Farrior and Wallace Earn Awards

* Farrior and Wallace Earn Steelers' 2009 Pro Football Writers Awards
*
 
PITTSBURGH — *Steelers linebacker and defensive co-captainJames Farriorand wide receiverMike Wallacewere named the 2009 recipients of the Pittsburgh chapter of Pro Football Writers of America's annual awards.
 
Farrior was the recipient of the Pro Football Writers' "TheChief Award", presented annually to the member of the Steelers' organization who best exemplifies the spirit of cooperation with the media, which was established in honor of Steelers' founder, Arthur J. Rooney, Sr.
 
Farrior, a 13-year NFL veteran, has recorded more than 100 tackles in seven of his eight seasons since joining the Steelers in 2002 (2003-09). He was named a Steelers' defensive captain for the sixth time in 2009 and has twice represented Pittsburgh in the Pro Bowl (2005, 2009). Farrior has led the Steelers in tackles during five different seasons and is on pace for a sixth with a team-leading 114 tackles (80 solo) in 2009.
 
Wallace, the second of Pittsburgh's three 2009 third-round draft picks, was the winner of the "Joe Greene Great Performance Award", given to the outstanding Steelers' rookie. Wallace has turned in a number of big plays for the Steelers since being selected 84th overall out of Mississippi. He leads the Steelers with an 18.7-yard receiving average and is tied for third on the team with five touchdowns. Wallace ranks fourth on the Steelers and among AFC rookies with 37 receptions. His 692 receiving yards leads all AFC rookies and ranks fourth among rookies in the NFL.  
 
Wallace set career highs with seven receptions and 102 yards in Week 3 at Cincinnati. He won Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week honors in Week 9 (at Denver) and Week 15 (vs. Green Bay) when he scored two touchdowns, including a spectacular game-winning 19-yard touchdown catch with no time left on the clock to beat the Packers, 37-36.
 
A listing of the award winners include:
 
"The Chief Award" Winners:
 
1988               Dan Rooney                                                         2000       Jerome Bettis
1989               Dwayne Woodruff                                               2001       Lee Flowers
1990               Merril Hoge                                                           2002       Hines Ward
1991               Gerald Williams                                                   2003       Mike Logan
1992               Tunch Ilkin                                                            2004       Jerome Bettis
1993               D.J. Johnson                                                        2005       Alan Faneca
1994               Rod Woodson                                                      2006       Brett Keisel
1995               Levon Kirkland                                                                     Deshea Townsend
1996               Chad Brown                                                         2007       Alan Faneca        
1997               Darren Perry                                                         2008       Ryan Clark           
1998               Jerome Bettis                                                       2009       James Farrior    
1999               Lee Flowers

 
 
 
* "Joe Greene Great Performance Award" Winners:
 
1984               WR Louis Lipps                                                    1997       CB Chad Scott
1985               P Harry Newsome                                               1998       OG Alan Faneca
1986               LB Anthony Henton                                             1999       WR Troy Edwards
1987               CB Delton Hall                                                     2000       FB Dan Kreider
1988               RB Warren Williams                                            2001       LB Kendrell Bell
1989               SS Carnell Lake                                                  2002       OG Kendall Simmons
1990               TE Eric Green                                                       2003       S Troy Polamalu
1991               TE Adrian Cooper                                               2004       QB Ben Roethlisberger
1992               FS Darren Perry                                                   2005       TE Heath Miller
1993               LB Chad Brown                                                   2006       WR Santonio Holmes
1994               RB Bam Morris                                                     2007       P Daniel Sepulveda
1995               QB Kordell Stewart                                              2008       LB Patrick Bailey
1996               FB Jon Witman                                                   2009       WR Mike Wallace
 
                               
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