# Who came up with the MVP award?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [June 13, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269 "2016-06-13T17:26:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/1 "2016-06-13T17:26:00Z")
The MVP award exists in all of the major American sports and probably in other ones I’m not familiar with. Its got a long tradition and as far as I know, its always been called the MVP. However, as it stands, there’s always a discussion every year about the term “valuable”, as in “this player might not be the best, but he’s the most valuable to this team”.
I wonder who created this award and how they wanted it to be used. What sport was it in? How long did it take other sports to adopt it? I can’t imagine the creator had the foresight to have been trying to promote discussion and drama by calling it Most Valuable Player instead of something like like Most Best Player or something similar.
At the same time, we never hear about the actual criteria for these guys to use when voting. “Valuable” is always subjective. When it comes to the NBA, I often here “the best player on the best team” used as criteria but what I want to know is if the league has any guidelines at all for the voters to help them decide how to vote. Obviously, most of them will vote for someone at or near the top, for that particular year, on a team that is pretty good. In the NBA, the only sport I’m more familiar with the voting, there have been times where discussions on the MVP hinge on whether the best player has a winning team or not. Generally, no matter how good you are, if your team’s not good, you’re not getting the vote. Anyone know an MVP voter or heard one discuss what guidelines the league gives them?
I get annoyed when the same discussion happens each year on the meaning of “valuable”. While I don’t doubt the drama has helped fans connect through arguing and debating as fans are wont to do, I’m not sure if the award cannot be replaced with something less annoying subjective each year. I’d personally rather discuss who’s the best player, using metrics and stats and a little bit of fanboyism, than debate over what “valuable” means and then from there another subjective test as to which player is that to his team.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/2 "2016-06-13T17:48:37Z")
Year the award was introduced in the 4 major US Leagues:
- MLB 1911
- NHL 1924
- NBA 1956
- NFL 1957
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/3 "2016-06-13T18:07:52Z")
The MLB aware was not called [Most Valuable Player](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_Most_Valuable_Player_Award), although people may have referred to it that way.
> [@](#):
>
> Before the 1910 season, Hugh Chalmers of Chalmers Automobile announced he would present a Chalmers Model 30 automobile to the player with the highest batting average in Major League Baseball at the end of the season. …
> The following season, Chalmers created the Chalmers Award.
Early hits
[McClure’s Magazine, May 1915](https://books.google.com/books?id=ANU5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA36&dq=%22most+valuable+player%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYkNysx6XNAhUG5iYKHcmrBmYQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=%22most%20valuable%20player%22&f=false)
[Harper’s Weekly, July 31 1915](https://books.google.com/books?id=GMc4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA119&dq=%22most+valuable+player%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixn8rgx6XNAhWI5SYKHd_CCNwQ6AEILTAD#v=onepage&q=%22most%20valuable%20player%22&f=false)
[The New York Times, Jan. 10, 1914](http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/01/10/101912650.html?pageNumber=10)
[Our Paper, Oct. 18, 1913](https://books.google.com/books?id=UYFRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA499&dq=%22most+valuable+player%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU_uOLy6XNAhWnxYMKHfeGBmEQ6AEISjAJ#v=onepage&q=%22most%20valuable%20player%22&f=false)
[The Rotarian, July 1913](https://books.google.com/books?id=gOc_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA8-PA33&dq=%22most+valuable+player%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU_uOLy6XNAhWnxYMKHfeGBmEQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=%22most%20valuable%20player%22&f=false)
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/4 "2016-06-13T18:13:19Z")
Moved to the Game Room.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/5 "2016-06-13T20:34:44Z")
So the Chalmers award was a precursor, and at first it was automatically awarded based on stats? That seems a bit more defensible, if boring. By 1931, when it changed to MVP, was the criteria still highest batting average or did that change before it became the MVP?
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### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/6 "2016-06-13T20:39:14Z")
In cricket and football, its called “man of the match” for indivdidual matches, and Player/Man of the tournament/series/year for tournaments and leagues. The FIFA World Cup calls it the Golden Ball.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/7 "2016-06-13T20:39:17Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#):
>
> So the Chalmers award was a precursor, and at first it was automatically awarded based on stats? That seems a bit more defensible, if boring. By 1931, when it changed to MVP, was the criteria still highest batting average or did that change before it became the MVP?
