Pro Bowl History

The original Pro Bowl game, on Jan. 15, 1939, pitted the National Football League champions against a team of all-stars from the rest of the league. In 1940 and 1942, there were two games, the first in January against the previous year's champion, the second in December against the newly-crowned NFL champion.

That Pro Bowl series was discontinued in 1943. The idea was revived in 1951 with a game between all-star teams from the American and National Football Conferences. From 1954 through 1970, the teams represented the NFL's Eastern and Western Conferences. Since the merger of the American Football League into the NFL, the Pro Bowl has been played, again, by all-star teams from the American and National Football Conferences.

The game was formerly rotated among NFL stadiums, but since 1980 it has been played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

The Pro Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award was first presented in 1951. From 1957 through 1971, two awards were presented, to a back and a lineman, and in 1972 there awards for an offensive player and a defensive player. Since 1973, there's been a single MVP award.