Liccione, Man Behind Re-Start of Hickok Belt, Dies at 76

In the Fall of 2011, Tony Liccione, Sr. called NSMA executive director Dave Goren, asking for the NSMA's help in re-starting the Hickok Belt Award, which had been presented annually to the world's best athlete from 1950-1976. Goren agreed to find 20 voters from among NSMA's members to vote both for a monthly and annual award, and in January, 2012, the Hickok Belt was re-born.

Each month since then, NSMA voters have chosen a winner from a list of ten finalists. Those same voters have chosen the annual winner from the year's monthly winners.

Liccione passed away on February 23 at the age of 76.

It was Liccione, a former boxer and boxing promoter, who started the Hickok's resurrection with a "Comeback Dinner" in Rochester, NY in 2011. Among the guests that night were boxing legends Carmen Basilio and George Chuvalo, football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, baseball greats Johnny Antonelli and Bob Turley, and Harlem Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon.

Among the annual winners since the Hickok's rebirth: LeBron James. Steph Curry, Michael Phelps, Patrick Mahomes.

Liccione was immensely proud of the Hickok Belt and what it represented for his hometown of Rochester, NY.

The National Sports Media Association appreciates his partnership and sends sincerest condolences to his family.