The Harrison H. Kennedy Award (often known simply as the Kennedy Award) is a high school sports award named for the late Wheeling, WV native Harry H. Kennedy and 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's 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 | RB |
| 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 | Robert Alexander | Jr. | South Charleston | RB |
| 1976 | Robert Alexander | Sr. | South Charleston | RB |
| 1977 | Mike Estes | Sr. | George Washington | QB |
| 1978 | Curt Warner | 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 | Randy Moss | Sr. | DuPont | WR-DB |
| 1995 | Frank Aliveto | Sr. | Hedgesville | RB-LB |
| 1996 | J. R. House | Soph. | Nitro | QB |
| 1997 | Chris Yura | Jr. | Morgantown | RB-DB |
| 1998 (tie) | J. R. House | Sr. | Nitro | QB |
| 1998 (tie) | Quincy Wilson | 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 | Sr. | Scott | RB |
| 2008 | Will Cole | Sr. | Bluefield | QB |
| 2009 | Tyler Harris | Jr. | South Charleston | QB-LB |
| 2010 | Justin Fox | Sr. | Magnolia | QB-DB |
| 2011 | Ryan Switzer | Jr. | George Washington | RB-DB |
This is a list of the schools who have had a player win a Kennedy Award once or more. In total, players from 40 different schools have won a Kennedy Award.
| School | Awards won |
|---|---|
| Morgantown | 4 |
| Dupont | 3 |
| Magnolia | 3 |
| Nitro | 3 |
| Parkersburg | 3 |
| South Charleston | 3 |
| Weir | 3 |
| Charleston | 2 |
| Charleston Catholic | 2 |
| Fairmont Senior | 2 |
| George Washington | 3 |
| Martinsburg | 3 |
| Parkersburg South | 2 |
| Sistersville | 2 |
| Stonewall Jackson | 2 |
| Barboursville | 1 |
| Bluefield | 1 |
| Dunbar | 1 |
| Hedgesville | 1 |
| Herbert Hoover | 1 |
| Hinton | 1 |
| Huntington | 1 |
| Huntington East | 1 |
| Huntington Vinson | 1 |
| Logan | 1 |
| Monongah | 1 |
| Musselman | 1 |
| North Marion | 1 |
| Petersburg | 1 |
| Pineville | 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 |