Byron "Whizzer" White Award

    The Byron "Whizzer" White Award honors NFL players who serve their team, community and country in the spirit of Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White, the late Supreme Court Justice. White was not only an athlete, but he was a scholar, patriot, humanitarian and public servant — the ideal to which professional football players aspire.

    NOTES: Bold entries denote players who went on to become members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Season fields link to the NFL season in review page (each player won the award the following season, but their accomplishments are from the year before they won), winner's names link to the player's page and team name links to the official roster for the year in which the player won the Byron "Whizzer" White Award.

"It really was a great honor (winning the 1982 Byron "Whizzer" White Award). You get a lot of accolades for your work on the field, but to get it for your work off the field, for me, that was special." - Hall of Famer Franco Harris on NFLPlayers.com (04/09/2009, Press Release, Link)

Byron "Whizzer" White Award

The Byron White Award on Football Almanac | Whizzer White

1966

Bart Starr (1)

Quarterback

1966 Green Back Packers (1)

1967

Willie Davis (1)

Defensive End

1967 Green Back Packers (2)

1968

Eddie Meador (1)

Safety

1968 Los Angeles Rams (1)

1969

Gale Sayers (1)

Running Back

1969 Chicago Bears (1)

1970

Kermit Alexander (1)

Defensive Back

1970 Los Angeles Rams (1)

1971

Ray May (1)

Linebacker

1971 Baltimore Colts (1)

1972

Andy Russell (1)

Linebacker

1972 Pittsburgh Steelers (1)

1973

Floyd Little (1)

Running Back

1973 Denver Broncos (1)

1974

Rocky Bleier (1)

Running Back

1974 Pittsburgh Steelers (2)

1975

Jim Hart (1)

Quarterback

1975 St. Louis Cardinals (1)

1976

Lyle Alzado (1)

Defensive End

1976 Denver Broncos (2)

1977

Archie Manning (1)

Quarterback

1977 New Orleans Saints (1)

1978

Roger Staubach (1)

Quarterback

1978 Dallas Cowboys (1)

1979

Gene Upshaw (1)

Guard

1979 Oakland Raiders (1)

1980

Ken Houston (1)

Safety

1980 Washington Redskins (1)

1981

Franco Harris (1)

Fullback

1981 Pittsburgh Steelers (3)

1982

Doug Dieken (1)

Offensive Tackle

1982 Cleveland Browns (1)

1983

Rolf Benirschke (1)

Placekicker

1983 San Diego Chargers (1)

1984

Reggie Williams (1)

Linebacker

1984 Cincinnati Bengals (1)

1985

Nat Moore (1)

Wide Receiver

1985 Miami Dolphins (1)

1986

George Martin (1)

Defensive End

1986 New York Giants (1)

1987

Deron Cherry (1)

Safety

1987 Kansas City Chiefs (1)

1988

Mike Singletary (1)

Linebacker

1988 Chicago Bears (2)

1989

Ozzie Newsome (1)

Tight End

1989 Cleveland Browns (2)

1990

Mike Kenn (1)

Offensive Tackle

1990 Atlanta Falcons (1)

1991

Reggie White (1)

Defensive End

1991 Philadelphia Eagles (1)

1992

Nick Lowery (1)

Kicker

1992 Kansas City Chiefs (2)

1993

Mark Kelso (1)

Safety

1993 Buffalo Bills (1)

1994

Derrick Thomas (1)

Linebacker

1994 Kansas City Chiefs (3)

1995

Bill Brooks (1)

Wide Receiver

1995 Indianapolis Colts (2)

1996

Chris Zorich (1)

Defensive Tackle

1996 Chicago Bears (3)

1997

Hardy Nickerson (1)

Linebacker

1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)

1998

Cris Carter (1)

Wide Receiver

1998 Minnesota Vikings (1)

1999

Doug Pelfrey (1)

Kicker

1999 Cincinnati Bengals (2)

2000

Michael McCrary (1)

Defensive End

2000 Baltimore Ravens (1)

2001

Mark Brunell (1)

Quarterback

2001 Jacksonville Jaguars (1)

2002

Troy Vincent (1)

Defensive Back

2002 Philadelphia Eagles (2)

2003

Derrick Brooks (1)

Linebacker

2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)

2004

Peyton Manning (1)

Quarterback

2004 Indianapolis Colts (3)

2005

Steve McNair (1)

Quarterback

2005 Tennessee Titans (1)

2006

John Lynch (1)

Safety

2006 Denver Broncos (3)

2007

Warrick Dunn (1)

Running Back

2007 Atlanta Falcons (2)

2008

Brian Dawkins (1)

Free Safety

2008 Philadelphia Eagles (3)

2009

To Be Determined (x)

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Announced April 2010 (x)



According to the NFL Players Association, the Byron "Whizzer" White Award is considered to be one of the most truly meaningful honors a player can receive. Each player from each football team nominates one of their men, which gives the award credibility, and while many players are well known for the on-field accomplishments, being awarded for what they do off the field can be even more rewarding.

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