Ed Block Courage Award
Every year, the players on each NFL team select a teammate to receive the Ed Block Courage Award for efforts to support victims of abuse, violence and neglect. For 40 years, the National Football League has given the award to recognize players who are role models on the field and off. The Ed Block Courage Award recipients are regarded as symbols of professionalism, strength, and dedication. The winner is considered to be a role model in his community and a crusader for victims of abuse, violence and neglect.
The Courage Award is named after Ed Block, the longtime head athletic 
trainer of the Baltimore Colts who was a pioneer in his profession and a respected humanitarian. For more than 28 years, the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation has celebrated the courageous efforts of players in the NFL while raising the nation’s awareness of the plight of abused children in NFL communities. Through the Foundation’s Courage House National Support Network for Kids, the organization has helped Courage Houses improve the lives of abused children across America. Named after the NFL team in a respective city, a Courage House is a facility that provides support/quality care for abused children in that community.
Maryville Crisis Nursery is a Courage House and sponsors an annual luncheon to recognize and honor a Chicago Bears player. Each year, Chicago Bears players select one of their teammates to receive the Ed Block Courage Award for displaying commitment to the principles of courage and sportsmanship, while serving as an inspiration in the locker room. The accolade has become one of the most esteemed honors bestowed upon a player in the NFL, especially since the recipient is selected by his peers.
The Ed Block Courage Award benefits the Ed McCaskey Scholarship Fund which donates to high school, college and vocational scholarships for the children of Maryville. The scholarship is named for Bears vice president and treasurer and longtime Maryville supporter Ed McCaskey.
“We are grateful to the Bears for their support,” said Sister Catherine M. Ryan, O.S.F., Maryville’s executive director. “This scholarship advances our mission to help children make a successful transition to adulthood, to become contributors to their communities and citizens of the world.”
Past Recipients of the Ed Block Courage Award
2019 – Zach Miller
2018 – Kyle Long
2017 – Pernell McPhee
2016 – Robbie Gould
2015 – Matt Slauson
2014 – Patrick Mannelly
2013 – Nick Roach
2012 – Brian Urlacher
2011 – Anthony Adams
2010 – Israel Indonije
2009 – Charles Tillman
