All-Pro

All-Pro
2015 All-Pro Team
Date 1920 (1920)
Country USA

An All-Pro is an American football player in the National Football League (NFL) voted as one of the best players of their position during a given season. All-Pro players for each position are selected to form an All-Pro team.

Beginning in the early 1920s, All-Pro teams have traditionally been assembled from press polls of individually voting sportswriters.[1] After polling the writers, the votes are tallied to determine the selected players and the results have historically been published through various news syndicates. From 1931 through 1942, the NFL selected its own official All-Pros.[2][3] Today, the teams are mostly published online or announced on various televised sports programs. Some organizations also include "second-team" All-Pros, designating the runners-up at each position.

The Associated Press (AP) and its All-Pro selections are the most widely recognized today.[4][5] Other polls include the United Press International All-Pro poll, which began in the 1940s and continued in various forms until 1997, the Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Pro team, which ran from 1954 until 1996, the Pro Football Writers Association All-Pro teams, which were inaugurated in 1966 and continue to be released annually, and the Pro Football Focus All-Pro teams, which began in 2009. All-Pro selection are deemed more prestigious than a selection to the Pro Bowl, the NFL's annual all-star game.[6]

Associated Press All-Pro

The AP began selecting All-Pros in 1940, and is the longest running annual selector of the top NFL players.[3][7] The All-Pro Team is an annual selection of the best players in the NFL by position as selected by a national panel of AP media members. Unlike selection to the Pro Bowls prior to 2014, votes are cast for outstanding players by position without consideration for whether the player competes in the American Football Conference (AFC) or National Football Conference (NFC).

The First Team consists of the top one or two players at each position; the Second Team consists of the runners-up at each position. One player is selected at quarterback, fullback, tight end, center, punter, place kicker, and kick returner, while two players are selected at running back, wide receiver, offensive tackle, offensive guard, outside linebacker, inside/middle linebacker, defensive end, defensive tackle, cornerback, and safety.

There is controversy in some NFL cities about how the voters are selected by the AP. The AP claims that the selection panel is national one, but some NFL media markets such as Detroit, a city who has had an NFL team since 1934, does not have a vote.[8]

The Sporting News

The Sporting News published All-Conference teams beginning in the 1950s. In 1980 it began choosing an All-Pro team, rather than two All-Conference teams. Since its teams are published in Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the NFL, they are recognized by the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Pro Team

The Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Pro team was different from the press polls. It was created by Murray Olderman in 1954 purporting to be the "Player's All-Pro Team" as it was a poll of NFL players themselves. This poll was last published in 1997.

Pro Football Writers Association All-NFL Team

The PFWA All-NFL Team was inaugurated in 1966 and is still released each year. A press poll of the members of the Pro Football Writers Association, it has been released since the 1990s in Pro Football Weekly. Additionally, the editors and writers of Pro Football Weekly have personally selected All-AFC and All-NFC teams since 1970.

United Press International

Also a press poll, it began in the 1930s and continued until 1969. In 1970 UPI began selecting All-AFC and All-NFC teams, which ran though 1996.

Pro Football Focus

Pro Football Focus began selecting All-Pro first and second teams after the 2009 season, and continue to release team selections yearly as of 2015.

References

  1. ↑ Gill, Bob (2000). "All-Pros from the Detroit News, 1958-72, Part 1" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 22 (2). Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ Hogrogian, John (1982). "All-Pros of the Early NFL" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 4 (11). Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 9, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Goska, Eric (2004). Green Bay Packers - A Measure of Greatness. Krause Publications. p. 441. ISBN 9780873499200. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Smith, Michael David (January 8, 2016). "Associated Press will re-examine the makeup of All-Pro teams". Pro Football Talk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
  5. ↑ Wywrot, Chrissie (January 24, 2011). "Suh Named to AP All-Pro Team". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ Rothstein, Michael (January 8, 2016). "Lions DE Ezekiel Ansah named to AP All-Pro second team". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Jake Long Named Associated Press All-Pro". miami.cbslocal.com. January 25, 2011. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.
  8. ↑ O'Hara, Mike. "Why Calvin Johnson wasn't a unanimous All-Pro selection". detroitlions.com. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
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