Hickok Belt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
S. Rae Hickok
Professional Athlete of the Year
File:Phil Rizzuto 1950.png
Phil Rizzuto, the first recipient of the award
Awarded forTop professional athlete
NicknameHickok Belt
Sponsored byRay and Alan Hickok (original)
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Sports Media Association (current)
History
First award1950 (not awarded 1977–2011)
First winnerPhil Rizzuto
Most wins2, by Sandy Koufax, LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, and Shohei Ohtani
Most recentShohei Ohtani (2024)

The S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, commonly known as the Hickok Belt, is a trophy awarded to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States. First awarded from 1950 to 1976, it was dormant until being revived in 2012. The most recent recipient is 2024 winner Shohei Ohtani.

History

[edit | edit source]

The award was created by Ray and Alan Hickok in honor of their father, Stephen Rae Hickok, who died unexpectedly in December 1945.[1][2] The elder Hickok had founded the Hickok Manufacturing Company of Rochester, New York, which made belts—hence the choice of a belt for the trophy.[3] The first recipient was baseball player Phil Rizzuto, who received the award for 1950 during a charity dinner event in Rochester on January 22, 1951.[4] He narrowly bested golfer Ben Hogan.[a] Rizzuto's belt is now in the collection of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.[5]

News reports indicate that the Hickok family had previously awarded other belts to boxers, independent of the annual athlete of the year award. Examples include the presentation of "a solid gold and jewel-studded championship belt" to Jake LaMotta in June 1949 at the conclusion of a bout at Detroit's Briggs Stadium,[6] and a belt given to a Rochester-area boxer named Mike Conroy in 1927.[7]

The annual award winner received an alligator skin belt with a solid gold buckle, an encrusted 4-carat (0.80 g) diamond, and 26 gem chips. It was valued at $10,000 in 1951 ($121,141 in 2024),[8] and its presentation was a major event in sporting news of the day.[9] A simpler alligator skin belt with an engraved buckle of 10 karat gold was apparently awarded to monthly winners—examples include one presented to Otto Graham in recognition of his December 1954 monthly award, which was sold at auction in April 2001,[10] and one presented to Elgin Baylor in recognition of his March 1959 award, which was sold at auction in 2013.[11][12]

A group of 200 sportswriters throughout the U.S. selected monthly winners, with an athlete of the year selected from those honorees.[8][b] For the first 21 years, from 1950 to 1970, the belt was awarded in Rochester at the annual Rochester Press-Radio Club dinner. After the Hickok company was taken over by the Tandy Corporation, the award was presented in larger cities such as Chicago or New York. After the 1976 annual award was presented, monthly awards were issued through October 1977 (naming a winner for the prior month), then halted.[14] The award remained dormant until being revived in 2012.

During the first 27 years the annual award was presented, it was won 15 times by baseball players, five times by football players, four times by boxers, and three times by golfers. The only two-time winner was Sandy Koufax, in 1963 and 1965.

Revival

[edit | edit source]

In 2010, Tony Liccione, the president of the Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame, announced plans to reinstate the Hickok Belt starting in 2012.[15] The mold for the belt used from 1951 onward[c] was found and planned to be used again.[15] Liccione invited the 18 surviving belt winners (except O. J. Simpson, who at the time was incarcerated in Nevada) to a "comeback dinner", which was held on October 16, 2011, at St. John Fisher College in Rochester.[15][16] Attendees included Johnny Antonelli, Carmen Basilio (1957 winner), Jim Brown (1964 winner), George Chuvalo, Meadowlark Lemon, and Bob Turley (1958 winner).[17]

Upon being re-established in 2012, the award was based on a vote by the National Sports Media Association;[18] however, there were no public award ceremonies or belt presentations.[19] A 20-member panel selected one athlete each month, with the 12 monthly winners being eligible for the annual award.[18]

For the 2012–2024 belts, five winners have been basketball players, five have been baseball players, two have been football players, and one has been a swimmer. There have been three two-time winners: LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, and Shohei Ohtani.

Tony Liccione died in February 2025.[17] Monthly awards since that time are lacking,[20] leaving the future of the annual award uncertain.

Winners

[edit | edit source]
File:Sandy Koufax.jpg
Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax was the award's only two-time winner prior to the award's revival in 2012
File:Rocky Marciano Postcard 1953.jpg
Rocky Marciano, the first non-baseball winner of the award

1950–1976

[edit | edit source]

The following athletes won the award during its original term. Contemporary newspaper reports indicate that monthly winners were also named,[21] only some of whom are included in this table.

