The Yale Lary Award is presented to the Special Teams Most Valuable Player.
This award is given in honor of Yale Lary, an all-Pro defensive back also was one of the NFL’s greatest punters.
While Lary collected 50 career interceptions playing safety for the Lions, he became an even more valuable weapon on Detroit’s special teams. Lary won NFL punting titles in 1959, 1961 and 1963, missing in 1962 by just 3.6 inches. Lary played in nine Pro Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.