The American Football League Most Valuable Player Award was an award given out by the American Football League. It was determined by voters of the Associated Press, the United Press International, and The Sporting News.
During the awards ten-year existence (1960–1969), the American Football League's best player for each year was called the "Most Valuable Player" by some sports-news sources and the "Player of the Year" by others, most notably with Sporting News. The awards by the major services are shown below.
Season | Player | Position | Team | Selector(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Abner Haynes | HB | Dallas Texans | UPI |
1961 | George Blanda | QB | Houston Oilers | UPI, AP, TSN |
1962 | Cookie Gilchrist | HB | Buffalo Bills | UPI, AP |
Len Dawson | QB | Dallas Texans | TSN | |
1963 | Lance Alworth | WR | San Diego Chargers | UPI |
Tobin Rote | QB | AP | ||
Clem Daniels | HB | Oakland Raiders | TSN | |
1964 | Gino Cappelletti | WR, K | Boston Patriots | UPI, AP, TSN |
1965 | Paul Lowe | HB | San Diego Chargers | TSN |
Jack Kemp | QB | Buffalo Bills | AP, UPI | |
1966 | Jim Nance | HB | Boston Patriots | UPI, AP, TSN |
1967 | Daryle Lamonica | QB | Oakland Raiders | |
1968 | Joe Namath | New York Jets | ||
1969 | Daryle Lamonica (2) | Oakland Raiders | UPI, AP, TSN |
Gino Raymond Michael Cappelletti was an American professional football player. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was an All-Star in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots, winning the 1964 AFL Most Valuable Player Award. Cappelletti is a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, and the Patriots' All-1960s Team. He served as the Patriots' radio color commentator until July 2012. His nicknames included "the Duke" and "Mr. Patriot".
Daryle Pasquale Lamonica was an American professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Lamonica was drafted by the NFL Green Bay Packers in round 12 with the 168th overall pick. He spent his first four seasons mostly as a backup for the Buffalo Bills, who selected him in the 24th round of the 1963 AFL Draft. Lamonica played his next eight seasons as the primary starter of the Raiders, including after they joined the NFL through the AFL–NFL merger.
Joseph Paul Schmidt was an American 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, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and chosen as a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.
Charles Louis Trippi was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a halfback, his versatility allowed him to fill a multitude of roles over his career, including quarterback, safety, punter, and return specialist. A "quintuple-threat", Trippi was adept at running, catching, passing, punting, and defense.
From 1960 to 1969, the United Press International (UPI) gave the annual AFL Player of the Year award in the American Football League, whose teams in 1970 became the American Football Conference (AFC) of the new National Football League (NFL).
In each year of its ten-year existence (1960–1969), numerous sports-news services named their choice for the American Football League's best first-year player. UPI selected a rookie for each of the ten seasons, while the Associated Press did selections from 1961 to 1966, which ended up with the same selections that UPI made. In 1967, AP instead selected Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Years for the AFL, with the offensive choices matching the UPI selection.
The Kansas City Committee of 101 was founded by Jack Wheeler. The name was chosen because the membership was limited to 101 Kansas City Chiefs fans and cost $1,000 annually. The group began presenting its annual NFL awards in 1969, initially as NFL and AFL Awards. However, after the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, the awards have been given to the top AFC and NFC players and coaches. The "Committee of 101" refers to a national media committee consisting of 101 sportswriters and sportscasters who cover the NFL. They are responsible for voting on the top offensive player, defensive player, and coach in each of the National Football League conferences, rather than for the entire NFL.
This is a list of players named as All-Pros based on their performance in the 1969 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.
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.
Sporting News began awarding a National Football League (NFL) player of the year award in 1954. From 1970 to 1979, Sporting News chose American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC) players of the year, and returned to a single winner in 1980. Beginning in 2008 Sporting News chose an offensive player of the year and a defensive player of the year.
The 1961 Big Ten Conference football season was the 66th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1961 college football season.
United Press International gave an NFL Most Valuable Player Award from 1948 through 1969, excepting 1949–50, and 1952. When the NFL's merger with the American Football League formed the National Football Conference (NFC) and American Football Conference (AFC) in 1970, UPI began awarding individual NFC and AFC player of the year awards.