The S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, known commonly as the Hickok Belt, was initially awarded from 1950-76, and after years of dormancy, the Hickok Belt was revived in 2012, and it continues to be awarded each year. Displayed is the circa 1950-51 mold used to make the Hickok Belt. The Hickok Belt award was first created by Ray and Alan Hickok to honor their father, Stephen Rae Hickok, who owed the Hickok Manufacturing Company, which manufactured belts, in Rochester, New York. S. Rae Hickok died unexpectedly in December 1945. The Hickok Belt, appropriately, had an alligator belt and a solid gold buckle, and the award is encrusted with 4-carat (0.80 g) diamonds and a 26 gem chips. It was valued at $10,000 in 1951, $126,242 today. When the award began, 200 sportswriters in the U.S. voted on monthly winners, and the monthly winners were eligible to win the yearly award. From 1950-70, the award was presented at the Rochester Press and Radio Club annual dinner. After Tandy took over the Hickok Company, the award was presented in larger cities than Rochester, such as New York and Chicago. After 1976, monthly winners were announced through September of '76, but then the monthly awards stopped and there was no 1977 winner. 

In the first 27 years of the award, the sports played by the winner included: baseball (15), football (5), boxing (4), golf (3). The first winner, in 1950, was New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto. The only 2-time winner during this initial time period was Sandy Koufax, who won in both '63 and '65. Tony Liccione, the President of the Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame, was the driving force behind the revival of the award in 2012. The award voting is now carried on by members of the National Sports Media Association. In this second iteration of the award, there have been three 2-time winners: LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, and Shohei Ohtani, with Ohtani's win in 2024 being the most recent. 

The metal award has an approx. 5.5" tall athlete, dressed in athletic attire consisting of shorts like an athlete would wear in the ancient Greek Olympics. The athlete is in the midst of a large wreath, like an ancient victory crown. The mold is approx. 11.1" tall, with a width of 9.5", and a base diameter of 3.2". The mold has a lean towards forward, possibly caused by a repaired break near the base. There are a number of uneven places, with some scuffs, scratches, and small areas of missing material, and perhaps remnants of the mold material. There are places, mostly visible from the back but evident in a few spots on front, where the metal seems to be missing. Imprinted in lettering across the top "band" of the mold; "S. RAE HICKOK AWARD." Across the middle of the mold, imprinted lettering reads: "PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE." The Hickok Belt was a major award. This was a big award with gold, diamonds and rubies. Most players removed the stones and replaced them with faux stones. The mold weighs approx. 7 lbs., 5.1 ounces. The circa 1950-51 Hickok Belt mold has appeal stretching from Rizzuto all the way to more modern athletes from 2-time winners Lebron James, Mahomes, and Ohtani, plus Aaron Judge.

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