Associated Press Athlete of the Year
American annual sports award From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
AP Athlete of the Year
| 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] |
Multiple awards
| 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 |
AP Athlete of the Decade
| 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 |
Footnotes
Notes
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