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 AP Athlete of the Year award winners 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 SelesBecame a U.S. citizen in 1994. 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 OsakaTennis 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) Gymnastics2024 Shohei Ohtani (3)Major League Baseball Caitlin Clark Women's National Basketball Association 2025 Shohei Ohtani (4) Major League Baseball A'ja Wilson Women's National Basketball Association
Multiple awards
+List of male award winners Name Sport Awards YearsLance Armstrong Road bicycle racing 4 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005Tiger Woods Golf 4 1997, 1999, 2000, 2006LeBron James Basketball 4 2013, 2016, 2018, 2020Shohei Ohtani Baseball 4 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025Michael Jordan Basketball 3 1991, 1992, 1993Don Budge Tennis 2 1937, 1938Sandy Koufax Baseball 2 1963, 1965Carl Lewis Track and field 2 1983, 1984Joe Montana American football 2 1989, 1990Byron Nelson Golf 2 1944, 1945Michael 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, 1954Serena Williams Tennis 5 2002, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2018Chris Evert Tennis 4 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980Maureen Connolly Tennis 3 1951, 1952, 1953Annika Sörenstam Golf 3 2003, 2004, 2005Simone Biles Gymnastics 3 2016, 2019, 2023Alice Marble Tennis 2 1939, 1940Althea Gibson Tennis 2 1957, 1958Wilma Rudolph Track and field 2 1960, 1961Mickey Wright Golf 2 1963, 1964Kathy Whitworth Golf 2 1965, 1966Billie Jean King Tennis 2 1967, 1973Tracy Austin Tennis 2 1979, 1981Nancy Lopez Golf 2 1978, 1985Martina Navratilova Tennis 2 1983, 1986Monica Seles Tennis 2 1991, 1992Lorena Ochoa Golf 2 2006, 2007Candace Parker Basketball 2 2008, 2021Katie Ledecky Swimming 2 2017, 2022
AP Athlete of the Decade +List of award winners Decade Male Female Name Sport Name Sport 1960s Arnold Palmer Golf None Awarded 1970s Jack NicklausGolf 1980s Wayne Gretzky Hockey 1990s Michael JordanBasketball 2000s Tiger Woods Golf 2010s LeBron James Basketball Serena Williams Tennis
Footnotes
Notes Adapted from the article Associated Press Athlete of the Year, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.