Associated Press Athlete of the Year
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 | .svg.png){kind=small} 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 | .svg.png){kind=small} 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 Lloyd | Tennis |
| 1981 | John McEnroe | Tennis | Tracy Austin | Tennis |
| 1982 |  Wayne Gretzky | National Hockey League | Mary Tabb | 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 | National Basketball Association | 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 | National Basketball Association |  Monica Seles[2] | Tennis |
| 1992 | Michael Jordan | National Basketball Association |  Monica Seles | Tennis |
| 1993 | Michael Jordan | 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 | PGA Tour golf |  Martina Hingis | Tennis |
| 1998 | Mark McGwire | Major League Baseball |  Se Ri Pak | LPGA golf |
| 1999 | Tiger Woods | PGA Tour golf | U.S. women's soccer team | Soccer |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods | PGA Tour 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 Tour golf |  Lorena Ochoa | LPGA golf |
| 2007 | Tom Brady | National Football League | Lorena Ochoa | LPGA golf |
| 2008 | Michael Phelps | Swimming | Candace Parker | Women's National Basketball Association |
| 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 | National Basketball Association | Serena Williams | Tennis |
| 2014 | Madison Bumgarner[4] | Major League Baseball | Mo'ne Davis[5] | Little League baseball |
| 2015 | Stephen Curry | National Basketball Association | Serena Williams | Tennis |
| 2016 | LeBron James | National Basketball Association | Simone Biles | Gymnastics |
Footnotes
- ↑ This was the year of the founding of the LPGA.
- ↑ Became a U.S. citizen in 1994.
- ↑ "Johnson is AP's top male athlete of '09". Associated Press (ESPN.com). December 21, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ↑ "Madison Bumgarner gets AP honor". Associated Press (via ESPN.com). December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
Notes
- Adapted from the article Associated Press Athlete of the Year, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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