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Chicago Tribune Silver Football facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is a special award given each year to the best college football player in the Big Ten Conference. This award has been presented every year since 1924! The very first player to win it was Red Grange from the University of Illinois.

In 2022, the Chicago Tribune teamed up with the Union League Club of Chicago. Now, the award is kept there.

So, how is the winner chosen? All the head coaches from the Big Ten football teams get to vote! Each coach picks two players: their first choice and their second choice. But there's a rule: coaches can't vote for players on their own team. The player picked as a first choice gets two points, and the second choice gets one point. The player with the most points wins the shiny Silver Football!

The coaches and media in the Big Ten also choose other special awards for players each year.

Who Has Won the Silver Football?

The Silver Football award has been given out every year since 1924. Here's a list of the amazing players who have won it:

Year Player Team Position Notes
1924 Red Grange Illinois HB
1925 Tim Lowry Northwestern C
1926 Benny Friedman Michigan QB
1927 Ken Rouse Chicago C
1928 Chuck Bennett Indiana HB
1929 Bill Glassgow Iowa HB
1930 Wes Fesler Ohio State TE
1931 Clarence Munn Minnesota G/FB
1932 Harry Newman Michigan QB
1933 Joe Laws Iowa QB
1934 Pug Lund Minnesota HB
1935 Jay Berwanger Chicago HB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1936 Vern Huffman Indiana HB/QB An All-American in both football and basketball
1937 Corbett Davis Indiana FB
1938 Howard Weiss Wisconsin FB
1939 Nile Kinnick Iowa HB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1940 Tom Harmon Michigan HB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1941 Jack Graf Ohio State QB/FB
1942 Dave Schreiner Wisconsin TE
1943 Otto Graham Northwestern QB
1944 Les Horvath Ohio State HB/QB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1945 Ollie Cline Ohio State FB
1946 Alex Agase Illinois G
1947 Bump Elliott Michigan HB
1948 Art Murakowski Northwestern FB
1949 Red Wilson Wisconsin TE
1950 Vic Janowicz Ohio State HB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1951 Bill Reichardt Iowa FB
1952 Paul Giel Minnesota HB
1953 The first player to win the award twice
1954 Alan Ameche Wisconsin FB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1955 Howard Cassady Ohio State HB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1956 Ken Ploen Iowa QB
1957 Jim Pace Michigan HB
1958 Randy Duncan Iowa QB
1959 Bill Burrell Illinois G
1960 Tom Brown Minnesota G/DL
1961 Sandy Stephens Minnesota QB
1962 Ron Vander Kelen Wisconsin QB
1963 Dick Butkus Illinois LB
1964 Bob Timberlake Michigan QB
1965 Jim Grabowski Illinois RB
1966 Bob Griese Purdue QB
1967 Leroy Keyes Purdue RB
1968 Ron Johnson Michigan RB
1969 Mike Phipps Purdue QB
1970 Mike Adamle Northwestern RB
1971 Eric Allen Michigan State RB
1972 Otis Armstrong Purdue RB
1973 Archie Griffin Ohio State RB
1974 Also won the Heisman Trophy
1975 Cornelius Greene Ohio State QB
1976 Rob Lytle Michigan RB
1977 Larry Bethea Michigan State DE
1978 Rick Leach Michigan QB
1979 Tim Clifford Indiana QB
1980 Mark Herrmann Purdue QB
1981 Art Schlichter Ohio State QB
1982 Anthony Carter Michigan WR The first wide receiver to win this award
1983 Don Thorp Illinois DL
1984 Keith Byars Ohio State RB
1985 Chuck Long Iowa QB
1986 Jim Harbaugh Michigan QB
1987 Lorenzo White Michigan State RB
1988 Anthony Thompson Indiana RB
1989
1990 Nick Bell Iowa RB
1991 Desmond Howard Michigan WR Also won the Heisman Trophy
1992 Lee Gissendaner Northwestern WR
1993 Brent Moss Wisconsin RB
1994 Kerry Collins Penn State QB
1995 Eddie George Ohio State RB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1996 Orlando Pace Ohio State OT
1997 Charles Woodson Michigan CB Also won the Heisman Trophy
1998 Joe Germaine Ohio State QB
1999 Ron Dayne Wisconsin RB Also won the Heisman Trophy
2000 Drew Brees Purdue QB
2001 Antwaan Randle El Indiana QB
2002 Brad Banks Iowa QB
2003 Chris Perry Michigan RB
2004 Braylon Edwards Michigan WR
2005 Michael Robinson Penn State QB
2006 Troy Smith Ohio State QB Also won the Heisman Trophy
2007 Rashard Mendenhall Illinois RB
2008 Shonn Greene Iowa RB
2009 Daryll Clark Penn State QB
Brandon Graham Michigan DE
2010 Denard Robinson Michigan QB
2011 Montee Ball Wisconsin RB
Braxton Miller Ohio State QB
2013
2014 Melvin Gordon Wisconsin RB
2015 Ezekiel Elliott Ohio State RB
2016 J. T. Barrett Ohio State QB
Saquon Barkley Penn State RB
2017 Saquon Barkley Penn State RB
2018 Dwayne Haskins Ohio State QB
2019 Chase Young Ohio State DE
2020 Justin Fields Ohio State QB
2021 Aidan Hutchinson Michigan DE
2022 Blake Corum Michigan RB
2023 Marvin Harrison Jr. Ohio State WR

Which Schools Have the Most Winners?

Here's a look at which schools have had the most players win the Silver Football:

School Winners First Winner Most Recent Winner
Ohio State 23 Wes Fesler, 1930 Marvin Harrison Jr., 2023
Michigan 19 Benny Friedman, 1926 Blake Corum, 2022
Iowa 10 Bill Glassgow, 1929 Shonn Greene, 2008
Wisconsin 9 Howard Weiss, 1938 Melvin Gordon, 2014
Illinois 7 Red Grange, 1924 Rashard Mendenhall, 2007
Indiana 7 Chuck Bennett, 1928 Antwaan Randle El, 2001
Minnesota 6 Clarence Munn, 1931 Sandy Stephens, 1961
Purdue 6 Bob Griese, 1966 Drew Brees, 2000
Northwestern 5 Tim Lowry, 1925 Lee Gissendaner, 1992
Penn State 5 Kerry Collins, 1994 Saquon Barkley, 2017
Michigan State 3 Eric Allen, 1971 Lorenzo White, 1987
Chicago 2 Ken Rouse, 1927 Jay Berwanger, 1935
Maryland 0 none
Nebraska
Rutgers

Winners by Football Position

Players from different positions on the football field have won the Silver Football. Here's how many winners there have been for each type of player:

Offense Defense
Position Total Last Winner Position Total Last Winner
RB / HB 40 Blake Corum, Michigan, 2022 DE / DT 6 Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan, 2021
QB 35 Justin Fields, OSU, 2020 DB / CB / S 1 Charles Woodson, Michigan, 1997
OT / G / C 7 Orlando Pace, OSU, 1996 LB 1 Dick Butkus, Illinois,1963
FB 8 Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, 1954
WR 5 Marvin Harrison Jr., OSU, 2023
TE 3 Red Wilson, Wisconsin, 1949

See Also

  • Big Ten Conference football individual awards
  • Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball
Quick facts for kids
Chicago Tribune Silver Football
Tim Lowry receiving the Chicago Tribune Silver Football (1).jpg
Tim Lowry receiving the 1925 season's trophy
Given for Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference
Country United States
Presented by Chicago Tribune
History
First award 1924
Most recent Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
Website http://www.chicagotribune.com
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