TheJoe F. Carr Trophy was the first award given in theNational Football League (NFL) to recognize amost 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 commissionerJoseph Carr.[2][3] The Gruen Trophy, sponsored byGruen Watch Co., was first awarded in 1937 toDutch Clark of theDetroit Lions. However, both contemporary[4][5] and modern[6] sources consider the 1938 award the first retroactive Joe F. Carr Trophy, and thus the firstNFL MVP award. Players were chosen by a panel of sportswriters who distributed first and second place votes. It was awarded until the 1946 season, and it remains the only MVP award the NFL has officially sanctioned.[7]