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, covering mainly American sports. As a result, 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.
Year | Male | Female | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Sport | Name | Sport | |
1931 | Pepper Martin | Major League Baseball | Helene Madison | Swimming |
1932 | Gene Sarazen | 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 (2) | Tennis | Patty Berg | Golf |
1939 | Nile Kinnick | College football | Alice Marble | Tennis |
1940 | Tom Harmon | College football | Alice Marble (2) | 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 (2) | Golf |
1944 | Byron Nelson | Golf | Ann Curtis | Swimming |
1945 | Byron Nelson (2) | Golf | Babe Didrikson Zaharias (2) | Golf |
1946 | Glenn Davis | College football | Babe Didrikson Zaharias (3) | Golf |
1947 | Johnny Lujack | College football | Babe Didrikson Zaharias (4) | 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 (5) | Golf |
1951 | Dick Kazmaier | College football | Maureen Connolly | Tennis |
1952 | Bob Mathias | Track and field | Maureen Connolly (2) | Tennis |
1953 | Ben Hogan | Golf | Maureen Connolly (3) | Tennis |
1954 | Willie Mays | Major League Baseball | Babe Didrikson Zaharias (6) | Golf |
1955 | Howard Cassady | College football | Patty Berg (3) | 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 (2) | 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 (2) | Track and field |
1962 | Maury Wills | Major League Baseball | Dawn Fraser | Swimming |
1963 | Sandy Koufax | Major League Baseball | Mickey Wright | Golf |
1964 | Don Schollander | Swimming | Mickey Wright (2) | Golf |
1965 | Sandy Koufax (2) | Major League Baseball | Kathy Whitworth | Golf |
1966 | Frank Robinson | Major League Baseball | Kathy Whitworth (2) | 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 | Golf | Evonne Goolagong | Tennis |
1972 | Mark Spitz | Swimming | Olga Korbut | Gymnastics |
1973 | O. J. Simpson | National Football League | Billie Jean King (2) | Tennis |
1974 | Muhammad Ali | Boxing | Chris Evert | Tennis |
1975 | Fred Lynn | Major League Baseball | Chris Evert (2) | Tennis |
1976 | Bruce Jenner | Track and field | Nadia Comăneci | Gymnastics |
1977 | Steve Cauthen | Horse racing | Chris Evert (3) | Tennis |
1978 | Ron Guidry | Major League Baseball | Nancy Lopez | Golf |
1979 | Willie Stargell | Major League Baseball | Tracy Austin | Tennis |
1980 | U.S. Olympic hockey team | Ice hockey | Chris Evert Lloyd (4) | Tennis |
1981 | John McEnroe | Tennis | Tracy Austin (2) | Tennis |
1982 | Wayne Gretzky | National Hockey League | Mary Tabb | Track and field |
1983 | Carl Lewis | Track and field | Martina Navratilova | Tennis |
1984 | Carl Lewis (2) | Track and field | Mary Lou Retton | Gymnastics |
1985 | Dwight Gooden | Major League Baseball | Nancy Lopez (2) | Golf |
1986 | Larry Bird | National Basketball Association | Martina Navratilova (2) | 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 (2) | National Football League | Beth Daniel | Golf |
1991 | Michael Jordan | National Basketball Association | Monica Seles [1] | Tennis |
1992 | Michael Jordan (2) | National Basketball Association | Monica Seles (2) | Tennis |
1993 | Michael Jordan (3) | National Basketball Association | 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 | Golf | Martina Hingis | Tennis |
1998 | Mark McGwire | Major League Baseball | Se Ri Pak | Golf |
1999 | Tiger Woods (2) | Golf [2] | U.S. women's soccer team | Soccer |
2000 | Tiger Woods (3) | Golf [3] | Marion Jones | Track and field |
2001 | Barry Bonds | Major League Baseball [4] | Jennifer Capriati | Tennis |
2002 | Lance Armstrong | Road bicycle racing [5] | Serena Williams | Tennis |
2003 | Lance Armstrong (2) | Road bicycle racing [6] | Annika Sörenstam | Golf |
2004 | Lance Armstrong (3) | Road bicycle racing [7] | Annika Sörenstam (2) | Golf |
