Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year
Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the Sportsperson of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the vast majority of winners have been from the United States. Both men and women have won the award, originally called "Sportsman of the Year" and renamed "Sportswoman of the Year" or "Sportswomen of the Year" when applicable; it is currently known as "Sportsperson of the Year."
Tiger Woods and LeBron James are the only individuals who have received the award more than once. Woods received his first award in 1996 as an amateur golfer, and in 2000 as a professional golfer. James received his first award in 2012 and his second in 2016.
The trophy is a ceramic replica of an ancient Greek amphora (circa 510 BCE) which depicts nude male Hellenistic athletes engaged in a variety of Athletic activities- running, discus and javelin. It measures 8" in diameter and stands 18.5" high (20.32 x 47 cm). The original amphorae was acquired by Sports Illustrated magazine in 1954 and was donated to the "Sports" collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 1979.[1] Winners of the award are now presented with a copy of the amphora made in silver by Tiffany & Co.[2]
Winners
The award's trophy, a ceramic urn depicting Great athletes, has been given to the following recipients:
| Year | Winner | Nationality | Sport | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Bannister, RogerRoger Bannister |  Great Britain | Track and field | First sub-four-minute mile |
| 1955 | Podres, JohnnyJohnny Podres |  United States | Baseball | World Series MVP |
| 1956 | Morrow, BobbyBobby Morrow | United States | Track and field | Triple Olympic gold medalist |
| 1957 | Musial, StanStan Musial | United States | Baseball | National League batting champion |
| 1958 | Johnson, RaferRafer Johnson | United States | Track and field | Decathlon world record |
| 1959 | Johansson, IngemarIngemar Johansson |  Sweden | Boxing | World heavyweight champion |
| 1960 | Palmer, ArnoldArnold Palmer | United States | Golf | PGA Player of the Year |
| 1961 | Lucas, JerryJerry Lucas | United States | College basketball | Final Four MVP |
| 1962 | Baker, TerryTerry Baker | United States | College football | Heisman Trophy winner |
| 1963 | Rozelle, PetePete Rozelle | United States | Professional football | NFL expansion, suspension of Paul Hornung and Alex Karras for gambling |
| 1964 | Venturi, KenKen Venturi | United States | Golf | U.S. Open champion |
| 1965 | Koufax, SandySandy Koufax | United States | Baseball | Cy Young Award, strikeout record |
| 1966 | Ryun, JimJim Ryun | United States | Track and field | Mile world record |
| 1967 | Yastrzemski, CarlCarl Yastrzemski | United States | Baseball | Triple Crown winner, AL MVP |
| 1968 | Russell, BillBill Russell | United States | Professional basketball | NBA champion player-coach |
| 1969 | Seaver, TomTom Seaver | United States | Baseball | Cy Young Award, World Series champion |
| 1970 | Orr, BobbyBobby Orr |  Canada | Hockey | NHL MVP, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, Norris |
| 1971 | Trevino, LeeLee Trevino | United States | Golf | PGA Player of the Year |
| 1972 | King, Billie JeanBillie Jean King | United States | Tennis | Three major titles |
| Wooden, JohnJohn Wooden | United States | College basketball | NCAA champion coach | |
| 1973 | Stewart, JackieJackie Stewart | Great Britain | Auto racing | Formula One World Champion |
| 1974 | Ali, MuhammadMuhammad Ali | United States | Boxing | World heavyweight champion |
| 1975 | Rose, PetePete Rose | United States | Baseball | World Series MVP |
| 1976 | Evert, ChrisChris Evert | United States | Tennis | Two major titles |
| 1977 | Cauthen, SteveSteve Cauthen | United States | Horse racing | Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey |
| 1978 | Nicklaus, JackJack Nicklaus | United States | Golf | British Open champion |
| 1979 | Bradshaw, TerryTerry Bradshaw | United States | Professional football | Super Bowl MVP |
| Stargell, WillieWillie Stargell | United States | Baseball | NL MVP, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP | |
| 1980 | U.S. Olympic hockey team | United States | Hockey | Olympic gold medalists |
| 1981 | Leonard, Sugar RaySugar Ray Leonard | United States | Boxing | World welterweight champion |
| 1982 | Gretzky, WayneWayne Gretzky | Canada | Hockey | NHL MVP, Art Ross |
| 1983 | Decker, MaryMary Decker | United States | Track and field | Double world champion |
| 1984 | Moses, EdwinEdwin Moses | United States | Track and field | Olympic gold medalist |
| Retton, Mary LouMary Lou Retton | United States | Gymnastics | Olympic gold medalist | |
| 1985 | Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar | United States | Professional basketball | Playoff MVP |
| 1986 | Paterno, JoeJoe Paterno | United States | College football | NCAA champion coach |
| 1987 | Bourne, BobBob Bourne | Canada | Hockey | Helped handicapped children's school |
