"The Other Award" Is A Really Big Deal

February 4, 2020 by Staff and MaxwellFootballClub.org

NOTE: CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a voting member of the Maxwell Football Club's many prestigious awards.

The Maxwell Football Club is an organization involved not only in football at all levels but the community in general, not just once a year, but all year. It’s an organization dedicated to the concept that young people are the potential of this nation. The Maxwell Football Club wants to help young people realize that potential as leaders now, and as the future leaders of this country.

In November of 1987 on a national ESPN broadcast, the Maxwell Football Club was initially described as "The Other Award."

Things have certainly changed since then. The Maxwell Award for College Player of the Year is the premier award on the ESPN Home Depot College Awards Show which is nationally televised each December. The Club’s Bednarik Award for College Defensive Player of the Year is also featured along with "The Davey O’Brien Award" (Nation’s Finest Quarterback), "The Outland Trophy" (Outstanding Interior Lineman), "The Jim Thorpe Award" (Nation’s Finest Defensive Back), and "The Doak Walker Award" (Nation’s Finest Running Back).

The Maxwell Football Club is a founding member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of major collegiate football awards. The purpose of the NCFAA is to protect, preserve, and enhance the integrity, influence, and prestige of college football’s various awards. The NCFAA also encourages professionalism and the highest standards possible for administration of college football awards and their selection of winners.

The Maxwell Football Club is not just the presenters of the "Other Award", as it was once described in November of 1987 by ESPN.

In 1935 when the Club was founded, weekly meetings consisted of informal sessions with football officials, coaches and the public to talk about the previous weekend’s games. At these meetings local high school and college players were honored. Find the best sports betting sites. The end of the 1937 football season was highlighted by the presentation of the First Maxwell Award for the Outstanding College Player of the Year to Clint Frank of Yale.

Throughout the ensuing years, weekly awards to local high school and college players became an integral part of the Club’s activities.

In 1959, following the death of its founder Bert Bell, The Maxwell Football Club’s Professional Player of the Year Award was instituted and it presented the Bert Bell Trophy. The first winner of the Bell Trophy was Johnny Unitas of the then Baltimore Colts. In 1985, the Club named an award after its Chairman of the Board and a founding member of the Maxwell Football Club, Jim Henry. This award is presented to the area Outstanding High School Student-Athlete. The first winner of the Henry Trophy was Mark Dianno of Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.

In 1989, additional awards were established. You can discover the best usa online casinos.

The Maxwell Football Club’s College Coach of the Year Award, named for George A. Munger was instituted. The first winner of the Munger Trophy was Glenn "Bo" Schembechler of the University of Michigan. The Maxwell Football Club’s Professional Coach of the Year Award was named for Earle “Greasy” Neale. The first winner of the Neale Trophy was Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Maxwell Football Club’s Outstanding Contributions to the Game of Football was named for Francis J. "Reds" Bagnell. The first winner of the Bagnell Trophy was Pete Rozelle, the former Commissioner of the NFL.

In 1995, the Club introduced an award for the College Defensive Player of the Year, which was named in honor of our 1948 Maxwell Award winner and member of the College and Pro Halls of Fame, Chuck Bednarik.

For more information, visit MaxwellFootballClub.org.