The Chalmers Award only lasted for four seasons (1911-1914). The next version of the award was the League Award, created in 1922; recipients of that award were voted on by a panel of sportswriters. The “modern” version of the award, which started in 1931, was voted on by writers from the start. Thus, the “MVP” award was only purely based on statistics for the four years of the Chalmers Award.
> **[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_Most_Valuable_Player_Award)**
>
> The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) since 1931.
> Since 1931, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) has bestowed a most valuable player award to a player in the National League and a player in the American League. Before 1931, two similar awards...
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/8 "2016-06-13T20:45:25Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#):
>
> When it comes to the NBA, I often here “the best player on the best team” used as criteria but what I want to know is if the league has any guidelines at all for the voters to help them decide how to vote.
Most of them are independent of the league, with the exception of the NBA’s, and all are voted on by sportswriters, similar to the college level honors, like the Heisman Trophy.
I have a feeling that the biggest issue is that they’re voted on by sportswriters, who IMO, are notorious for bias, bandwagoning, and general stupidity. So you get moronic notions like “best player on best team” which is prima facie stupid, and then on top of that, you get the even more dumb notion that the best player is automatically the quarterback.
Despite my disdain for sportswriters, I really don’t have a better idea of how to do it- it’s not something you can really compare stats on, and it’s hard to say that one player who’s outstanding on one team would be equally outstanding on another. I mean, who’s to say that Cam Newton is naturally more valuable to any team in the league versus say… J.J. Watt?
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/9 "2016-06-13T20:47:12Z")
From [NBC Sports](http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2011/08/29/here-are-the-mvp-voting-criteria/):
> [@](#):
>
> There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier.
>
> The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931: (1) actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense; (2) number of games played; (3) general character, disposition, loyalty and effort; (4) former winners are eligible; and (5) members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.
[The BBWAA](http://bbwaa.com/voting-faq/):
> [@](#):
>
> How many names are on the ballot?
>
> For MVP, there are 10 spots on the ballot. For Cy Young, there are five. For Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year, there are three. A writer may not split a spot on the ballot between two candidates.
>
> How is the voting counted?
>
> For all awards, there is a point system that is weighted by the spot on the ballot. For the MVP, a first-place vote is worth 14 points. From second to 10th, the ballot spots are worth 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points, respectively. For the Cy Young, the points are 7-4-3-2-1. For the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year, the points are 5-3-1.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/10 "2016-06-13T21:04:45Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#):
>
> So the Chalmers award was a precursor, and at first it was automatically awarded based on stats?
The Chalmers award was never based on stats. In 1910, a car was awarded to the player with the best batting average, but it wasn’t “The Chalmers Award” yet. After the funkiness around calculating the batting average at the end of 1910 it appears that Chalmers changed his mind and went to the committee vote right at the start of the Chalmers Award, which started in 1911 and lasted until the end of the 1914 season.
> [@](#):
>
> The following season [1911], Chalmers created the Chalmers Award. A committee of baseball writers were to convene after the season to determine the “most important and useful player to the club and to the league”. Since the award was not as effective at advertising as Chalmers had hoped, it was discontinued after 1914
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/11 "2016-06-13T21:26:47Z")
Was there ever a discussion in the other leagues to determine whether the imported award from MLB should be renamed/rebranded to something else? A sort of “best player” award, rather than the much more subjective “valuable”, or was the term MVP firmly entrenched by the time the NBA and NFL created theirs?
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/12 "2016-06-13T21:52:10Z")
The NHL Hart Memorial Trophy started in 1923 as a Most Valuable Player award. That’s one year after the League Awards were instituted in MLB. With the Chalmers Award only lasting for 4 years in the previous decade I don’t know if the NHL was that influenced by baseball.
> **[NFL Most Valuable Player Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_Most_Valuable_Player_Award)**
>
> The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizations which issue an NFL MVP award include the Associated Press (AP) and the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Since the 2011 season, the NFL has held the annual NFL Honors ceremony, which recognizes the winner of the Associated Press MVP award.\[2 Th...
The AP/NFL award didn’t start out as MVP, but it looks like they moved that way fairly early on. It also doesn’t look like they kept very good records back then.
