selections, was chosen by a national panel of fifty NFL writers and broadcasters. For the first time, the nationwide panel of 60 sports writers and broadcasters who regularly cover the NFL voted for specific positions on the offensive line, a "flex" player on offense, a fifth defensive back, merged the halfback and fullback positions into the running back position, and a punt returner and special teamer. The Sporting News All-NFL team is voted on by NFL players and executives and will be released at a later date. The PFWA team is selected by its more than 300 national members who are accredited media members covering the NFL.

The Associated Press (AP), Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), New York Daily News (NYDN), The Sporting News (SN), and United Press International (UPI) selected All-Pro teams comprising their selections of the best players at each position in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1958 NFL season.

The 2017 All-Pro teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and Sporting News (SN) for performance in the 2017 NFL season. While none of the All-Pro teams have the official imprimatur of the NFL, they are included in the NFL Record and Fact Book and also part of the language of the 2011 NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described as an "All-Pro." The AP team, with first-team and second-team selections, was chosen by a national panel of fifty NFL writers and broadcasters. The Sporting News All-NFL team is voted on by NFL players and executives and will be released at a later date. The PFWA team is selected by its more than 300 national members who are accredited media members covering the NFL.

The 2018 All-Pro teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and Sporting News (SN) for performance in the 2018 NFL season. While none of the All-Pro teams have the official imprimatur of the NFL, they are included in the NFL Record and Fact Book and also part of the language of the 2011 NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described as an "All-Pro." The AP team, with first-team and second-team selections, was chosen by a national panel of fifty NFL writers and broadcasters. The Sporting News All-NFL team is voted on by NFL players and executives and will be released at a later date. The PFWA team is selected by its more than 300 national members who are accredited media members covering the NFL.

The Mob Squad is a nickname that was officially used by the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League during both their last season in St. Louis and their first seasons back in Los Angeles. The nickname referred to the team's return to glory in Los Angeles under such players as Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp, and head coach Sean McVay. The naming also extends to fans of the Rams, primarily used by multiple booster clubs around Southern California.

The Jim Thorpe Memorial Trophy was an American football award presented by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) to the most valuable player (MVP) of the National Football League (NFL) from 1955 to 2008. It was the only NFL MVP award whose winner was chosen by a poll of NFL players. By 1975, the Jim Thorpe Trophy was described by the TimesDaily as "one of the pros' most coveted honors." In 1983, the Del Rio News Herald called it the "highest professional football award, period." Earl Campbell was the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons, capturing three straight from 1978 to 1980. Quarterbacks Charlie Conerly (1959) and Roman Gabriel (1969) won the trophy despite not being voted to the NEA's All-Pro first team in their respective seasons—Johnny Unitas was named to the first team over Conerly, while Sonny Jurgensen got the nod over Gabriel.

The 2022 All-Pro teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and The Sporting News (TSN) for performance in the 2022 NFL season. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described as an "All-Pro." The AP team, with first-team and second-team selections, was chosen by a national panel of fifty NFL writers and broadcasters. The Sporting News All-NFL team was voted on by NFL players and executives. The PFWA team is selected by its more than 300 national members who are accredited media members covering the NFL.

References

  1. ↑ Gill, Bob (2000). "All-Pros from the Detroit News, 1958-72, Part 1" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Vol. 22, no. 2. Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ Smith, Michael David (January 8, 2016). "Associated Press will re-examine the makeup of All-Pro teams". Pro Football Talk. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016.
  3. ↑ Wywrot, Chrissie (January 24, 2011). "Suh Named to AP All-Pro Team". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  4. ↑ Rothstein, Michael (January 8, 2016). "Lions DE Ezekiel Ansah named to AP All-Pro second team". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "All-Star Team," in Pro Football Illustrated: The Picture Magazine of Pro Football, Fall 1941, pp. 6–7.
  6. ↑ Hogrogian, John (1982). "All-Pros of the Early NFL" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Vol. 4, no. 11. Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Jake Long Named Associated Press All-Pro". miami.cbslocal.com. January 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 17, 2017.
  8. ↑ Lynch, Andrew (January 6, 2017). "Ezekiel Elliott leads 2016 NFL All-Pro team's 17 first-time selections". Fox Sports. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  9. ↑ McDonald, Jerry (January 8, 2021). "Why Raiders' Darren Waller lost out to someone named 'vacant' on All-Pro team". mercurynews.com. The Mercury News. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ O'Hara, Mike. "Why Calvin Johnson wasn't a unanimous All-Pro selection". detroitlions.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Turney, John (2007). "The Complete 1965 and 1966 NEA All-Pro Teams" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Vol. 29, no. 1. Professional Football Researchers Association. p. 18. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ Olderman, Murray (December 15, 1959). "Colta And Giants Dominate Players' All-Pro Grid Squad". The Salisbury Times. NEA. p. 17. Retrieved July 3, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 Zimmerman, Paul (1984). A Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football . Simon and Schuster. pp. 386–387. ISBN   9780671453947 . Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  14. ↑ Overthecap.com. "The Basics and Methodology of Projecting the NFL's Compensatory Draft Picks". Over the Cap. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  15. ↑ Hogrogian, John (1984). "1920 All-Pros" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 6 (1). Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.