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NFL Pro Bowl History

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The historic NFL Pro Bowl is the National Football League’s All Star game. Officially called the “AFC-NFC Pro Bowl”, this is the final game in the NFL season.

The current historic NFL Pro Bowl did not exist as it does today. A postseason All Star game between the new league champion and a team of pro football all stars was added in 1939. The first Pro Bowl game in NFL Pro Bowl history was on January 15, 1939, at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California. This historic NFL Pro Bowl game featured the New York Giants versus a team of NFL players and two independent clubs; the Los Angeles Bulldogs and the Hollywood Stars. The New York Giants beat the NFL All Star team in the 1939 history-building NFL Pro Bowl, 13 to 10, sending the game into the NFL Pro Bowl history books. A NFL All Star team and a NFL franchise battled each other in history filled NFL Pro Bowl games until the end of the 1942 season. In 1940 and 1942, there were two NFL Pro Bowl games, the first in January, where the NFL All Stars played against the previous years’ champion, and the second in December, when the NFL All Stars played against the newly crowned champion.

That series of historic NFL Pro Bowl games was discontinued in 1943. The historic NFL Pro Bowl idea resurfaced in January 1951. This time, NFL Pro Bowl history and games would be made up of conference all stars. From 1951-53, the historic NFL Pro Bowl featured the National Football Conference versus the American Conference. 1954-70, the Eastern and Western Conferences faced off in the historically lined NFL Pro Bowl and since 1970, the current NFL Pro Bowl setup was put in place.

After the NFC/AFC merger in 1970, the official name of the star studded event was changed from the NFL Pro Bowl (1951-1970) to the “AFC-NFC Pro Bowl”. Following the NFL conference merger, the head coaches to the teams that lost the AFC and NFC championships were selected as coaches of the historic NFL Pro Bowl’s respective teams.

Just like the Super Bowl, the historic NFL Pro Bowl gives out a MVP trophy. The NFL Pro Bowl MVP trophy was first introduced in 1951, won by Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns quarterback. From 1957 to 1971, there were two historic NFL Pro Bowl MVP awards given out; to an offensive back and defensive lineman. In 1972, the NFL Pro Bowl MVP recipients changed and the MVP award went to an offensive and defensive player. Since 1973, there is only one NFL Pro Bowl MVP award, and it goes to the best player from either team.

The historic NFL Pro Bowl has been played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 1980. Aloha Stadium seats 50,000 fans. Prior to 1980, the NFL Pro Bowl visited other NFL stadiums, as the Super Bowl does. Historically, the NFL Pro Bowl has been in the following cities besides Honolulu: Los Angeles, CA (1939, 1940,1951-’72, 1979), New York City, NY (1942), Philadelphia, PA (1942), Irving, TX (1973), Kansas City, MO (1974), Miami, FL (1975), New Orleans, LA (1976), Seattle, WA (1977), and Tampa, FL (1978). 

On Point is an independent NFL Pro Bowl travel package and ticket broker that specializes in sports travel packages and tickets to high demand events worldwide.  The sports travel packages we offer can be catered to your individual desires and are sure to be an unforgettable experience.  Though we offer pre-planned NFL Pro Bowl travel packages, with the many options we have available, On Point can arrange customized NFL Pro Bowl packages that no one else in the industry can provide.