Associated Press Athlete of the Year
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The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete. The awards are voted on annually by a panel of AP sports editors from across the United States. A large majority of the winners have been Americans. However, non-Americans are also eligible for the honor, and have won on a few occasions.
List of award winners
Year | Male | Female | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1931 | Pepper Martin | Major League Baseball | Helene Madison | Swimming |
1932 | Gene Sarazen | PGA golf | Babe Didrikson | Track and field |
1933 | Carl Hubbell | Major League Baseball | Helen Jacobs | Tennis |
1934 | Dizzy Dean | Major League Baseball | Virginia Van Wie | Golf |
1935 | Joe Louis | Boxing | Helen Wills Moody | Tennis |
1936 | Jesse Owens | Track and field | Helen Stephens | Track and field |
1937 | Don Budge | Tennis | Katherine Rawls | Swimming |
1938 | Don Budge | Tennis | Patty Berg | Golf |
1939 | Nile Kinnick | College football | Alice Marble | Tennis |
1940 | Tom Harmon | College football | Alice Marble | Tennis |
1941 | Joe DiMaggio | Major League Baseball | Betty Hicks Newell | Golf |
1942 | Frank Sinkwich | College football | Gloria Callen | Swimming |
1943 | Gunder Hägg | Track and field | Patty Berg | Golf |
1944 | Byron Nelson | PGA golf | Ann Curtis | Swimming |
1945 | Byron Nelson | PGA golf | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Golf |
1946 | Glenn Davis | College football | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Golf |
1947 | Johnny Lujack | College football | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Golf |
1948 | Lou Boudreau | Major League Baseball | Fanny Blankers-Koen | Track and field |
1949 | Leon Hart | College football | Marlene Bauer | Golf |
1950 | Jim Konstanty | Major League Baseball | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | LPGA golf[1] |
1951 | Dick Kazmaier | College football | Maureen Connolly | Tennis |
1952 | Bob Mathias | Track and field | Maureen Connolly | Tennis |
1953 | Ben Hogan | PGA golf | Maureen Connolly | Tennis |
1954 | Willie Mays | Major League Baseball | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | LPGA golf |
1955 | Howard "Hopalong" Cassady | College football | Patty Berg | LPGA golf |
1956 | Mickey Mantle | Major League Baseball | Pat McCormick | Diving |
1957 | Ted Williams | Major League Baseball | Althea Gibson | Tennis |
1958 | Herb Elliott | Track and field | Althea Gibson | Tennis |
1959 | Ingemar Johansson | Boxing | Maria Bueno | Tennis |
1960 | Rafer Johnson | Track and field | Wilma Rudolph | Track and field |
1961 | Roger Maris | Major League Baseball | Wilma Rudolph | Track and field |
1962 | Maury Wills | Major League Baseball | Dawn Fraser | Swimming |
1963 | Sandy Koufax | Major League Baseball | Mickey Wright | LPGA golf |
1964 | Don Schollander | Swimming | Mickey Wright | LPGA golf |
1965 | Sandy Koufax | Major League Baseball | Kathy Whitworth | LPGA golf |
1966 | Frank Robinson | Major League Baseball | Kathy Whitworth | LPGA golf |
1967 | Carl Yastrzemski | Major League Baseball | Billie Jean King | Tennis |
1968 | Denny McLain | Major League Baseball | Peggy Fleming | Figure skating |
1969 | Tom Seaver | Major League Baseball | Debbie Meyer | Swimming |
1970 | George Blanda | National Football League | Chi Cheng | Track and field |
1971 | Lee Trevino | PGA golf | Evonne Goolagong | Tennis |
1972 | Mark Spitz | Swimming | Olga Korbut | Gymnastics |
1973 | O.J. Simpson | National Football League | Billie Jean King | Tennis |
1974 | Muhammad Ali | Boxing | Chris Evert | Tennis |
1975 | Fred Lynn | Major League Baseball | Chris Evert | Tennis |
1976 | Bruce Jenner | Track and field | Nadia Comăneci | Gymnastics |
1977 | Steve Cauthen | Horse racing | Chris Evert | Tennis |
1978 | Ron Guidry | Major League Baseball | Nancy Lopez | LPGA golf |
1979 | Willie Stargell | Major League Baseball | Tracy Austin | Tennis |
1980 | U.S. Olympic hockey team | Ice hockey | Chris Evert | Tennis |
1981 | John McEnroe | Tennis | Tracy Austin | Tennis |
1982 | Wayne Gretzky | NHL ice hockey | Mary Decker | Track and field |
1983 | Carl Lewis | Track and field | Martina Navratilova | Tennis |
1984 | Carl Lewis | Track and field | Mary Lou Retton | Gymnastics |
1985 | Dwight Gooden | Major League Baseball | Nancy Lopez | LPGA golf |
1986 | Larry Bird | NBA basketball | Martina Navratilova | Tennis |
1987 | Ben Johnson | Track and field | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | Track and field |
1988 | Orel Hershiser | Major League Baseball | Florence Griffith Joyner | Track and field |
1989 | Joe Montana | National Football League | Steffi Graf | Tennis |
1990 | Joe Montana | National Football League | Beth Daniel | LPGA golf |
1991 | Michael Jordan | NBA basketball | Monica Seles[2] | Tennis |
1992 | Michael Jordan | NBA basketball | Monica Seles | Tennis |
1993 | Michael Jordan | NBA basketball | Sheryl Swoopes | College basketball |
1994 | George Foreman | Boxing | Bonnie Blair | Speed skating |
1995 | Cal Ripken, Jr. | Major League Baseball | Rebecca Lobo | College basketball |
1996 | Michael Johnson | Track and field | Amy Van Dyken | Swimming |
1997 | Tiger Woods | PGA golf | Martina Hingis | Tennis |
1998 | Mark McGwire | Major League Baseball | Se Ri Pak | LPGA golf |
1999 | Tiger Woods | PGA golf | U.S. women's soccer team | Soccer |
2000 | Tiger Woods | PGA golf | Marion Jones | Track and field |
2001 | Barry Bonds | Major League Baseball | Jennifer Capriati | Tennis |
2002 | Lance Armstrong | Cycling | Serena Williams | Tennis |
2003 | Lance Armstrong | Cycling | Annika Sörenstam | LPGA golf |
2004 | Lance Armstrong | Cycling | Annika Sörenstam | LPGA golf |
2005 | Lance Armstrong | Cycling | Annika Sörenstam | LPGA golf |
2006 | Tiger Woods | PGA golf | Lorena Ochoa | LPGA golf |
2007 | Tom Brady | National Football League | Lorena Ochoa | LPGA golf |
2008 | Michael Phelps | Swimming | Candace Parker | WNBA |
2009 | Jimmie Johnson[3] | NASCAR | Serena Williams | Tennis |
2010 | Drew Brees | National Football League | Lindsey Vonn | Skiing |
2011 | Aaron Rodgers | National Football League | Abby Wambach | Soccer |
2012 | Michael Phelps | Swimming | Gabby Douglas | Gymnastics |
2013 | LeBron James | NBA basketball | Serena Williams | Tennis |
2014 | Madison Bumgarner[4] | Major League Baseball | Mo'ne Davis[5] | Little League baseball |
2015 | Stephen Curry | NBA Basketball | Serena Williams | Tennis |
Footnotes
Notes
- Adapted from the article Associated Press Athlete of the Year, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.