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NFL Pro Bowl Overview

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The current 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 NFL Pro Bowl game was on January 15, 1939, at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California. This 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 NFL Pro Bowl, 13 to 10. A NFL All Star team and a NFL franchise battled each other in the NFL Pro Bowl 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 NFL Pro Bowl games was discontinued in 1943. The NFL Pro Bowl idea resurfaced in January 1951. This time, the NFL Pro Bowl would be made up of conference all stars. From 1951-53, the NFL Pro Bowl featured the National Football Conference versus the American Conference. 1954-70, the Eastern and Western Conferences faced off in the 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 NFL Pro Bowl’s respective teams. Current voting for the NFL Pro Bowl is done by coaches, players, and fans. Fans vote for players on the NFL Pro Bowl teams through the NFL’s website, nfl.com. Replacement players also go to the NFL Pro Bowl, for those starters that can’t play due to injury. Before 1995, only coaches and players voted for other players.

The NFL Pro Bowl does not affect players’ or teams’ statistics and because the NFL Pro Bowl is the last game of the NFL season, players tend not to take the NFL Pro Bowl game seriously. The players want to avoid injury as much as possible, so not playing as hard as they would during the NFL season is best.

Just like the Super Bowl, the 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 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.