1951 Pro Bowl

National Football League all-star game August 2023 March 2026 pb 1951 510114-NFL-probowl-program.jpg 240px Official program American Conference National Conference 7 7 7 13 14 7 0 0 January 14, 1951 Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California Paul Brown Cleveland Browns Joe Stydahar Los Angeles Rams Otto Graham Cleveland Browns 53,676 not televised 1942 (Dec) The 1951 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's inaugural Pro Bowl which featured the league's outstanding performers from the 1950 season. The game was played on Sunday, January 14, 1951, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in front of 53,676 fans, with the American Conference squad defeating the National Conference by a score of 28–27.Graham paces Americans to 28–27 win in Pro Bowl https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I31QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ShAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7041%2C685357 January 24, 2012 Milwaukee Sentinel January 15, 1951 AP 3 (Part 2)Browns' Americans win Pro Bowl game, 28–27 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZNdaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TmoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3866%2C3441643 January 24, 2012 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette January 15, 1951 AP 19 Players were selected by a vote of each conferences coaches along with the sports editors of the newspapers in the Los Angeles area, where the game was contested.Pro Bowl names linemen https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sngbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ak0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=1672%2C7211828 January 25, 2012 Pittsburgh Press December 14, 1950 UPI 50 The National team was led by the Los Angeles Rams' Joe Stydahar while Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns coached the American stars. The same two coaches had faced each other three weeks earlier in the 1950 NFL Championship Game in which Brown's team had also defeated Stydahar's. Both coaches employed the T formation offense in the Pro Bowl.Pro all-stars clash on coast https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wmIbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bk0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6411%2C4739865 January 24, 2012 Pittsburgh Press January 14, 1951 40 Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham was named the game's outstanding player.The 1951 Pro Bowl http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_1951_Pro_Bowl.htm Bolding Sports Research January 24, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120501171112/http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_1951_Pro_Bowl.htm May 1, 2012 dead Background The NFL's annual Pro-Bowl game began according to the model of the league's other annual exhibition, the Chicago Charities College All-Star Game, initiated in 1934 under the auspices of the Chicago Tribune. This game, played in the summer ahead of the league's pre-season slate of exhibition games, pitted a select team of college all-stars coming into the league against the NFL's champion of the previous year. With proceeds of the game dedicated to charity, the Chicago College All-Star Game had become an institution, drawing vast audiences and priming fans for the football season to come. thumb|left|280px|Coupon soliciting the purchase of tickets for the first Pro-Bowl Game, with prices ranging from $2.50 to $5.00. The Pro-Bowl was initially envisioned as a comparable post-season spectacle, held in sunny Southern California in January in the capacious Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum following conclusion of the regular season and World Championship Game. With the size of the NFL boosted in 1950 from 10 teams to 13 through absorption of three teams from the All-America Football Conference, the time seemed right for an exhibition contest between the year's stars of the NFL's two newly realigned conferences. As with the Chicago game, newspapers were to play a prominent role in the game's organization, with the Los Angeles Newspaper Publishers' Association the chief organizing body. The Los Angeles Times had already sponsored NFL All-Star games after the 1938, 1939, and 1940 seasons,"Pro Bowl Tilt Approved for Los Angeles," Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1950, part 2, pp. 9, 12. with the eruption of World War II bringing an end to this first series of January games. The decision was made