> [@](#):
>
> On January 1, 2008, the AP stated that it awarded its first MVP in 1961.[2] It is possible that this is a reaction to an article in Pro Football Weekly[3] that suggests the AP’s listing of its awards was incorrect. As recently as the morning (EST) of the same date, the AP’s web site listed the 1957 MVP as Jim Brown, the 1958 MVP as Gino Marchetti, the 1959 MVP as Charlie Conerly, and the 1960 co-MVPs as Norm Van Brocklin and Joe Schmidt. The Pro Football [Weekly.com](http://Weekly.com) article disputes the 1958, 1959, and 1960 winners. Since, as the PFW article points out, the AP began using the term “MVP” in 1961, it seems the pre-1960 winners are no longer considered “MVPs” but “Players of the Year.” Adding to the confusion, the 1962 winner, Jim Taylor (in the story that moved across the AP wire in 1962) was the “Player of the Year”, not the “Most Valuable Player.” In 1963 the term “MVP” was used once again. According to another article by Pro Football Weekly, the terms “Player of the Year” and “Most Valuable Player” were interchangeable at the time. According to the 2014 NFL Record and Fact Book, the NFL “Most Outstanding Player Award” was given to Jim Brown in 1957 and 1958, Charley Conerly in 1959, and Norm Van Brocklin in 1960.
>
> In addition, Pro Football Journal showed that no AP story about NFL or AFL awards moved across the AP wires in 1960, thus there were no AP awards that season.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/13 "2016-06-13T22:32:43Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#):
>
> Was there ever a discussion in the other leagues to determine whether the imported award from MLB should be renamed/rebranded to something else? A sort of “best player” award, rather than the much more subjective “valuable”, or was the term MVP firmly entrenched by the time the NBA and NFL created theirs?
What does “best” player mean? What objective criteria could you use that everyone would agree on? How is it better than “most valuable” or any other locution?
The concept is inherently vague and subjective. You’re going to get arguments over any method. You can’t even get people to agree whether pitchers should be included in the MVP voting. Other sports have similar splits between offensive and defensive players.
Language fixes on convenient and useful terms. Most valuable is old and comfortable. I didn’t include some early uses of “most valuable player” because they simply said a person was _a_ most valuable player on their team, but that means the phrase was already in the sporting vocabulary.
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### Author:  [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/14 "2016-06-14T16:20:43Z")
The Cy Young award was created in the mid 1950s for baseball’s best pitcher because Commissioner Ford Frick, a former sports writer, felt pitchers were ignored in the MVP balloting. Naturally the first year, the winner was a pitcher-Don Newcombe. Until 1967 only one award was given, in 1967 they changed it to each league has a Cy Young winner.
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### Author:  [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2016, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/15 "2016-06-15T10:44:00Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#):
>
> The MVP award exists in all of the major American sports and probably in other ones I’m not familiar with.
> …
> How long did it take other sports to adopt it?
Why the presumption that other sports followed the North American lead?
In Australian Football the equivalent of MVP is the “Fairest & Best” award, more commonly known in the reverse i.e. Best & Fairest.
The first of the major leagues to adopt it was South Australia with the Magarey Medal first awarded in **1898**.
Subsequently the award was replicated in Western Australia with the Sandover Medal in 1921, then the Victoria Football Association with the Woodham Cup (later the Recorder Cup and then JJ Liston Medal) in 1923 and the Victorian Football League with the Brownlow Medal in 1924. Virtually all minor and junior footy leagues have their own versions.
Voting for these awards has always been the sole prerogative of the umpire/s. The number of votes allocated per game has varied but is now pretty much a standard 3-2-1
A key element, in all leagues I am aware of is if a player is suspended by the relevant judiciary through the season for misconduct they are ineligible to win the B&F award, though any votes earned are counted.
There are instances eg Corry McKernan in 1996 and Chris Grant in 1997 of those who topped the B&F poll but did not win the Brownlow Medal because of ineligibility through suspension.
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### Author:  [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-came-up-with-the-mvp-award/757269/16 "2016-06-18T06:22:40Z")
Unfortunately I forget all the names, but I remember a writer in the NY Post explaining his MVP voting thus–Smith was great, but his team would have done well without him; Jones was great but his team never contended, so I have to go with Brown who kept his team in the wildcard hunt till the very end.
I have always been an advocate of “who had the best season, in my judgment?” I am fine with the title “most valuable player”, rather than, say, " best player", just to acknowledge the subjectivity of it all.