Japan Bowl Trophy
The Japanese people adored Joe. They respected his desire to participate in
their All-Star game despite suffering from cancer. Joe's courageous yet
humble actions resonated with the values and ideals of the Japanese culture.
As a tribute to Joe, the Japan Bowl committee created a new award to honor the
Most Inspirational Player from each Japan Bowl game. The first Joe Roth
Memorial Award was given to WR Jimmy Cefalo of Penn St. The award was given
annually until the game was discontinued before the 1994 game. The award
acknowledged Joe by placing his helmet on top of the trophy. In the chart
below you can see several Joe Roth Memorial Award recipients holding the
trophy with Joe's helmet on top.
| Year |
Winner |
Score |
Runner-Up |
Score |
Joe Roth Memorial Award |
Photo |
| 1976 |
West |
27 |
East |
18 |
Award not yet created |
N/A |
| 1977 |
West |
21 |
East |
10 |
Award not yet created |
N/A |
| 1978 |
East |
26 |
West |
10 |
Jimmy Cefalo, RB (Penn St.) |
 |
| 1979 |
East |
33 |
West |
14 |
Scott Fitzkee, RB (Penn St.) |
 |
| 1980 |
West |
28 |
East |
17 |
Paul Cambell, RB (Ohio St.) |
 |
| 1981 |
West |
25 |
East |
13 |
JC Watts, QB (Oklahoma) |
 |
| 1982 |
West |
28 |
East |
17 |
Leo Wisniewski, OL (Penn St.) |
 |
| 1983 |
West |
30 |
East |
21 |
Richard Neely, DL (SMU) |
 |
| 1984 |
West |
26 |
East |
21 |
Irving Fryer, WR (Nebraska) |
 |
| 1985 |
West |
28 |
East |
14 |
Gale Gilbert, QB (California) |
 |
| 1986 |
East |
31 |
West |
14 |
Bo Jackson, RB (Auburn) |
 |
| 1987 |
West |
24 |
East |
17 |
Stradford, RB (Boston College) |
 |
| 1988 |
West |
17 |
East |
3 |
Chad Hennings, DL (Air Force) |
 |
| 1989 |
East |
30 |
West |
7 |
Mark Messner, DL (Michigan) |
 |
| 1990 |
East |
24 |
West |
10 |
Research in progress |
|
| 1991 |
West |
20 |
East |
14 |
Research in progress |
|
| 1992 |
East |
14 |
West |
13 |
Research in progress |
|
| 1993 |
East |
27 |
West |
13 |
Research in progress |
|
