The Fred Award is a bowling trophy presented at the first annual Muppet Awards in The Muppet Show episode 412. It is awarded by the Muppet Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The award bears the inscription "Poughkeepsie Barons, 1977 League Champions".

Nominees

• Best Song of the Year:

• "Yes, We Have No Bananas" (as performed by the Swedish Chef and the Singing Food)
• "Carbon Paper" (as performed by Phyllis George with Rowlf)
• "You and I and George" (as performed by Rowlf)

• Best Unexplainable Creature:

• Beakie

• Best Foreign Act:

• The Flying Zucchini Brothers
• Five other acts

• Best Performance by an Inanimate Object or a Group of Inanimate Objects:

• Singing Food
• Talking Luggage
• The Dancing Mountains

• Best Comedy Performance by a Bear:

• Fozzie Bear
• Billy the Bear

• Best Stunt:

• The Falling Alfonsos

• Best Guest Star:

• All of the guest stars from the previous 83 episodes are nominated (as well as three guests from later episodes, and Señor Wences from the next season!).

• Best Sketch:

• Pigs in Space
• Veterinarian's Hospital

• Performer of the Year:

• Kermit the Frog
• Miss Piggy

Winners

• Best Song of the Year: Unannounced
• Best Foreign Act: The Flying Zucchini Brothers
• Best Performance By An Inanimate Object Or A Group Of Inanimate Objects: The Dancing Mountains
• Best Comedy Performance by a Bear: Billy the Bear
• Best Stunt: The Falling Alfonsos
• Best Guest Appearance: Phyllis George
• Best Sketch: Tie (Veterinarian's Hospital and Pigs in Space) - No Award Given
• Performer of the Year: Kermit the Frog

Trivia

Kirk Thatcher, the host of the first day of Muppetfest, brought his Emmy Award onstage in order to show it off. On the second day, host Craig Shemin brought his bowling trophy onstage, claiming that it was a prestigious Fred Award. The "Fred" was later given away to a fan as a prize for answering a trivia question.