Unlike their successors, the Soap Opera Digest Awards, this accolade lacked a great deal of glamour.
The statue itself was a tall geometric crystal and were presented during a television show after winners were announced in the magazine.
In 1980, during the height of Luke and Laura, their portrayers Anthony Geary and Genie Francis won for Best Actor and Best Actress.
The first Soap Opera Digest Award show aired in 1984, and was featured on national syndicated television and hosted by then husband and wife Catherine Hickland and David Hasselhoff.
Ballot stuffing and a voting bloc for the 1985 awards led to the side effect where Days of Our Lives swept almost every category.
The third awards were changed so that the editors of the magazine chose the nominees and each reader was allowed only one ballot to vote for their favorites.
Fans could find a ballot in a November issue of Soap Opera Digest and then mail it to the editors.