The S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, commonly known as the Hickok Belt, is a trophy awarded to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States. First awarded from 1950 to 1976, it was dormant until being revived in 2012, and continues to be awarded.
Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax was the award's only two-time winner prior to the award's revival in 2012
Rocky Marciano, the first non-baseball winner of the award
LeBron James – a two-time Hickok Belt winner since the award's revival
Patrick Mahomes, the second two-time winner
Sanford Koufax, nicknamed "the Left Arm of God", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Koufax was the first three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, each time winning unanimously and the only pitcher to do so when a single award was given for both the leagues; he was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1963. Retiring at the age of 30 due to chronic pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1972 at the age of 36, the youngest player ever elected.
Koufax with the Los Angeles Dodgers, c. 1965
A ticket from the August 27, 1955 game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Redlegs, where Koufax earned his first career win
Koufax warming up at Wrigley Field, c. 1957
Koufax and teammate Don Drysdale changing parts on a 2 1⁄2-ton truck at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Van Nuys, California
