The Harrison H. Kennedy Award, often known simply as the Kennedy Award, is a high school sports award named for the late Wheeling, West Virginia native Harry H. Kennedy. It is given annually to the West Virginia High School Football Player of the Year as voted on by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. It is awarded every spring at the annual Victory Awards Dinner. It is the second oldest statewide award, second only to the Hardman Award, which is presented to the Amateur Athlete of the Year.[1]
| Year | Winner | Class | School | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Darrell Patrick Shires | Jr. | Hinton | RB | |
| 1948 | Randy Broyles | Sr. | Woodrow Wilson | RB | |
| 1949 | Henry (Hoppy) Shores | Sr. | Stonewall Jackson | RB-DB | |
| 1950 | Jim Early | Sr. | Parkersburg | RB | |
| 1951 | Dale Boyd | Sr. | Huntington Vinson | QB | |
| 1952 | Don Griffith | Sr. | Stonewall Jackson | QB | |
| 1953 | Bob Barrett | Sr. | Barboursville | RB | |
| 1954 | Noel Whipkey | Sr. | Charleston | RB-LB | |
| 1955 | Ronald (Tags) Meredith | Sr. | St. Albans | QB | |
| 1956 | Johnny Frye | Sr. | Huntington East | QB | |
| 1957 | Jim Bargeloh | Sr. | Parkersburg | RB | |
| 1958 | Larry Drake | Sr. | Fairmont Senior | RB | |
| 1959 | Fred Colvard | Sr. | Logan | QB | |
| 1960 | Bob Kelley | Sr. | Weir | RB-DB | |
| 1961 | Paul Allen | Sr. | Huntington | RB | |
| 1962 | Joe White | Sr. | Charleston Catholic | RB | |
| 1963 | Jim Smithberger | Sr. | Welch | DB-RB | |
| 1964 | Frank Criniti | Sr. | Charleston Catholic | RB | |
| 1965 | Melvin Walker | Sr. | Dunbar | QB | |
| 1966 | No Award | ||||
| 1967 | No Award | ||||
| 1968 | David Morris | Sr. | Wayne | DB-RB | |
| 1969 | Kerry Marbury | Sr. | Monongah | RB-DB | |
| 1970 | Rick Hurt | Sr. | Charleston | QB | |
| 1971 | Rick Petty | Sr. | Williamstown | RB-DB | |
| 1972 | Danny Williams | Jr. | DuPont | QB | |
| 1973 | Danny Williams | Sr. | DuPont | QB | |
| 1974 | Robin Lyons | Sr. | Herbert Hoover | RB-LB | |
| 1975 | Jr. | South Charleston | RB | ||
| 1976 | Sr. | South Charleston | RB | ||
| 1977 | Mike Estes | Sr. | George Washington | QB | |
| 1978 | Sr. | Pineville | RB-DB | ||
| 1979 | Tim Stephens | Sr. | Parkersburg South | QB | |
| 1980 | David Bayer | Sr. | George Washington | RB | |
| 1981 | John Koontz | Sr. | Petersburg | RB-DB | |
| 1982 | Brad King | Sr. | North Marion | RB | |
| 1983 | Tony Johnson | Sr. | Morgantown | RB | |
| 1984 | Joel Wilson | Sr. | Sistersville | RB-LB | |
| 1985 | Ted Kester | Sr. | Winfield | LB-RB | |
| 1986 | Jeff Swisher | Sr. | Sistersville | RB | |
| 1987 | Jed Drenning | Sr. | Tucker County | QB | |
| 1988 | Keith Jeter | Sr. | Weir | RB-DB | |
| 1989 | David Mayfield | Sr. | Morgantown | DB-RB | |
| 1990 | Eric McGhee | Sr. | Wheeling Central | RB-DB | |
| 1991 | Darryl Johnson | Sr. | Wheeling Park | RB | |
