The Brian Piccolo Award is an honor that is given to players of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. 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 Louis Brian Piccolo (October 31, 1943 – June 16, 1970) was an American professional football player, a halfback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) for four years. He died at age 26 from embryonal cell carcinoma, an a ...

, a running back for the Bears from 1966 until his untimely 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 Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Saye ...

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 Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Piccolo voluntarily removed himself from the game due to extreme difficulty breathing on the field. When the team returned to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, he received a medical examination and chest

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

that revealed a

malignancy Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

. He was then diagnosed with embryonal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an u ...

that had already spread to his chest cavity. After the diagnosis, Piccolo underwent surgery at

Sloan-Kettering Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo (James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro in 1965, told through his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers ...

'', starring

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

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 Olin George Kreutz (; born June 9, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. He played college football for University of Washington, and earned consensu ...

and wide receiver Johnny Knox received the 2009 trophy. Previous award winners include

Brian Urlacher Brian Urlacher (; born May 25, 1978) is an American former football linebacker who spent his entire 13-season career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, where he bec ...

(2000, 2007),

Charles Tillman Charles Anthony Tillman (born February 23, 1981), nicknamed Peanut,Donnelly, MikeCharles Tillman - Not Your Typical 'Peanut'(January 18, 2007), nflplayers.com, Retrieved on July 25, 2007. is an American former professional football player who ...

(2003, 2008, 2013),

Tommie Harris Tommie Harris, Jr. (born April 29, 1983) is a former American football defensive tackle who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Oklahoma, and was recognized as a consens ...

(2004),

Devin Hester Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist i ...

(2006), Greg Olsen (2007),

Matt Forte Matthew Garrett Forte (born December 10, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was drafted ...

(2008, 2015).

Nick Roach Nicholas Alexander Roach (born June 16, 1985) is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Northwestern ...

and

Stephen Paea Stephen Paea ( ; born May 11, 1988) is a New Zealand–born former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for Oregon State University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears ...

were the recipients of the Award in 2012, while Tillman,

Shea McClellin Shea Keegan McClellin (born August 1, 1989) is a former American football outside linebacker. He played college football at Boise State Broncos football, Boise State. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the 19th overall pick in the 2012 NFL ...

and

Julius Peppers Julius Frazier Peppers (born January 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, ...

received the Award in 2013. The following year,

Jordan Mills Jordan Michael Mills (born December 24, 1990) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana Tech University. E ...

and

Josh McCown Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorabl ...

were awarded, but

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

accepted McCown's award, due to McCown joining the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

after the 2013 season.

Brian Piccolo Award winners

References

External links

* http://www.bearshistory.com/lore/brianpiccolo.aspx {{Chicago Bears National Football League trophies and awards Chicago Bears