Year Winner Sport Monthly winners
1950 Phil Rizzuto Baseball Ben Hogan, Johnny Longden, George Mikan,[d] Jimmy Demaret, Stan Musial, Ben Hogan,[23] Johnny Mize, Jim Konstanty, Ezzard Charles, George Ratterman & Phil Rizzuto (tie),[24] Joe Culmone,[25] Lou Groza[26]
1951 Allie Reynolds Baseball Babe Didrikson, Sugar Ray Robinson, Maurice Richard, Ben Hogan, Conn McCreary, Irish Bob Murphy, Jersey Joe Walcott, Bob Feller, Allie Reynolds,[27] Rocky Marciano,[28] Otto Graham,[29] Charlie Burr[30]
1952 Rocky Marciano Boxing George Mikan, Chico Vejar,[e] Willie Hoppe & Jackie Burke (tie), Sal Maglie, Bobby Shantz, Jersey Joe Walcott & Julius Boros (tie), Rocky Marciano, Virgil Trucks, Rocky Marciano, Mickey Mantle, Anthony DeSpirito,[32] Anthony DeSpirito[33]
1953 Ben Hogan Golf Lloyd Mangrum, Kid Gavilán, Gordie Howe, Ben Hogan, Roy Campanella, Ben Hogan, Ben Hogan, Eddie Mathews, Ted Williams, Billy Martin, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne[34]
1954 Willie Mays Baseball Ezzard Charles, Neil Johnston,[35] Paddy DeMarco, Sam Snead, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Joe Adcock, Johnny Antonelli, Dusty Rhodes, Willie Shoemaker, Jimmy Carter, Otto Graham[36]
1955 Otto Graham[f] Football
1956 Mickey Mantle Baseball
1957 Carmen Basilio Boxing
1958 Bob Turley Baseball
1959 Ingemar Johansson Boxing Elgin Baylor (March)[11]
1960 Arnold Palmer Golf
1961 Roger Maris[g] Baseball
1962 Maury Wills Baseball
1963 Sandy Koufax Baseball
1964 Jim Brown Football
1965 Sandy Koufax (2) Baseball
1966 Frank Robinson Baseball
1967 Carl Yastrzemski Baseball
1968 Joe Namath Football
1969 Tom Seaver Baseball
1970 Brooks Robinson[h] Baseball
1971 Lee Trevino Golf
1972 Steve Carlton Baseball Gene Tenace (Oct)[41]
1973 O. J. Simpson Football
1974 Muhammad Ali Boxing
1975 Pete Rose[i] Baseball
1976 Ken Stabler[j] Football
1977 not issued — Steve Cauthen, Steve Cauthen,[45] Jimmy Young, Tom Watson, A. J. Foyt, Bill Walton,[46] Tom Watson,[47] Lou Brock,[48] Guillermo Vilas,[49] not issued (Oct–Dec)

Source:[50]

2012–present

[edit | edit source]
File:LeBron James (15662939969).jpg
LeBron James, the first two-time winner since the award's revival
Mahomes smiling
Patrick Mahomes, two-time winner
Ohtani adjusting a batting glove
Shohei Ohtani, two-time winner and most recent recipient
Year Winner Sport Monthly winners
2012 LeBron James Basketball
2013 LeBron James (2) Basketball
2014 Madison Bumgarner Baseball
2015 Stephen Curry Basketball
2016 Michael Phelps Swimming
2017 Jose Altuve Baseball
2018 Patrick Mahomes Football
2019 Kawhi Leonard Basketball
2020 Patrick Mahomes (2) Football
2021 Shohei Ohtani Baseball
2022 Aaron Judge Baseball
2023 Nikola Jokić Basketball
2024 Shohei Ohtani (2) Baseball
2025

Source:[50]

Notes

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ In balloting, Rizzuto had 162 points including 38 first-place votes, while Hogan had 156 points including 34 first-place votes.[5]
  2. ^ Annual voting does not appear to have been strictly limited to monthly winners, as 1951 annual voting included Bobby Thomson, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, and Terry Sawchuk, none of whom were a monthly winner during 1951.[13]
  3. ^ The first belt, in 1950, was engraved as the Ray Hickok Award, rather than the S. Rae Hickok Award engraving seen on later belts.[5]
  4. ^ Top vote-getter for March 1950 was college basketball coach Nat Holman, who had guided the CCNY Beavers to the NCAA title, but he was ruled ineligible "because he could not be classed as a professional athlete."[22]
  5. ^ Chico Vejar was a welterweight boxer.[31]
  6. ^ Graham's belt is now in the collection of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[37]
  7. ^ In July 2016, the belt awarded to Maris was stolen from The Roger Maris Museum, located in Fargo, North Dakota.[38] In 2023, following arrests, it was reported that "the belt was cut in half" and would not be returning to the museum.[39]
  8. ^ Robinson's belt was offered at auction in November 2015, but was not sold.[40]
  9. ^ A photo of Rose with his belt appears on card no. 4 of the 1985 Pete Rose baseball card set, issued by Topps.[42] The image appears to be mirrored, given the appearance of engraving on the belt.
  10. ^ Stabler's belt was submitted for auction in 2016,[43] although the auction site listed the lot as "canceled".[44]
  11. ^ Monthly awards were temporarily suspended during 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the suspension of sporting events.[51]
  12. ^ Baseball Almanac indicates that monthly awards were discontinued after January 2025.[20]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  30. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  31. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  32. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  33. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  34. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  35. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  36. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  38. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  39. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  40. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  41. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  42. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  43. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  44. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  45. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  46. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  47. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  48. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  49. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  50. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  51. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  52. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

Further reading

[edit | edit source]
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]
Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Hickok_Belt&oldid=1081795"