| 1992 | Mark Cisar | Jr. | Magnolia | QB-DB | |
| 1993 | Mark Cisar | Sr. | Magnolia | QB-DB | |
| 1994 | Sr. | DuPont | WR-DB | ||
| 1995 | Frank Aliveto | Sr. | Hedgesville | RB-LB | |
| 1996 | Soph. | Nitro | QB | ||
| 1997 | Chris Yura | Jr. | Morgantown | RB-DB | |
| 1998 (tie) | Sr. | Nitro | QB | ||
| 1998 (tie) | Sr. | Weir | RB-DB | ||
| 1999 | Todd Mosby | Sr. | Musselman | QB-LB-DB | |
| 2000 | Mark Wigal | Sr. | Morgantown | RB-DB | |
| 2001 | Marc Kimes | Sr. | Parkersburg | QB-DB | |
| 2002 | Brandon Barrett | Jr. | Martinsburg | WR-DB | |
| 2003 | Brandon Barrett | Sr. | Martinsburg | WR-DB | |
| 2004 | Nate Sowers | Sr. | Martinsburg | QB-DB | |
| 2005 | Josh Culbertson | Sr. | Nitro | RB-DB | |
| 2006 | Kyle Allard | Sr. | Fairmont Senior | QB | |
| 2007 | Jordan Roberts (football player) | Jordan Roberts | Sr. | Scott | RB |
| 2008 | Will Cole | Sr. | Bluefield | QB | |
| 2009 | Tyler Harris | Jr. | South Charleston | QB-LB | |
| 2010 | Justin Crabtree | Sr. | Wayne | QB-DB | |
| 2011 | Jr. | George Washington | RB-DB | ||
| 2012 | Sr. | George Washington | RB-DB | ||
| 2013 | Chazzy Thomas | Sr. | Morgantown | RB | |
| 2014 | Kashuan Haley | Sr. | Capital | RB | |
| 2015 | Tyrhee Pratt | Sr. | Capital | QB | |
| 2016 | Jeremy Dillon | Jr. | Mingo Central | QB-S | |
| 2017 | Latrell “Mookie” Collier | Sr. | Bluefield | RB-DB | |
| 2018 | Connor Neal | Sr. | Fairmont Senior | QB | |
| 2019 | Ethan Payne | Jr. | Poca | RB | |
| 2020 | Blake Hartman | Sr. | Musselman | RB | |
| 2021 | Sr. | Independence | RB | ||
| 2022 | Judah Price[3] | Sr. | Independence | RB | |
| 2023 | Dom Collins[4] | Sr. | Princeton | WR |
This is a list of the schools who have had a player win a Kennedy Award once or more. In total, players from 44 different schools have won a Kennedy Award.
| School | Awards won | |
|---|---|---|
| Morgantown | 5 | |
| George Washington | 4 | |
| Dupont | 3 | |
| Magnolia | 3 | |
| Martinsburg | 3 | |
| Nitro | 3 | |
| Parkersburg | 3 | |
| South Charleston | 3 | |
| Weir | 3 | |
| Fairmont Senior | 3 | |
| Charleston | 2 | |
| Charleston Catholic | 2 | |
| Bluefield | 2 | |
| Musselman | 2 | |
| Sistersville | 2 | |
| Stonewall Jackson | 2 | |
| Capital | 2 | |
| Independence | 2 | |
| Barboursville | 1 | |
| Dunbar | 1 | |
| Hedgesville | 1 | |
| Herbert Hoover | 1 | |
| Hinton | 1 | |
| Huntington | 1 | |
| Huntington East | 1 | |
| Huntington Vinson | 1 | |
| Logan | 1 | |
| Monongah | 1 | |
| Mingo Central | 1 | |
| North Marion | 1 | |
| Parkersburg South | 1 | |
| Petersburg | 1 | |
| Pineville | 1 | |
| Poca | 1 | |
| Princeton | 1 | |
| Scott | 1 | |
| St. Albans | 1 | |
| Tucker County | 1 | |
| Wayne | 1 | |
| Welch | 1 | |
| Wheeling Central | 1 | |
| Wheeling Park | 1 | |
| Williamstown | 1 | |
| Winfield | 1 | |
| Woodrow Wilson | 1 |