Complex sentence: The CP formalized the poll into an award in 1978, presenting their winner with a plaque named after Lionel Conacher, a multi-sport champion whom the news organization had named its top athlete of the half-century in 1950.
Split into simpler sentences: The CP formalized the poll into an award in 1978, presenting their winner with a plaque. It was named after Lionel Conacher, a multi-sport champion whom the news organization had named its top athlete of the half-century in 1950.