The S. Ray Hickok Belt was a trophy awarded to the top professional athlete of the year. It was awarded in honor of the founder of the Hickok Manufacturing Company of Rochester, New York, which made belts, hence the choice of a belt as a trophy.
The trophy was an alligator-skin belt with a solid gold buckle, an encrusted 4 carat (800 mg) diamond, and 26 gem chips. It was valued at over $10,000 in the currency of the time.
For the first 21 years, from 1950 to 1970, it was awarded in Rochester. After the Hickok company was taken over by the Tandy Corporation, the award was made in larger cities such as Chicago or New York.
The last award was made in 1976.
Winners[]
| Year | Winner | Sport |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Phil Rizzuto | baseball |
| 1951 | Allie Reynolds | baseball |
| 1952 | Rocky Marciano | boxing |
| 1953 | Ben Hogan | golf |
| 1954 | Willie Mays | baseball |
| 1955 | Otto Graham | football |
| 1956 | Mickey Mantle | baseball |
| 1957 | Carmen Basilio | boxing |
| 1958 | Bob Turley | baseball |
| 1959 | Ingemar Johansson | boxing |
| 1960 | Arnold Palmer | golf |
| 1961 | Roger Maris | baseball |
| 1962 | Maury Wills | baseball |
| 1963 | Sandy Koufax | baseball |
| 1964 | Jim Brown | football |
| 1965 | Sandy Koufax | baseball |
| 1966 | Frank Robinson | baseball |
| 1967 | Carl Yastrzemski | baseball |
| 1968 | Joe Namath | football |
| 1969 | Tom Seaver | baseball |
| 1970 | Brooks Robinson | baseball |
| 1971 | Lee Trevino | golf |
| 1972 | Steve Carlton | baseball |
| 1973 | O. J. Simpson | football |
| 1974 | Muhammad Ali | boxing |
| 1975 | Pete Rose | baseball |
| 1976 | Ken Stabler | football |