With the 22nd annual ESPY Awards once again this week, expect some sort of a meaningful speech.

It all started in 1993 when the first ESPY awards were handed out with one person — and one award, living on forever.

College basketball coach Jim Valvano was recently diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma cancer in June of 1992 and was awarded the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award.

Upon receiving that award, Valvano took to the podium and delivered one of the most heart-wrenching and tear-jerking speeches sports have ever seen.

“Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever. I thank you and God bless you all,” Valvano closed with.

Fast forward to 2014 and yet another heartfelt speech was given by the late Stuart Scott.

At the time Scott was battling another bout with cancer and even admitted during his speech that he wasnt sure he'd even make it cross country to accept the award.

"I had liver complications. I had kidney failure. I had 4 surgeries in a span of 7 days," Scott said.

At the end of the speech Scott called up one of his two daughters to embrace on stage and at that point there was not a dry eye in the house.

Scott succumbed to cancer less than a year after that speech on January 4th, 2015.

 

More From 97.3 ESPN