to relaunch the All-Star games under the "Pro Bowl" moniker by the league's 13 owners, meeting in Philadelphia over the first weekend of June 1950. Three organizations submitted bids to host the event — the Los Angeles Newspaper Publishers' Association, the Al Malaikah Shrine of Los Angeles, and promoters from Houston, Texas — with NFL Commissioner Bert Bell expressing the view that the league was "morally obligated" to return to the Los Angeles newspaper publishers over the other potential sponsors. Bell specified that provision must be made that each participating player should receive at least $500 plus traveling expenses for the game to be formally approved by the league office. The door was left open by Bell to co-sponsorship of the event by the publishers and the Shriners, with a July 1 deadline for a working agreement to be hashed out. Ultimately, no such joint sponsorship followed. Rosters thumb|right|600px|Members of the 1951 American Conference offense.Backs (L to R): Geri, Motley, Graham, and Dudley. Linemen (L to R): Pihos, DeRogatis, Barnes, Bednarik, Fischer, Weinmeister, and Speedie. thumb|right|600px|Members of the 1951 National Conference offense.Backs (L to R): Grimes, Hoerner, Van Brocklin, and Davis. Linemen (L to R): Edwards, Connor, Creekmur, Ecklund, Barwegan, Davis, and Fears. The 31-man Pro Bowl squads consisted of the following players:1951 Pro Bowl https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1950/probowl.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com January 25, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120205190141/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1975/probowl.htm February 5, 2012 live American ConferencePositionNational ConferenceNational loop names backs for Pro Bowl https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4NcbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HU4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3748%2C2713549 January 25, 2012 Pittsburgh Press December 21, 1950 UP 29Bears supply six linemen for Pro Bowl https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3tcbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HU4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5181%2C1608718 January 25, 2012 Pittsburgh Press December 19, 1950 UP 43 Charlie Conerlyvacancy a a – GiantsHarry Gilmer – RedskinsOtto Graham – BrownsJim Hardy – CardinalsQuarterbackFrankie Albert – 49ersJohnny Lujack – BearsNorm Van Brocklin – RamsBob Waterfield – RamsElmer Angsman – CardinalsBill Dudley – RedskinsJoe Geri – SteelersGene Roberts – GiantsOtto Schnellbacher – GiantsEmlen Tunnell – GiantsHalfbackGlenn Davis – RamsDon Doll – LionsBilly Grimes – PackersWoodley Lewis – RamsSpec Sanders – YanksJohnny Strzykalski – 49ersDoak Walker – LionsTony Adamle – BrownsPat Harder – CardinalsMarion Motley – BrownsJerry Shipkey – SteelersFullbackDick Hoerner – RamsZollie Toth – YanksNorm Standlee – 49ersJohn Green – EaglesPete Pihos – EaglesRay Poolevacancy a a – GiantsBob Shaw – CardinalsMac Speedie – BrownsBob Dovereplacement b b – CardinalsEndCloyce Box –LionsLarry Brink – RamsDan Edwards – YanksTom Fears – RamsEd Sprinkle – BearsAl DeRogatis – GiantsLou Groza – BrownsPaul Lipscomb – RedskinsArnie Weinmeister – GiantsAl Wistert – EaglesTackleGeorge Connor – BearsFred Davis – BearsDick Huffman – RamsThurman McGraw – LionsLeo Nomellini – 49ersWalt Barnes – EaglesBill Fischer – CardinalsWeldon Humble – BrownsBill Willis – BrownsGuardDick Barwegan – BearsRay Bray – BearsLou Creekmur – LionsVisco Grgich – 49ersChuck Bednarik – EaglesJohn Cannady – GiantsBill Walsh – SteelersCenterEd Neal – PackersClayton Tonnemakervacancy a a  – PackersBulldog Turner – BearsBrad Ecklundreplacement b b – Yanks Roster Notes: vacancy a aSelected but did not play replacement b bReplacement selection due to injury or vacancy Number of selections by team Note: these numbers include players selected to the team but unable to play as well as replacements for these players, so there are more than 31 players in each conference. American Team Selections New York Giants 8 Cleveland Browns 7 Chicago Cardinals 6 Philadelphia Eagles 5 Pittsburgh Steelers 3 Washington Redskins 3 National Team Selections Los Angeles Rams 8 Chicago Bears 7 Detroit Lions 5 San Francisco 49ers 5 New York Yanks 4 Green Bay Packers 3 Baltimore Colts 0 References 35em Category:Pro Bowl Pro Bowl Pro Bowl Pro Bowl Category:American football competitions in Los Angeles Category:NFL in Los Angeles Category:January 1951 sports events in the United States Category:1951 in sports in California