Tony G. MVP; Leggett Wins Mack Lee Hill

From The Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs announced on Monday that the team’s players had voted TE Tony Gonzalez as the club’s most valuable player and CB Maurice Leggett as the team’s Mack Lee Hill Award winner as rookie of the year.

The announcement came as the Chiefs held their final meeting of the 2008 season on Monday morning.

Gonzalez was named the Derrick Thomas Award winner for the first time in his 12-year career with the team. He led all NFL tight ends in receiving with 96 catches for 1,058 yards and 10 TDs. The ’08 season is also the time when he established himself as pro football’s career tight end leader in catches, yards and touchdowns. He now has 916 receptions for 10,940 yards and 76 TDs.

Leggett got the honors for the Mack Lee Hill Award over a host of others who were considered, including four rookie starters. But Leggett truly embodies the spirit of Hill, who joined the team in 1964 as an undrafted free agent out of Southern University.

Hill died in December of 1965 while undergoing knee surgery in Kansas City. The Mack Lee Hill Award was created the next season, with RB Mike Garrett being the first winner.

Joining the team as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Valdosta State University, Leggett played in 12 games. He had 32 tackles and one interception. He returned that pick for a touchdown against Denver. He also returned a botched fake field goal by the Oakland Raiders for a touchdown.

Leggett joins a select group of players that have won the Hill award, including pro football Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud and others like Christian Okoye, Derrick Thomas, Will Shields, Jared Allen, Tama Hali and last year’s winner Dwayne Bowe.

Gonzalez won the Hill Award in 1997 and he becomes the seventh Chiefs player to win both awards during his career. The others are Thomas, Allen, S Gary Barbaro, CB Gary Green, S Lloyd Burruss and RB Christian Okoye.

Both players will receive their hardware at the 39th annual 101 Banquet set for March 7th.