Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano, the basketball coach who won the 1983 NCAA title, gave his speech at the first ESPY awards in March 1993 while dying of cancer. He is very funny, waving away the teleprompter's countdown, then urges the audience to laugh, think and cry every day, and announces the V Foundation for Cancer Research. That foundation has since raised hundreds of millions of dollars, a rare speech with a measurable legacy.