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AP Athlete of the Year
American annual sports award From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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, 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.
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AP Athlete of the Year
More information Year, Male ...
| 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] |
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Multiple awards
More information Name, Sport ...
| 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 |
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More information Name, Sport ...
| 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 |
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AP Athlete of the Decade
More information Decade, Male ...
| 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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Footnotes
Notes
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