About
The Harrison H. Kennedy Award (known simply as the Kennedy Award) is a high school sports award named for the late Wheeling, W.Va., native Harry H. Kennedy and presented annually to the West Virginia High School Football Player of the Year as voted on by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Mr. Kennedy lived in New York City and became associated with the Downtown Athletic Club and the Heisman Trophy which inspired him to develop a similar honor for high school athletes in West Virginia. Mr. Kennedy died in 1963. Prior to his death he established a fund which supports the Kennedy Award program. The Estate is managed by WesBanco.
The execution of the Kennedy Award is delegated to the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
The first Kennedy Award was presented in 1947. In addition to a prestigious trophy to the honoree, the Estate awards several scholarships to select top finalists. In most cases the Award winner is a recipient of a college scholarship; thus, scholarship awards often go only to finalists.
