Hickok Belt

History

The award was created by Ray and Alan Hickok in honor of their father, Stephen Rae Hickok, who died unexpectedly in December 1945. 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. 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. He narrowly bested golfer Ben Hogan.{{efn|In balloting, Rizzuto had 162 points including 38 first-place votes, while Hogan had 156 points including 34 first-place votes.

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, and a belt given to a Rochester-area boxer named Mike Conroy in 1927.

The annual award winner received an alligator skin belt with a solid gold buckle, an encrusted 4 carat diamond, and 26 gem chips. It was valued at $10,000 in 1951 , 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, and one presented to Elgin Baylor in recognition of his March 1959 award, which was sold at auction in 2013.

A group of 200 sportswriters throughout the U.S. selected monthly winners, with an athlete of the year selected from those honorees. 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. 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

In 2010, Tony Liccione, the president of the Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame, announced plans to reinstate the Hickok Belt starting in 2012. The mold for the belt used from 1951 onward{{efn|The first belt, in 1950, was engraved as the Ray Hickok Award, rather than the S. Rae Hickok Award engraving seen on later belts. Attendees included Johnny Antonelli, Carmen Basilio (1957 winner), Jim Brown (1964 winner), George Chuvalo, Meadowlark Lemon, and Bob Turley (1958 winner).

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

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. Monthly awards since that time are lacking, leaving the future of the annual award uncertain.

Winners

1950–1976

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

Source:

2012–present

right|thumb|upright=.6|[[LeBron James]], the first two-time winner since the award's revival

Source:

Notes

References

References

1. "The Storied History of the Award that Made Sports History: The Backstory on the Hickok Belt, the Crown Jewel of the Sports World". HickokBelt.com.
2. (December 11, 1945). "Hickok Shops to Close on Funeral Day". [[Democrat and Chronicle]].
3. (October 23, 2016). "Whatever Happened To ... the Hickok Belt". Gannet Company.
4. (January 23, 1951). "Rizzuto Named Winner Of First Hickok Award". [[Portland Press Herald]].
5. Pitoniak, Scott. "Museum Preserves Historic Hickok Belt".
6. Dawson, James P.. (June 17, 1949). "LaMotta Wins Title by Knockout as Cerdan Is Unable to Answer Bell for 10th". [[The New York Times]].
7. Morrell, Alan. (October 22, 2016). "Whatever Happened To ... the Hickok Belt".
8. Matthews, Bob. (October 12, 2010). "Hickok Belt is returning to Rochester". [[Democrat and Chronicle]].
9. (April 2001). "1954 Otto Graham Hickok Belt Auction".
10. (2013). "Property from the Collection of Elgin Baylor".
11. (December 29, 1951). "Hickok Belt Is On Display in Charlotte". [[The Charlotte Observer]].
12. (January 29, 1952). "Reynolds Wins Hickok Award". [[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]].
13. (December 23, 1977). "No Hickok Award This Year". [[Winston-Salem Journal]].
14. Bradley, Steve. (October 13, 2010). "Hickok Belt mold to be used again". [[Democrat and Chronicle]].
15. Adams, Thomas. (September 19, 2011). "Efforts underway to bring back the Hickok Belt". Rochester Business Journal.
16. "Whatever Happened To ... the Hickok Belt". commercialappeal.com.
17. (February 27, 2025). "Liccione, Man Behind Re-Start of Hickok Belt, Dies at 76". [[National Sports Media Association]].
18. (January 14, 1953). "DeSpirito Repeats In Athlete Poll". [[New York Daily News.
19. (April 21, 1950). "Mikan Named March Tops on Hickok Award". [[Democrat and Chronicle]].
20. (July 19, 1950). "Hogan Wins Voting For Hickok Award". [[Brooklyn Eagle]].
21. (November 15, 1950). "Ratterman, Rizzuto Tie for Hickok Award". [[Ledger-Enquirer]].
22. (December 12, 1950). "Culmone Wins Hickok Award". [[The Lexington Herald]].
23. (January 15, 1951). "'The Toe' Is Vote Pro of the Month". [[Spokane Daily Chronicle]].
24. (October 28, 1951). "Second Annual Hickok Award Is Wide Open". [[The Daily Oklahoman]].
25. (November 13, 1951). "Marciano Honored With Hickok Award". [[The Cincinnati Enquirer]].
26. (December 18, 1951). "Otto Graham Given Hickok Award". [[The Roanoke Times]].
27. (January 14, 1952). "Hickok Award to Ark City Jockey". The Parsons Sun.
28. "Chico Vejar".
29. Snider, Steve. (January 6, 1953). "Marciano, DeSpirito Waging Close Race for Hickok Award". [[The Atlanta Constitution]].
30. (January 15, 1953). "Jockey Despirito Voted December Hickok Award". [[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]].
31. (January 11, 1954). "Sports Spotlights Set on Polio Dinner; Pro Athlete of Year Honored Tonight". [[Democrat and Chronicle]].
32. (March 16, 1954). "Johnston Wins Hickok Award for February". The Bayonne Times.
33. (January 19, 1955). "Otto Graham Named Hickok Candidate". [[Star-Herald]].
34. (May 6, 2008). "Artifacts in the Moments, Memories & Mementos Gallery".
35. "Elgin Baylor 1959 S. Rae Hickok Award Belt Buckle".
36. Brunswick, Mark. (July 27, 2016). "Fargo thief steals trophies belonging to baseball great Roger Maris".
37. (June 15, 2023). "Roger Maris Stolen Memorabilia Case Solved, 9 People Arrested For String of Thefts".
38. (November 2015). "1970 S. Rae Hickok Belt Presented to Top Professional Athlete from The Brooks Robinson Collection".
39. (1972-11-17). "Tenace Tops Hickok Poll". The New York Times.
40. "Pete Rose Signed 1985 Topps Rose #4 and Kids with Hickok Belt".
41. (July 28, 2016). "Ken Stabler items being auctioned, including Hickok Belt".
42. "Ken Stabler 1976 Hickok Belt Award for Professional Athlete of the Year (Stabler LOA)".
43. (March 23, 1977). "Hickok Award to Cauthen". [[Bangor Daily News]].
44. (July 21, 1977). "Walton Wins Hickok Award". [[Idaho Statesman]].
45. (August 26, 1977). "Tom Watson Wins July Hickok Award". [[Hartford Courant]].
46. (September 25, 1977). "Brock August Winner In Hickok Award Poll". [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]].
47. (October 29, 1977). "Vilas monthly winner, for Hickok award". [[The Arizona Republic]].
48. "Past Hickok Belt® Award Winners". HickokBelt.com.
49. (April 19, 2020). "Hickok Belt® Awards temporarily suspended".
50. (February 13, 2025). "RB Saquon Barkley wins second monthly Hickok Belt(R) Award". Liccione Enterprises.
51. "Hickok Belt".