St. Louis Musial Awards

Hosted by the Stifel Theatre in downtown St. Louis, the Maryville University presented the annual Musial Awards with honorees represented for their positive character traits and class. Named after the baseball icon of the St. Louis Cardinals with stellar sportsmanship, Stan Musial, the St. Louis Musial Awards recognizes those who express moral behavior in sports. The annual event was broadcasted nationwide on Christmas Day on CBS at 5 PM ET/4 PM CT.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet Gretzky were honored with the 2021 Stan Musial Lifetime Achievement Award for Sportsmanship. Gretzky, who played for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers, holds the record for most goals in NHL history with 894. Nicknamed “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky is arguably the greatest hockey player of all time. Janet Gretzky received the award as well, as she has invested herself into the betterment of society by raising awareness and funds for numerous charities.

Accepting the Stan Musial award for extraordinary character was the fifteen year old Zaila Avant-garde, who outlasted 208 national qualifiers for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Avant-garde became the first African American to win the National Spelling Bee. Not only is Avant-garde recognized for her perseverance through peer pressure, she also holds three records in the Guinness Book of World Records. Her records include the most bounce juggles in one minute with four basketballs, the most bounces in 30 seconds with four basketballs, and she is tied with most basketballs dribbled at once.

Recipients for the 2021 Stan Musial Awards include:
Wayne & Janet Gretzky
Mutaz Barshim & Gianmarco Tamberi
Buffalo Bills fans (represented by William Burke and Dan Konopski)
Lavel Dumont
Bryce Harper
Rebel Hays
Mario Hoefer
LSU Gymnastics

For more information, visit the Musial Awards website at https://musialawards.com/.
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