# 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 | Male | Female | 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 | 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 | U.S. women's soccer team | Soccer |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods (3) | Golf | Marion Jones | Track and field |
| 2001 | Barry Bonds | Major League Baseball | Jennifer Capriati | Tennis |
| 2002 | Lance Armstrong | Road bicycle racing | Serena Williams | Tennis |
| 2003 | Lance Armstrong (2) | Road bicycle racing | Annika Sörenstam | Golf |
| 2004 | Lance Armstrong (3) | Road bicycle racing | Annika Sörenstam (2) | Golf |
| 2005 | Lance Armstrong (4) | Road bicycle racing | Annika Sörenstam (3) | Golf |
| 2006 | Tiger Woods (4) | Golf | Lorena Ochoa | Golf |
| 2007 | Tom Brady | National Football League | Lorena Ochoa (2) | Golf |
| 2008 | Michael Phelps | Swimming | Candace Parker | Women's National Basketball Association |
| 2009 | Jimmie Johnson | NASCAR | Serena Williams (2) | Tennis |
| 2010 | Drew Brees | National Football League | Lindsey Vonn | Skiing |
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers | National Football League | Abby Wambach | Soccer |
| 2012 | Michael Phelps (2) | Swimming | Gabby Douglas | Gymnastics |
| 2013 | LeBron James | National Basketball Association | Serena Williams (3) | Tennis |
| 2014 | Madison Bumgarner | Major League Baseball | Mo'ne Davis | Little League baseball |
| 2015 | Stephen Curry | National Basketball Association | Serena Williams (4) | Tennis |
| 2016 | LeBron James (2) | National Basketball Association | Simone Biles | Gymnastics |
| 2017 | Jose Altuve | Major League Baseball | Katie Ledecky | Swimming |
| 2018 | LeBron James (3) | National Basketball Association | Serena Williams (5) | Tennis |
| 2019 | Kawhi Leonard | National Basketball Association | Simone Biles (2) | Gymnastics |
| 2020 | LeBron James (4) | National Basketball Association | Naomi Osaka | Tennis |
| 2021 | Shohei Ohtani | Major League Baseball | Candace Parker (2) | 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) | Major League Baseball | Caitlin Clark | Women's National Basketball Association |

## 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 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

List of award winners :
| Decade | Male | Male | Female | Female |
| Decade | Name | Sport | Name | Sport |
| 1960s | Arnold Palmer | Golf | None Awarded | None Awarded |
| 1970s | Jack Nicklaus | Golf | None Awarded | None Awarded |
| 1980s | Wayne Gretzky | Hockey | None Awarded | None Awarded |
| 1990s | Michael Jordan | Basketball | None Awarded | None Awarded |
| 2000s | Tiger Woods | Golf | None Awarded | None Awarded |
| 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.
* ↑ 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.
* ↑ "Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports". AP News. 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2024-12-24.