The most famous wide receiver MVP season belongs to Jerry Rice in 1987. That year was one of the most controversial AP MVP awards ever: Joe Montana was the AP’s first-team All-Pro choice, and Jerry Rice was widely considered the best player in the NFL. However, Montana (18 votes) and Rice (30) split the 49ers vote, allowing John Elway to win the AP award with 36 votes despite most people thinking Rice was better than Elway and most voters thinking Montana was better than Elway. That season, the Pro Football Writers of America, the Newspaper Enterprise Association & Jim Thorpe Athletic Club (voting as a collective entity), The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, the Football Digest, the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia Bert Bell Award, the New York Daily News, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Robert Sansevere) all named Rice as their MVP that season, while only Peter King and the Associated Press chose Elway.
Rice was the last wide receiver to win a major MVP award, but he was not the first.
In 1941 and 1942, Don Hutson was the best player in football. In 1941, Hutson received 6 of 9 first place votes, beating out his passer Cecil Isbell, Sid Luckman, and Chicago’s Danny Fortmann (who you really should learn about) to win the award. In ’42, he once again received 6 of 9 first-place votes, this time beating out Bill Dudley and Sammy Baugh.
In 1955, Harlon Hill was named the NEA MVP. That season, Otto Graham won the United Press poll for MVP, picking up 13 of 30 votes, while Hill and Alan Ameche each grabbed 4 votes.
The AFL had a habit of giving its most valuable player award to wide receivers. In 1963, Lance Alworth had a breakout season, and won a close vote over his Chargers teammates to win the United Press International AFL player of the year award. Alworth earned 7 votes, Chargers running back Keith Lincoln and Chargers quarterback Tobin Rote had five each, and Raiders running back Clem Daniels earned the final three votes. Alworth was even better in 1965, but lost the AP MVP vote to Buffalo quarterback Jeff Kemp, 10-8.
In 1964, Patriots wide receiver — and placekicker — picked up 12 of 24 votes to win the UPI Player of the Year award. Cappelletti won the AP MVP that year, too, but neither the AP nor the UPI was considered the official AFL MVP award. That honor belonged to the Sporting News, and Cappy picked up 99 votes to win the official award, too (Alworth was the runner up with 44 votes).
Finally, in 1965 in the NFL, End Pete Retzlaff won the Bert Bell player of the year award, while Jim Brown swept the other major MVP awards.
As Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas continues his dominant season, I thought it would be worthwhile to look back at the past receivers to win a most valuable player trophy.