Why the Maxwell Club matters so much

Football award season is overcrowded with college and professional football players receiving a Yellow Pages' worth of trophies and honors named for players and coaches whom many of the recipients have neither heard about nor cared about before the presentations.

So what makes awards from a Philadelphia-based club named for someone who played for Swarthmore College and the Canton Bulldogs a century ago so revered in the industry, so much so that former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski serves as president and Eagles coach Andy Reid attends every year?

"The consistency of the award," Jaworski said yesterday when asked about the Maxwell Football Club's annual awards. "The club has been around for 75 years . . . Everyone involved in the Maxwell Football Club has a great passion for the game. The people that select the winners understand the game of football, know the game of football. It's a national vote. That's what makes it special."

The Maxwell Football Club annually presents 12 awards - the most prominent of which is the Maxwell Award, which has been presented to the top college player for all 75 years of the club's existence. The club also presents the Bert Bell Award, which goes the top professional player. Awards also go to the pro and college defensive players of the year; a tri-state college player of the year, which is named for former Villanova and Eagles star Brian Westbrook; and pro and college coaches of the year. There also is a broadcaster award and others recognizing contributions to football and leadership, dedication and inspiration. This year's banquet is March 2 at Harrah's in Atlantic City.

This year's Maxwell Award will go to Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is receiving the Bert Bell Award. The recipients attend the banquet each year, whether they're local, such as Michael Vick last year when he won the Bert Bell, or from afar, such as Tim Tebow, who came twice when he won the Maxwell as a standout quarterback at Florida. Tebow is the only two-time winner of the Maxwell Award.

"The fact that they come, the fact that they show up, proves to me and proves to everyone that it's significant to them," said former Eagles wide receiver Vince Papale, who presents an award each year. "Some of the guys, the professional player of the year or professional coach of the year, the efforts they make to come to Atlantic City to be honored, shows that it's something that's revered by them."

The most memorable presentation Jaworski attended came in 2004, when Eli, Peyton and Archie Manning were all on the dais. Eli won the Maxwell and Peyton won the Bell, both for their 2003 seasons. Archie is being recognized this year with the Francis "Reds" Bagnell Award for his contributions to the game, and his sons are expected to attend.

Papale's best memories include meeting players he otherwise has seen only on television. He mentioned how gracious Emmitt Smith was in person, when Papale's previous impressions of the Cowboys great were as the Eagles' top public enemy. He recalled seeing Reid and ESPN anchor Chris Berman sitting at a table cracking jokes, with the Eagles coach exhibiting personality traits seldom revealed to the public.

"Every time you turn around is a great memory," Papale said. "There's not a Maxwell that's not memorable."

Since the turn of this century, the club has gained national traction. The Maxwell Award is the featured honor announced on ESPN's college football award show. The banquet will be streamed on ESPN3 this year.

"Over the years, it's really been a Philadelphia institution," said Mark Wolpert, executive director of the Maxwell Football Club. "In the last 10 years, we've made more of an effort to gain a national presence."

Still, the Maxwell Football Club is based in the Philadelphia area. It was started by Eagles co-founder and former NFL commissioner Bert Bell in 1937 to honor Robert "Tiny" Maxwell, a college football star who became a professional player, college coach and official and sports editor of the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger before his death in a car accident in the countryside north of Philadelphia in 1922.

The club was created to honor college football players and promote football safety. As the NFL grew in the middle of the last century, the club began recognizing the pro game. It also presents high school awards, both nationally and in the Philadelphia community.

"We have a club behind the award," Wolpert said. "It's not just that we give these things once a year and shut the doors."

Jaworski's favorite award actually comes 2 months before the annual banquet. In January, the Maxwell Club recognized 110 high school players from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The worthiness of the NFL and college winners is apparent on television each fall weekend. But when Jaworski reads the resumés of the high school award-winners, he's encouraged not by their football exploits, but rather by what they've accomplished in the classroom and in the community in order to be recognized by the Maxwell Club.

"I see the type of people we honor," Jaworski said, "and it gives me a really good feeling."