The Brian Piccolo Award is an honor that is given to players of the Chicago Bears. The award is given to one rookie and one veteran per season who best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Brian Piccolo, a running back for the Bears from 1966 until his death from cancer on June 16, 1970, at age 26.

History Brian Piccolo went un-drafted in the 1965 NFL Draft despite being named the ACC Player of the Year at Wake Forest (1964), where he led the nation with points (111) and yards rushing (1,044) as a senior. In 1965, Piccolo tried out for the Chicago Bears as a free agent and made the team. He progressed from the practice squad to the back-up of starting tailback Gale Sayers by 1967. For the 1969 season, Piccolo was named the starting fullback for the Chicago Bears.

On November 16, during the ninth game of the 1969 season in Atlanta, Piccolo voluntarily removed himself from the game due to extreme difficulty breathing on the field. When the team returned to Chicago, he received a medical examination and chest x-ray that revealed a malignancy. He was then diagnosed with embryonal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of testicular cancer that had already spread to his chest cavity. After the diagnosis, Piccolo underwent surgery at Sloan-Kettering in New York City to remove the tumor. He had another surgery to remove his left lung and pectoral muscle in April 1970. Later in June of the same year, Piccolo started to feel chest pain and was re-admitted to the hospital, where doctors determined that the cancer had spread to other organs, most notably his liver. Piccolo died on Tuesday, June 16, 1970, at the age of 26. His courageous battle was later portrayed in the classic 1971 TV movie Brian's Song, starring James Caan as Piccolo.

When Piccolo died in 1970, embryonal cell carcinoma was 100% fatal. With advances in medicine over the years, more than 50% of patients with the disease are now cured.

The Brian Piccolo Award was originally awarded the same year as Piccolo's death (1970) to a Chicago Bears rookie who "best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Brian Piccolo".

In 1990, the Chicago Bears commissioned Chicago native and artist, Tom McKee, to design and sculpt the Brian Piccolo Award that is currently awarded. Each year this bronze sculpture is given to a Bears rookie and a veteran player (since 1992).

Award winners The Brian Piccolo Award ceremony is held at Halas Hall each year, where Bears center Olin Kreutz and wide receiver Johnny Knox received the 2009 trophy. Previous award winners include Brian Urlacher (2000, 2007), Charles Tillman (2003, 2008, 2013), Tommie Harris (2004), Devin Hester (2006), Greg Olsen (2007), Matt Forte (2008, 2015). Nick Roach and Stephen Paea were the recipients of the Award in 2012, while Tillman, Shea McClellin and Julius Peppers received the Award in 2013. The following year, Jordan Mills and Josh McCown were awarded, but Jay Cutler accepted McCown's award, due to McCown joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2013 season.

Brian Piccolo Award winners Year Player Position2025T. J. Edwards LBColston LovelandTE2024T. J. Edwards (2)LBRome OdunzeWR2023Darnell WrightOTT. J. Edwards (3)LB2022Jack SanbornLBDavid MontgomeryRB2021Khalil HerbertRBRobert QuinnOLB2020Allen RobinsonWRDarnell MooneyWR2019David Montgomery (2)RBNick WilliamsDT 2018 Roquan Smith LB Akiem Hicks DL 2017 Tarik Cohen RB Benny Cunningham RB 2016 Josh Bellamy WR/ST Jordan Howard RB 2015 Zach Miller TE Adrian Amos S 2014 Matt Forte RB Kyle Fuller CB 2013 Josh McCown QB Jordan Mills OT 2012 Shea McClellin DE Julius Peppers DE Charles Tillman CB 2011 Stephen Paea DT Nick Roach LB 2010 J'Marcus Webb OT Anthony Adams DT 2009 Olin Kreutz C Johnny Knox WR 2008 Charles Tillman (2) CB Matt Forte (2) RB 2007 Brian Urlacher LB Greg Olsen TE 2006 Olin Kreutz (2) C Devin Hester PR/KR 2005 John Tait T Chris Harris S 2004 Olin Kreutz (3) C Tommie Harris DT 2003 Olin Kreutz (4) C Charles Tillman (3) CB 2002 Phillip Daniels DE Alex Brown DE 2001 James Williams T Anthony Thomas RB 2000 Clyde Simmons DE Brian Urlacher (2) LB 1999 Marcus Robinson WR Jerry Azumah DB 1998 Bobby Engram WR Tony Parrish S 1997 Ryan Wetnight TE John Allred TE Van Hiles S 1996 Chris Zorich DT Bobby Engram (2) WR 1995 Erik Kramer QB Rashaan Salaam RB 1994 Shaun Gayle S Raymont Harris RB 1993 Tom Waddle WR Myron Baker LB Todd Perry T 1992 Mike Singletary LB Troy Auzenne T 1991 Chris Zorich (2) DT 1990 Mark Carrier S 1989 Trace Armstrong DE 1988 James Thornton TE 1988 Mickey Pruitt LB 1987 Ron Morris WR 1986 Neal Anderson RB 1985 Kevin Butler K 1984 Shaun Gayle (2) S 1983 Jim Covert T 1982 Jim McMahon QB 1981 Mike Singletary (2) LB 1980 Bob Fisher TE 1979 Dan Hampton DE 1978 John Skibinski RB 1977 Ted Albrecht T 1976 Brian Baschnagel WR 1975 Roland Harper RB 1974 Fred Pagac TE 1973 Wally Chambers DT 1972 Jim Osborne DT 1971 Jerry Moore S 1970 Glen Holloway G

Multiple-time leaders RankPlayerTimes leaderYears1Olin Kreutz42003, 2004, 2006, 20092Charles Tillman32003, 2008, 2012T. J. Edwards2023, 2024, 20254Bobby Engram21996, 1998Brian Urlacher2000, 2007Chris Zorich1991, 1996David Montgomery2019, 2022Matt Forte2008, 2014Mike Singletary1981, 1992Shaun Gayle1984, 1994

References

External links Brian Piccolo Award winners Brian Piccolo lore