The Pro Football Writers of America announced the recipient of the Bill Nunn Jr. Award on Wednesday, named after the Steelers Hall of Fame scout and former sportswriter, sports editor and managing editor of The Pittsburgh Courier.
The award is presented annually to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.
D. Orlando Ledbetter, who writes about the Atlanta Falcons for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has covered the NFL since the late 1980s, was named the 2024 recipient of the Bill Nunn Jr. Award.
The award, which has been in existence since 1969, was re-named after Nunn in 2020.
Nunn's impact on football is one that is well-documented, which includes starting in 1950 when he selected the annual Black College All-America Team for The Pittsburgh Courier, developing relationships that benefited his scouting career and opened the door for Black players who weren't getting a lot of attention from professional teams.
Nunn was named the sports editor of the Courier in 1952 and he was the managing editor in 1966 when he was hired by the Steelers as a part-time scout, that eventually turned into a full-time job that lasted until his passing in 2014.
Nunn was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2021 and was an inaugural member of the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
