ST. LOUIS — The Musial Awards are one of the most inspiring nights in sports. The 2021 ceremony will honor some truly special figures who have shown what it means to exhibit sportsmanship.
Wayne and Janet Gretzky will receive the 2021 Stan Musial Lifetime Achievement Award for embodying class and generosity. Known as "The Great One", Wayne is the greatest hockey player to ever hit the ice, and also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship five times in his career. Janet is a St. Louis native and has been active in efforts to fund research against breast cancer after losing two sisters to the disease.
This year's Scripps National Spelling Bee winner Zaila Avant-garde will receive the 2021 Stan Musial Award for Extraordinary Character. She will be honored for the poise and grace she showed through the intense competition. Other winners of the Extraordinary Character Award include Blues superfan Laila Anderson, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and Loyola University Basketball Chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper will also be honored for how he responded to being unintentionally hit in the face by a pitch thrown by Cardinals pitcher Genesis Cabrera. Harper reached out to Cabrera after the incident to make sure he was alright as well.
Other honorees this year include a pair of Olympic high jumpers, Buffalo Bills fans and the LSU gymnastics team.
For a full list of honorees, click here.
Presented by the St. Louis Sports Commission, the Musial Awards are hosted by 5 On Your Side's Mike Bush and will be held on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Stifel Theatre in St. Louis.
For ticket information, click here.