As Blitz Sports Media’s resident old guy… I mean, NFL historian… I’m taking us back into professional football’s rich history. As such, I’ve produced a segment I have affectionately dubbed “Throwback Thursday” … Original, right😉. For this first piece,e we’re taking a look at the winner of the “NFL First” winner of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.
1st Official Most Valuable Player
In looking at the MVP, I’m more specifically talking about the Associated Press (AP) MVP. There have been variants of the MVP going back to 1938, such as the Joe F. Carr Trophy, which was around until 1946. That said, the AP MVP is the officially recognized MVP award of the NFL, commemorated today at the annual NFL Honors event. Its line of recipients stretches back to 1957.
In that year, it was both the first time this MVP was awarded, and the first and only time in NFL history that it was awarded to a rookie. That rookie winner was the legendary Jim Brown.
Brown’s Dominance Begins
This was the first of Brown’s long list of history-making accomplishments. That year he led the league in rushing yards, making it the first of 8-times he would do so. That’s an untouchable record, which is made even more impressive by the fact that his career lasted just 9 seasons.
He followed up by winning the 1958 AP MVP, also becoming the first back-to-back winner right out of the shoot. That was a 12-game season where he rushed for over 127 Yds/Gm. This gave him the per-game efficiency to equal over 2,000 yards in a more modern 16-game season, which lasted from 1978 to 2021 (over 40 years). He did this again in 1963 with 133 Yds/Gm in a 14-game season, which is equivalent to 2,130 yards across 16 games. Only he and OJ Simpson did this twice, with the per-game efficiency to equal over 2,000 yards in 16 outings.
One of the Most Valuable of All-Time
Brown wasn’t done there. In 1965, he was the first ever 3-time winner of the AP MVP, becoming the only running back… actually the only non-Quarterback to be a multi-year MVP winner. His total number of MVPs is equal to all-time legends Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas, Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre, and arguably the Greatest NFL Football Player of All-Time, Tom Brady.
On top of that, it was his 9th and final season in the league, showing that he was still operating in his prime to the end. Had he not left professional football for Hollywood, who knows what he could have achieved?
Along with those 3 MVPs and 8 rushing titles, he led the league in rushing TDs 5 times, winning the Running Back Triple Crown an unprecedented 4 times. That has never been achieved before, and no one has come close since. Jim Brown also went to the Pro Bowl in every season of his career (the most ever by a running back), with 8 1st team All-Pro selections on top of that. Only Jerry Rice (10), Jim Otto (10), Ron Mix (9), and Anthony Munoz (9) had more 1st team All-Pro accolades, and none of them had fewer than 11 seasons (Jerry Rice played for 20 years).
To round things out… Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship in 1964. It should also be noted that the Offensive Player of the Year Award didn’t exist during his time. If it did, he’d likely have at least 3 more accomplishments to stack up.
This was meant to be merely a look at the NFL’s first-ever MVP winner (of the Associated Press variety). When all is said and done… it became a look at the quite a few other “first-ever” achievements by the running back that was, without a doubt, the most dominant running back of his era… perhaps… any era… says me😉