Dan Earle Trophy

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 arose 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 amplified a year later, when the Spirits once again topped the league but lost the championship, this time eliminated in the 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, 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