Dan Earle Trophy

The Dan Earle Trophy, often shortened to the Earle Trophy or simply Earle, and formerly the Commissioner's Trophy, is a VHF-sanctioned award presented annually to the team earning the most points in the preceding regular season. It is named after Dan Earle, commissioner of the VHL from 1982 to 2000.

When the VHL and VHF were originally founded, there was no formal recognition for the team finishing first in the league beyond top seed privilege in the playoffs. The Commissioner's Trophy was created by 1982 by Commissioner Earle, and first awarded at the 1983 Awards Ceremony. After Earle's death in 2011, it was renamed in his honor.

The Boston Spirits are the most recent recipients of the trophy, winning a record 24th trophy in 2023.

History

Originally, the VHF awarded no recognition for the team that finished the regular season on top of the league. Their only honor was being top seed in the playoffs, granting them first-game preference in all matchups. Discontent at this system was already rising after the end of the very first season, when the Boston Spirits finished atop the league, but lost the finals series to the Salem Loggers—whom they had outscored by 5 points in the regular season. Criticisms were further amplified a year later, when the Spirits once again topped the league but lost the championship, this time eliminated in the playoff semi-finals by a Newfoundland Sailors team they had outscored by 9 points during the regular season.

Early detractors of the original system naturally included many Spirits fans, who were critical of the VHF's failure to recognize the feats accomplished by their team. Shortly after the 1979 VHF Awards Ceremony, a two-time league-topping Spirits manager Clement Sterling denounced the system as "unrewarding and unfair," declaring that his team and their accomplishments should’ve been recognized at the ceremony. Newfoundland Sailors counterpart Garrett Jacobsen said that Sterling’s inability to convert his regular season success into a championship was not reason to uphend the system that had been agreed upon just a few years prior. In summer of 1979, ahead of the 1980 campaign, Commissioner Scott Hargis announced that the system would not be revamped, declaring that "if your team is good enough to win the league, your team should be good enough to win the playoffs" in a statement widely understood to be directed at Sterling.

The first big name to come to Sterling's defense was then-Acadia Rage manager Dan Earle, who echoed his Boston counterpart's criticisms, and said that the VHF should seek to "expand, not limit, its recognition of outstanding performances." The pair would continue to advocate for formal acknowledgement of the league-topping team at the 1980 VHF Awards Ceremony throughout the season, although much of the calls were dismissed, as Sterling's Spirits topped the league for most of the campaign. Many thought the Earle–Sterling partnership would end when the two faced off against each other in the semi-finals of the playoffs, but the pair instead used to opportunity to reiterate their shared commitment. Directly after defeating Earle's Acadia in a close game five, Sterling commented that Earle was a manager "like no other" who had given his team "the toughest time of [their] lives," and thanked him for his support. At a press conference the day after the game, meanwhile, Earle reaffirmed that the Spirits deserved a formal trophy for their three league-topping campaigns to date. That year, Sterling and the Spirits would go on to sweep the Salem Loggers to win the championship, leading in the manager's iconic "I did, Scott" victory speech at the 1980 Awards Ceremony, in response to the comments Commissioner Hargis had made the year prior, asserting that his team was indeed good enough to win both, and that any team good enough to win either deserved to be recognized as such.

Sterling's speech seemed to be recieved positively by fans, as well as some players and managers who had kept silent up until then. Most importantly, however, Spirits owner Alexander Maxwell decided to get personally involved in the situation, calling on Hargis to "either institute an award or resign." Hargis refused, stating that he would not allow "a single owner trying to collect trophies" dictate his policy. A year later, however, Commissioner for Culture and Sports Jason Teague dismissed Hargis and announced an overhaul to the VHF's commissioner selection process. Rather than being appointed and serving an unspecified term length, the VHF commissioner would be elected by the team owners every three years. The first election was set for late July 1982, to determine the commissioner for the 1983, '84, and '85 campaigns.

Released from his managerial position with the Rage after the 1981 season, and championed by Maxwell himself to head the league, Dan Earle was selected to succeed Hargis. The new commissioner was quick to start creating the trophy he had advocated for over the past few years.

The new Commissioner's Trophy was first presented at the 1983 Award Ceremony, where the Boston Spirits were awarded a trophy for their league-topping 1983 campaign. They were also retroactively presented four other trophies for their 1978, '79, '80, and '82 seasons, while the Newfoundland Sailors were awarded one for their 1981 triumph.