# Chicago Tribune Silver Football

The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the Chicago Tribune to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois was the award's first recipient. In 2022, the Chicago Tribune announced a new partnership with the Union League Club of Chicago, where it is currently housed.
A vote of Big Ten head football coaches determines the winner of the Silver Football. Each coach submits a two-player ballot with a first and second choice, and coaches cannot vote for players on their own team. The first-place vote receives two points and the second-place vote receives one point.
Coaches and media of the Big Ten also make annual selections for additional individual honors.

## Recipients

The Silver Football award has been presented annually since 1924.
| 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 | Ohio State head coach (1947–1950) |
| 1931 | Biggie Munn | Minnesota | G/FB | Michigan State head coach (1947–1953) |
| 1932 | Harry Newman | Michigan | QB | |
| 1933 | Joe Laws | Iowa | QB | |
| 1934 | Pug Lund | Minnesota | HB | |
| 1935 | Jay Berwanger | Chicago | HB | Heisman Trophy winner |
| 1936 | Vern Huffman | Indiana | HB/QB | All-American in football and basketball |
| 1937 | Corbett Davis | Indiana | FB | |
| 1938 | Howard Weiss | Wisconsin | FB | |
| 1939 | Nile Kinnick | Iowa | HB | Heisman Trophy winner |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon | Michigan | HB | Heisman Trophy winner |
| 1941 | Jack Graf | Ohio State | QB/FB | |
| 1942 | Dave Schreiner | Wisconsin | TE | Killed in action during World War II |
| 1943 | Otto Graham | Northwestern | QB | Washington Redskins head coach (1966–1968), NFL MVP (1951, 1953, 1955) |
| 1944 | Les Horvath | Ohio State | HB/QB | Heisman Trophy winner |
| 1945 | Ollie Cline | Ohio State | FB | |
| 1946 | Alex Agase | Illinois | G | Northwestern head coach (1964–1972), Purdue head coach (1973–1976) |
| 1947 | Bump Elliott | Michigan | HB | Michigan head coach (1959–1968) |
| 1948 | Art Murakowski | Northwestern | FB | |
| 1949 | Red Wilson | Wisconsin | TE | |
| 1950 | Vic Janowicz | Ohio State | HB | Heisman Trophy winner |
| 1951 | Bill Reichardt | Iowa | FB | |
| 1952 | Paul Giel | Minnesota | HB | |
| 1953 | Paul Giel | Minnesota | HB | First two-time winner, UPI Player of the Year |
| 1954 | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | FB | Heisman Trophy winner, UPI Player of the Year |
| 1955 | Howard Cassady | Ohio State | HB | Heisman Trophy winner, UPI Player of the Year, AP Male Athlete of the Year |
| 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 | Two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year |
| 1964 | Bob Timberlake | Michigan | QB | |
| 1965 | Jim Grabowski | Illinois | RB | |
| 1966 | Bob Griese | Purdue | QB | NFL MVP (1971) |
| 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 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | RB | Heisman Trophy winner, UPI Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year |
| 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 | AFL MVP (1990) |
| 1982 | Anthony Carter | Michigan | WR | First wide receiver to win the award |
| 1983 | Don Thorp | Illinois | DL | |
| 1984 | Keith Byars | Ohio State | RB | |
| 1985 | Chuck Long | Iowa | QB | San Diego State head coach (2006–2008) |
| 1986 | Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | QB | NFL Coach of the Year (2011), Michigan head coach (2015–2023) |
| 1987 | Lorenzo White | Michigan State | RB | |
| 1988 | Anthony Thompson | Indiana | RB | |
| 1989 | Anthony Thompson | Indiana | RB | |
| 1990 | Nick Bell | Iowa | RB | |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard | Michigan | WR | Heisman Trophy winner, UPI Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year, Super Bowl MVP (XXXI) |
| 1992 | Lee Gissendaner | Northwestern | WR | |
| 1993 | Brent Moss | Wisconsin | RB | |
| 1994 | Kerry Collins | Penn State | QB | |
| 1995 | Eddie George | Ohio State | RB | Heisman Trophy winner |
| 1996 | Orlando Pace | Ohio State | OT | |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson | Michigan | CB | Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2009) |
| 1998 | Joe Germaine | Ohio State | QB | |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne | Wisconsin | RB | Heisman Trophy winner, NCAA all-time leading rusher, AP Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year |
| 2000 | Drew Brees | Purdue | QB | Super Bowl MVP (XLVI), NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2008, 2011), AP Male Athlete of the Year (2010), Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (2010), Walter Payton Man of the Year (2006) |
| 2001 | Antwaan Randle El | Indiana | QB | |
| 2002 | Brad Banks | Iowa | QB | AP Player of the Year |
| 2003 | Chris Perry | Michigan | RB | |
| 2004 | Braylon Edwards | Michigan | WR | |
| 2005 | Michael Robinson | Penn State | QB | |
| 2006 | Troy Smith | Ohio State | QB | Heisman Trophy winner, AP Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year |
| 2007 | Rashard Mendenhall | Illinois | RB | |
| 2008 | Shonn Greene | Iowa | RB | |
| 2009 | Daryll Clark | Penn State | QB | |
| 2009 | Brandon Graham | Michigan | DE | |
| 2010 | Denard Robinson | Michigan | QB | |
| 2011 | Montee Ball | Wisconsin | RB | |
| 2012 | Braxton Miller | Ohio State | QB | |
| 2013 | Braxton Miller | Ohio State | QB | |
| 2014 | Melvin Gordon | Wisconsin | RB | |
| 2015 | Ezekiel Elliott | Ohio State | RB | |
| 2016 | J. T. Barrett | Ohio State | QB | |
| 2016 | Saquon Barkley | Penn State | RB | |
| 2017 | Saquon Barkley | Penn State | RB | |
| 2018 | Dwayne Haskins | Ohio State | QB | |
| 2019 | Chase Young | Ohio State | DE | Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year (2020), NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2020) |
| 2020 | Justin Fields | Ohio State | QB | |
| 2021 | Aidan Hutchinson | Michigan | DE | |
| 2022 | Blake Corum | Michigan | RB | |
| 2023 | Marvin Harrison Jr. | Ohio State | WR | |
| 2024 | Dillon Gabriel | Oregon | QB | |

### Winners by school

| School | Winners | First | Most recent |
| 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 | Biggie 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 |
| Oregon | 1 | Dillon Gabriel, 2024 | Dillon Gabriel, 2024 |
| Maryland | 0 | None | None |
| Nebraska | 0 | None | None |
| Rutgers | 0 | None | None |
| UCLA | 0 | None | None |
| USC | 0 | None | None |
| Washington | 0 | None | None |

### Winners by position

| Offense | Offense | Offense | Defense | Defense | Defense |
| Position | Total | Last | Position | Total | Last |
| RB / HB | 40 | Blake Corum, Michigan, 2022 | DE / DT | 6 | Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan, 2021 |
| QB | 36 | Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, 2024 | 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 | | | |