In 1957, the Cincinnati Enquirer distributed pre-marked ballots with its Sunday editions, making it easy for Reds fans to vote early and often in choosing the National League team for baseball's All-Star Game.
The result? Seven of the eight NL starters were Reds. Commissioner Ford Frick jumped in, benched two of the seven and ended fan balloting. It wasn't restored until 1970.
The Washington Redskins are this century's Reds.
Washington players currently lead fan voting at 16 of the conference's 19 Pro Bowl positions after the team orchestrated a get-out-the-vote campaign that prompted the NFL to urge other teams to do the same. Makes you wonder how the Redskins have lost four of their 10 games, although then again, those '57 Reds were only slightly better than average: fourth in an eight-team NL, just six games over .500.
In truth, Pro Bowl voting always has been a farce, even before the NFL got fans involved in the last decade or so.
When only players voted, many would skew the process deliberately. Because no one can vote for teammates, many would vote for guys who had no chance, giving their own guys a better shot. Others would vote for college teammates or friends on opposing teams.
It's more than just recognition. It's also money -- any agent who wants to keep his job will include a Pro Bowl clause in his client's contract.
Funny about the Pro Bowl, the voting is a bigger event than the game. Once it's over, many of those voted in try to get out of playing through injury or feigned ailments, especially those who have been to Hawaii multiple times for the game. They cede their spots to alternates, who then get the coveted "Pro Bowler" tag and the bonuses that go with it.
And, as with the Supreme Court, some spots are lifetime appointments, especially on the offensive line.
Back around 1990, for example, Lomas Brown, then a developing young tackle for the Lions, asked a reporter why he had never made it. "You've got Barry Sanders now, you'll make it soon," was the reply.
Brown made it that year and then almost every year after that.
"You were right," he said a decade later after leaving Detroit as a free agent for the Cardinals and then signing with the Giants. "One year in Arizona, I was out injured half the season, the team stunk and I still made the Pro Bowl."
This year, the NFL caught up with the 'Skins early, giving other teams 2½ weeks to push their players.
skinzfan44 
