Joe F. Carr Trophy

The Joe F. Carr Trophy was the first award given in the National Football League (NFL) to recognize a most valuable player for each season.

It was first awarded in 1938, known then as the Gruen Trophy,[1] and renamed in 1939 in honor of NFL commissioner Joseph Carr.

[2][3] The Gruen Trophy, sponsored by Gruen Watch Co., was first awarded in 1937 to Dutch Clark of the Detroit Lions.

However, both contemporary[4][5] and modern[6] sources consider the 1938 award the first retroactive Joe F. Carr Trophy, and thus the first NFL MVP award.

Players were chosen by a panel of sportswriters who distributed first and second place votes.