High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League`s top "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". The James Norris Memorial Trophy has been awarded 55 times to 23 different players since its beginnings in 1954. At the end of each season, members of the Professional Hockey Writers` Association vote to determine the player who was the best defenseman during the regular season.