2005 | Lance Armstrong (4) | Road bicycle racing [8] | Annika Sörenstam (3) | Golf |
2006 | Tiger Woods (4) | Golf [9] | Lorena Ochoa | Golf |
2007 | Tom Brady | National Football League [10] | Lorena Ochoa (2) | Golf |
2008 | Michael Phelps | Swimming [11] | Candace Parker | Women's National Basketball Association |
2009 | Jimmie Johnson [12] | NASCAR | Serena Williams (2) | Tennis |
2010 | Drew Brees | National Football League [13] | Lindsey Vonn | Skiing |
2011 | Aaron Rodgers [14] | National Football League | Abby Wambach | Soccer |
2012 | Michael Phelps (2) | Swimming [15] | Gabby Douglas | Gymnastics |
2013 | LeBron James | National Basketball Association [16] | Serena Williams (3) | Tennis |
2014 | Madison Bumgarner [17] | Major League Baseball | Mo'ne Davis [18] | Little League baseball |
2015 | Stephen Curry | National Basketball Association [19] | Serena Williams (4) | Tennis |
2016 | LeBron James (2) | National Basketball Association [20] | Simone Biles | Gymnastics |
2017 | Jose Altuve [21] | Major League Baseball | Katie Ledecky [22] | Swimming |
2018 | LeBron James (3) [23] | National Basketball Association | Serena Williams (5) [24] | Tennis |
2019 | Kawhi Leonard [25] | National Basketball Association | Simone Biles (2) | Gymnastics |
2020 | LeBron James (4) | National Basketball Association | Naomi Osaka | Tennis |
2021 | Shohei Ohtani [26] | Major League Baseball | Candace Parker (2) [27] | Women's National Basketball Association |
2022 | Aaron Judge | Major League Baseball | Katie Ledecky (2) | Swimming |
2023 | Shohei Ohtani (2) | Major League Baseball | Simone Biles (3) | Gymnastics |
2024 | Shohei Ohtani (3) [28] | Major League Baseball | Caitlin Clark | Women's National Basketball Association [29] |
Name | Sport | Awards | Years |
---|---|---|---|
Lance Armstrong | Road bicycle racing | 4 | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 |
Tiger Woods | Golf | 4 | 1997, 1999, 2000, 2006 |
LeBron James | Basketball | 4 | 2013, 2016, 2018, 2020 |
Michael Jordan | Basketball | 3 | 1991, 1992, 1993 |
Shohei Ohtani | Baseball | 3 | 2021, 2023, 2024 |
Don Budge | Tennis | 2 | 1937, 1938 |
Sandy Koufax | Baseball | 2 | 1963, 1965 |
Carl Lewis | Track and field | 2 | 1983, 1984 |
Joe Montana | American football | 2 | 1989, 1990 |
Byron Nelson | Golf | 2 | 1944, 1945 |
Michael Phelps | Swimming | 2 | 2008, 2012 |
Name | Sport | Awards | Years |
---|---|---|---|
Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Golf/Track and field | 6 | 1932, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1954 |
Serena Williams | Tennis | 5 | 2002, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2018 |
Chris Evert | Tennis | 4 | 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980 |
Maureen Connolly | Tennis | 3 | 1951, 1952, 1953 |
Annika Sörenstam | Golf | 3 | 2003, 2004, 2005 |
Simone Biles | Gymnastics | 3 | 2016, 2019, 2023 |
Alice Marble | Tennis | 2 | 1939, 1940 |
Althea Gibson | Tennis | 2 | 1957, 1958 |
Wilma Rudolph | Track and field | 2 | 1960, 1961 |
Mickey Wright | Golf | 2 | 1963, 1964 |
Kathy Whitworth | Golf | 2 | 1965, 1966 |
Billie Jean King | Tennis | 2 | 1967, 1973 |
Tracy Austin | Tennis | 2 | 1979, 1981 |
Nancy Lopez | Golf | 2 | 1978, 1985 |
Martina Navratilova | Tennis | 2 | 1983, 1986 |
Monica Seles | Tennis | 2 | 1991, 1992 |
Lorena Ochoa | Golf | 2 | 2006, 2007 |
Candace Parker | Basketball | 2 | 2008, 2021 |
Katie Ledecky | Swimming | 2 | 2017, 2022 |
Decade | Male | Female | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Sport | Name | Sport | |
1960s | Arnold Palmer | Golf | None Awarded | |
1970s | Jack Nicklaus | Golf | ||
1980s | Wayne Gretzky | Hockey | ||
1990s | Michael Jordan | Basketball | ||
2000s | Tiger Woods | Golf | ||
2010s | LeBron James | Basketball | Serena Williams | Tennis |
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