The Jim Thorpe Memorial Trophy [1] 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. [2] [3] It was the only NFL MVP award whose winner was chosen by a poll of NFL players. [4] [5] By 1975, the Jim Thorpe Trophy was described by the TimesDaily as "one of the pros' most coveted honors." [6] In 1983, the Del Rio News Herald called it the "highest professional football award, period." [7] Earl Campbell was the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons, [8] capturing three straight from 1978 to 1980. [9] 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. [10] [11] [12]
The award was founded by Murray Olderman, a sportswriter and cartoonist for the NEA. [1] [13] [14] It was named in honor of Jim Thorpe, a professional football pioneer who was a player and the first president of what became the NFL. [1] [15] [16] At the award's inception, Olderman sent ballots to every player in the league. [17] [18] Coaches joined the players in the voting process in 1975. [19] Starting in 1987, the award became a joint project between the NEA, Jim Thorpe Association, and National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). [20] Olderman also left the NEA that year and ended his association with the award. [18] The NFLPA took over the balloting and added Pro Football Hall of Fame members to the voting panel in place of coaches. [21] [22]
The first recipient of the Jim Thorpe Trophy was Harlon Hill of the Chicago Bears, who was presented the trophy by NEA sports editor Harry Grayson in a televised halftime ceremony from the 1956 Pro Bowl in Los Angeles. [15] In addition to Pro Bowl halftimes, [23] subsequent years also saw the presentation televised on the final regular season weekend in either a pregame or halftime event. [24] [25] It was even on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. [26] The presentation moved to the pregame show for the NFL championship game starting in 1961. [27] In 1967, the winner was presented the trophy in a party at CBS Television City in Los Angeles for NEA's All-Pro selections, which was filmed and shown nationally during halftime of the Pro Bowl. [28] In subsequent years, CBS aired a half-hour special before the Pro Bowl featuring the Jim Thorpe Trophy winner along with the All-Pros. [29] [30] After years of holding an awards banquet in New York, the ceremony was discontinued around 1980. Olderman and the NEA sought a sponsor. [31] The Jim Thorpe Association of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, took over the presentation of the trophy in 1987, [32] presenting it at the existing awards banquet for their Jim Thorpe Award, which honors the top defensive back in college football. [31] The NFL trophy was redesigned that year to feature a bronze statuette of Jim Thorpe. [33]