Sportsman of the Year

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"Sportsman of the Year" trophy

Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." A majority of the winners have been American. Non-Americans are also eligible, and have won on a number of occasions, but the list of recipients may be reflective of an American perspective in the list's formation For example it has never been given to a male practitioner of the world's most popular sports of cricket and soccer. The award's trophy, a ceramic urn depicting Greek athletes, has been given to the following recipients:

Year Winner Sport Achievement
1954 Flag of the United Kingdom Roger Bannister Track and field First sub-four-minute mile
1955 Flag of the United States Johnny Podres Baseball World Series MVP
1956 Flag of the United States Bobby Joe Morrow Track and field Double Olympic gold medalist
1957 Flag of the United States Stan Musial Baseball National League batting champion
1958 Flag of the United States Rafer Johnson Track and field Decathlon world record
1959 Flag of Sweden Ingemar Johansson Boxing World heavyweight champion
1960 Flag of the United States Arnold Palmer Golf PGA Player of the Year
1961 Flag of the United States Jerry Lucas College basketball Final Four MVP
1962 Flag of the United States Terry Baker College football Heisman Trophy winner
1963 Flag of the United States Pete Rozelle Professional football NFL expansion
1964 Flag of the United States Ken Venturi Golf U.S. Open Champion
1965 Flag of the United States Sandy Koufax Baseball Cy Young Award, Strikeout record
1966 Flag of the United States Jim Ryun Track and field Mile world record
1967 Flag of the United States Carl Yastrzemski Baseball Triple Crown winner
1968 Flag of the United States Bill Russell Professional basketball NBA champion player-coach
1969 Flag of the United States Tom Seaver Baseball Cy Young Award
1970 Flag of Canada Bobby Orr Hockey NHL MVP, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, Norris
1971 Flag of the United States Lee Trevino Golf PGA Player of the Year
1972 Flag of the United States Billie Jean King Tennis Three major titles
Flag of the United States John Wooden College basketball NCAA champion coach
1973 Flag of the United Kingdom Jackie Stewart Auto racing Formula One World Champion
1974 Flag of the United States Muhammad Ali Boxing World heavyweight champion
1975 Flag of the United States Pete Rose Baseball World Series MVP
1976 Flag of the United States Chris Evert Tennis Two major titles
1977 Flag of the United States Steve Cauthen Horse racing Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey
1978 Flag of the United States Jack Nicklaus Golf British Open champion
1979 Flag of the United States Terry Bradshaw Professional football Super Bowl MVP
Flag of the United States Willie Stargell Baseball World Series MVP
1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team Hockey Olympic gold medalists
1981 Flag of the United States Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing World welterweight champion
1982 Flag of Canada Wayne Gretzky Hockey NHL MVP, Art Ross
1983 Flag of the United States Mary Decker Track and field Double world champion
1984 Flag of the United States Edwin Moses Track and field Olympic gold medalist
Flag of the United States Mary Lou Retton Gymnastics Olympic gold medalist
1985 Flag of the United States Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Professional basketball Playoff MVP
1986 Flag of the United States Joe Paterno College football NCAA champion coach
1987 "Athletes Who Care"
Flag of Canada Bob Bourne Hockey Helped handicapped children's school
Flag of the United States Judi Brown King Track and field Helped abused children
Flag of Kenya Kip Keino Track and field Cared for orphaned children
Flag of the United States Dale Murphy Baseball Charity spokesman
Flag of the United States Chip Rives College football Helped needy children
Flag of the United States Patty Sheehan Golf Helped abused girls
Flag of the United States Rory Sparrow Professional basketball Helped school children
Flag of the United States Reggie Williams Professional football Helped high school students
1988 Flag of the United States Orel Hershiser Baseball Cy Young Award, World Series MVP
1989 Flag of the United States Greg LeMond Cycling Tour de France winner
1990 Flag of the United States Joe Montana Professional football Three-time Super Bowl MVP
1991 Flag of the United States Michael Jordan Professional basketball NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion
1992 Flag of the United States Arthur Ashe Tennis Supported humanitarian causes
1993 Flag of the United States Don Shula Professional football Winningest NFL coach
1994 Flag of the United States Bonnie Blair Speed skating Double Olympic gold medalist
Flag of Norway Johann Olav Koss Speed skating Triple Olympic gold medalist
1995 Flag of the United States Cal Ripken, Jr. Baseball Consecutive games record
1996 Flag of the United States Tiger Woods Golf U.S. Amateur, NCAA champion
1997 Flag of the United States Dean Smith College basketball 2nd Winningest college coach
1998 Flag of the United States Mark McGwire Baseball Single-season home run record
Flag of the Dominican Republic Sammy Sosa Baseball National League MVP
1999 Flag of the United States U.S. Women's Soccer Team Soccer World Cup champions
2000 Flag of the United States Tiger Woods Golf Three major championships
2001 Flag of the United States Curt Schilling Baseball World Series Co-MVP
Flag of the United States Randy Johnson Baseball World Series Co-MVP, Cy Young Award
2002 Flag of the United States Lance Armstrong Cycling Four-time Tour de France winner
2003 Flag of the United States David Robinson Professional basketball Two-time NBA champion
Flag of the United States Tim Duncan Professional basketball NBA MVP, Playoff MVP
2004 Boston Red Sox Baseball 2004 World Series champions
2005 Flag of the United States Tom Brady Professional Football Two-time Super Bowl MVP
2006 Flag of the United States Dwyane Wade Professional Basketball NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP
2007 Flag of the United States Brett Favre Professional Football "for his perseverance and his passion"

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