In the 1920s the leagues awarded MVPs, called the League Award. It was the first attempt to recognize a player for overall contributions to his team's success - hence the designation 'Most Valuable' rather than 'player of the year.' A Chalmers '36' car was awarded to the winners. An article in the Oakland Tribune just before the 1912 season said that Chalmers would also award a car to the most valuable player of the Pacific Coast League that season. The creation of this award was due to the controversy in the American League from the previous year in which the company gave an automobile in to the batting champion in each league.
The Chalmers Automobile Company sponsored the first Most Valuable Player Award, the Chalmers Award award in 1911.
