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, 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

List of award winners
Year	Male		Female
Year	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

Multiple awards

List of male award winners
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

List of female award winners
Name	Sport	Awards	Years
Babe Didrikson	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	Golf	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

List of award winners
Decade	Male		Female
Decade	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

^ Became a U.S. citizen in 1994.
^ "Tiger AP's Male Athlete Of Year". CBS News. Associated Press. December 27, 1999. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ Ferguson, Doug (December 27, 2000). "Year of the Tiger". Missoulian. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "Barry Bonds Voted The Associated Press Male of the Year". Jet. 101 (4): 52. January 12, 2002. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
^ Vertuino, Jim (December 27, 2002). "Armstrong named AP Athlete of the Year Perseverance: Four-time Tour de France champion tops Bonds". The Brownsville Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "NAMES & GAMES Lance Armstrong: AP Male Athlete of the Year". New Haven Register. December 29, 2003. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ Vertuno, Jim (December 29, 2004). "Armstrong, Sorenstam honored as athletes of year". Deseret News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "Lance Armstrong wins AP male athlete honours". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 28, 2005. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "Woods wins AP male athlete award for 2006". Orlando Sentinel. December 26, 2006. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ Flannery, Paul (December 21, 2007). "Tom Brady's Charmed Year Continues". Boston. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "Michael Phelps Named The Associated Press Top Sports Story, AP Male Athlete of 2008". Swimming World. December 24, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "Johnson is AP's top male athlete of '09". Associated Press (ESPN.com). December 21, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
^ Triplett, Mike (December 18, 2010). "New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees fourth QB to be named AP Athlete of the Year". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ Markovich, Tony (December 21, 2011). "Associated Press Votes Aaron Rodgers 2011 Male Athlete of the Year". Complex. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "Michael Phelps Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year". Swimming World. December 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ Schilken, Chuck (December 26, 2013). "LeBron James named Associated Press' male athlete of the year". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ "Madison Bumgarner gets AP honor". Associated Press (via ESPN.com). December 30, 2014. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
^ "Davis wins AP Female Athlete of the Year honors - NBC Sports | NBC Sports". Archived from the original on 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
^ Herbert, James (December 26, 2015). "Warriors' Stephen Curry named AP Male Athlete of the Year". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^ Withers, Tom (December 27, 2016). "Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James named AP Male Athlete of Year". The News-Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ "Astros star Jose Altuve named AP Male Athlete of the Year". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
^ Beth Harris (2017-12-26). "Katie Ledecky Swims to AP Female Athlete of the Year Honors". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-12-26.^{[dead link‍]}
^ Holleran, Andrew (December 27, 2018). "Associated Press Names Its 2018 Male Athlete Of The Year". thespun.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
^ Mahoney, Brian (December 26, 2018). "Serena voted AP Female Athlete of the Year for 5th time". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
^ "Kawhi Leonard and Simone Biles Are AP's Athletes of the Year". complex.com. December 28, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
^ "One of a kind: Ohtani wins AP Male Athlete of Year award". apnews.com/. December 28, 2021. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
^ "Candace Parker voted AP Female Athlete of Year for 2nd time". Associated Press. 29 December 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
^ "Shohei Ohtani wins 3rd AP Male Athlete of the Year award, tying Michael Jordan for 1 shy of record". AP News. 2024-12-23. Retrieved 2024-12-24.

Notes

Adapted from the article Associated Press Athlete of the Year, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

[1] Became a U.S. citizen in 1994.

[2] "Tiger AP's Male Athlete Of Year". CBS News. Associated Press. December 27, 1999. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[3] Ferguson, Doug (December 27, 2000). "Year of the Tiger". Missoulian. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[4] "Barry Bonds Voted The Associated Press Male of the Year". Jet. 101 (4): 52. January 12, 2002. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Google Books.

[5] Vertuino, Jim (December 27, 2002). "Armstrong named AP Athlete of the Year Perseverance: Four-time Tour de France champion tops Bonds". The Brownsville Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[6] "NAMES & GAMES Lance Armstrong: AP Male Athlete of the Year". New Haven Register. December 29, 2003. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[7] Vertuno, Jim (December 29, 2004). "Armstrong, Sorenstam honored as athletes of year". Deseret News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[8] "Lance Armstrong wins AP male athlete honours". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 28, 2005. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[9] "Woods wins AP male athlete award for 2006". Orlando Sentinel. December 26, 2006. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[10] Flannery, Paul (December 21, 2007). "Tom Brady's Charmed Year Continues". Boston. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[11] "Michael Phelps Named The Associated Press Top Sports Story, AP Male Athlete of 2008". Swimming World. December 24, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[12] "Johnson is AP's top male athlete of '09". Associated Press (ESPN.com). December 21, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-30.

[13] Triplett, Mike (December 18, 2010). "New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees fourth QB to be named AP Athlete of the Year". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[14] Markovich, Tony (December 21, 2011). "Associated Press Votes Aaron Rodgers 2011 Male Athlete of the Year". Complex. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[15] "Michael Phelps Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year". Swimming World. December 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[16] Schilken, Chuck (December 26, 2013). "LeBron James named Associated Press' male athlete of the year". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[ESPN_2014_Bumgarner-17] "Madison Bumgarner gets AP honor". Associated Press (via ESPN.com). December 30, 2014. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2014.

[18] "Davis wins AP Female Athlete of the Year honors - NBC Sports | NBC Sports". Archived from the original on 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2015-12-30.

[19] Herbert, James (December 26, 2015). "Warriors' Stephen Curry named AP Male Athlete of the Year". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

[20] Withers, Tom (December 27, 2016). "Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James named AP Male Athlete of Year". The News-Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

[21] "Astros star Jose Altuve named AP Male Athlete of the Year". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.

[22] Beth Harris (2017-12-26). "Katie Ledecky Swims to AP Female Athlete of the Year Honors". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-12-26.^{[dead link‍]}

[23] Holleran, Andrew (December 27, 2018). "Associated Press Names Its 2018 Male Athlete Of The Year". thespun.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.

[24] Mahoney, Brian (December 26, 2018). "Serena voted AP Female Athlete of the Year for 5th time". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.

[25] "Kawhi Leonard and Simone Biles Are AP's Athletes of the Year". complex.com. December 28, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

[26] "One of a kind: Ohtani wins AP Male Athlete of Year award". apnews.com/. December 28, 2021. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2021.

[27] "Candace Parker voted AP Female Athlete of Year for 2nd time". Associated Press. 29 December 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2021.

[28] "Shohei Ohtani wins 3rd AP Male Athlete of the Year award, tying Michael Jordan for 1 shy of record". AP News. 2024-12-23. Retrieved 2024-12-24.

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v t e Sportsperson of the Year
National	Algeria Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Canada Northern Star Award (general) Conacher (male) Rosenfeld (female) Springstead (female) Croatia Czechoslovakia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland India Iran Ireland Italy La Gazzetta International Sports Prize Jamaica Japan Kenya Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malaysia Moldova Montenegro Netherlands New Zealand Norway Philippines Poland Portugal Serbia NOC Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal Jerring Award Swedish Sports Awards Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom Main award Northern Ireland Scotland Wales United States AP ESPY female male The Sporting News Sports Illustrated NOC USSR Vanuatu Yugoslavia Sport Sportske novosti Zimbabwe
Regional	BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year
Continental	European Sportsperson of the Year
World	BBC World Sport Star of the Year International Sports Prize La Gazzetta Laureus Awards L'Équipe Champion of Champions