The Cauliflower Alley Club bestows several awards each year.  Some are annual awards, some are awards that are only given when appropriate and others are given sporadically.  Here, we will attempt to explain each award and it's meaning.

 
The Iron Mike Award
Universally recognized as one of the highest honors one can receive in the professional wrestling industry, the “Iron Mike” Award signifies that one has reached the top of both the wrestling industry as well as outside ventures.  The recipient of the “Iron Mike” Award should be “immediately recognizable” and, perhaps more importantly, must be seen as a humanitarian.  The recipients of this award have included actors, authors, Olympians and politicians. 
 
The Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award
This award, named after the co-founder of the Club, is for someone who is noted for being both an in-ring professional wrestler as well as for some other contribution (booking, promoting, training) to the business outside of in-ring.  This Award is to honor a lifetime of dedication to the professional wrestling industry.
 

 

 The Lou Thesz Award
This annual award will be given to an individual who is considered a “wrestler” first and a “performer” or “showman” second.  The recipient should have legitimate wrestling credentials and should be so recognized by those in the business.  Lou Thesz chose the first five recipients of this award – Antonio Inoki, Jack Brisco, Danny Hodge, Verne Gagne and Dick Hutton (as Hutton died before he was able to receive the award, his award was posthumous) – and future honorees will be selected by the CAC Board of Directors.  The recipient of this Award should have significant time in the business and should have held at least one recognized version of a World Title.
 
The Red Bastien Friendship Award
Originally called the "Iron Mike Friendship Award," this award was renamed the "Red Bastien Friendship Award" in 2007.  This award was instituted to recognize someone who has never worked in the professional wrestling industry, but, who has dedicated their time and energies to the sport and has become "everybody's friend."  The recipients of this award should be recognizable to both wrestlers and other fans as being a long-time fan and must carry the respect of those that know them.  This award is to recognize the dedication of the fans, without whom there would be no professional wrestling industry.


 

 

 

 The James C. Melby Historian Award
Named for one of the foremost wrestling historians in the world and a former CAC Board Member, this award is to recognize the dedication the recipient has to keeping the history of professional wrestling alive.  As wrestling does not receive mainstream media coverage, historians are our only link to wrestling’s past and the Cauliflower Alley Club believes that it is important to honor that link.

 


 
The Ladies Award
The ladies of professional wrestling have been entertaining fans back to the early-1900's.  The Cauliflower Alley Club recognizes the contributions they have made to the business and the challenges they faced.  Under the supervision of Ladies Honoree Chairperson, Penny Banner, the Club is proud to honor the ladies of the sport.