| King, Judi BrownJudi Brown King | United States | Track and field | Helped abused children | |
| Keino, KipchogeKipchoge Keino |  Kenya | Track and field | Cared for orphaned children | |
| Murphy, DaleDale Murphy | United States | Baseball | Charity spokesman | |
| Rives, ChipChip Rives | United States | College football | Helped needy children | |
| Sheehan, PattyPatty Sheehan | United States | Golf | Helped abused girls | |
| Sparrow, RoryRory Sparrow | United States | Professional basketball | Helped school children | |
| Williams, ReggieReggie Williams | United States | Professional football | Helped high school students | |
| 1988 | Hershiser, OrelOrel Hershiser | United States | Baseball | Cy Young Award, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP |
| 1989 | LeMond, GregGreg LeMond | United States | Cycling | Tour de France and World champion |
| 1990 | Montana, JoeJoe Montana | United States | Professional football | Three-time Super Bowl MVP |
| 1991 | Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan | United States | Professional basketball | NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion, Olympic gold medalist |
| 1992 | Ashe, ArthurArthur Ashe | United States | Tennis | Supported humanitarian causes |
| 1993 | Shula, DonDon Shula | United States | Professional football | Winningest NFL coach |
| 1994 | Blair, BonnieBonnie Blair | United States | Speed skating | Double Olympic gold medalist |
| Koss, Johann OlavJohann Olav Koss |  Norway | Speed skating | Triple Olympic gold medalist | |
| 1995 | Ripken, Jr., CalCal Ripken, Jr. | United States | Baseball | Consecutive games record |
| 1996 | Woods, TigerTiger Woods | United States | Golf | U.S. Amateur, NCAA champion |
| 1997 | Smith, DeanDean Smith | United States | College basketball | Winningest college coach at the time of publication |
| 1998 | McGwire, MarkMark McGwire | United States | Baseball | Single-season home run record holder at the time of publication |
| Sosa, SammySammy Sosa |  Dominican Republic | Baseball | National League MVP | |
| 1999 | U.S. women's soccer team | United States | Soccer | World Cup champions |
| 2000 | Woods, TigerTiger Woods | United States | Golf | Three major championships |
| 2001 | Schilling, CurtCurt Schilling | United States | Baseball | World Series Co-MVP |
| Johnson, RandyRandy Johnson | United States | Baseball | World Series Co-MVP, Cy Young Award | |
| 2002 | Armstrong, LanceLance Armstrong | United States | Cycling | Four-time Tour de France winner (wins later disqualified in 2012) |
| 2003 | Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson | United States | Professional basketball | Two-time NBA champion |
| Duncan, TimTim Duncan | United States | Professional basketball | NBA MVP, NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP | |
| 2004 | Boston Red Sox | United States | Professional baseball team | 2004 World Series champions |
| 2005 | Brady, TomTom Brady | United States | Professional football | Two-time Super Bowl MVP, Three-time Super Bowl champion |
| 2006 | Wade, DwyaneDwyane Wade | United States | Professional basketball | NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP |
| 2007 | Favre, BrettBrett Favre | United States | Professional football | "For his perseverance and his passion" |
| 2008 | Phelps, MichaelMichael Phelps | United States | Swimming | Eight gold medals in 2008 Summer Olympics |
| 2009 | Jeter, DerekDerek Jeter | United States | Baseball | Five-time World Series Champion |
| 2010 | Brees, DrewDrew Brees | United States | Professional football | Super Bowl MVP and charitable work toward the reconstruction of New Orleans |
| 2011 | Krzyzewski, MikeMike Krzyzewski | United States | College basketball coach | Most wins in NCAA men's Division I history |
| Summitt, PatPat Summitt | United States | College basketball coach | All-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball | |
| 2012 | James, LeBronLeBron James | United States | Professional basketball | NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion, Olympic gold medalist |
| 2013 | Manning, PeytonPeyton Manning | United States | Professional football | Five-Time NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP, single-season touchdown record, AFC Champion |
| 2014 | Bumgarner, MadisonMadison Bumgarner | United States | Baseball | Three-time World Series Champion, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP |
| 2015 | Williams, SerenaSerena Williams | United States | Tennis | Three major titles, oldest player to be ranked number one in women's tennis during the Open Era |
| 2016 | James, LeBronLeBron James | United States | Professional basketball | NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion, led Cleveland Cavaliers to first title in franchise history |
See also
- From 1968 to 2008, a different award with the same name was presented by Sporting News magazine.
- Sports Illustrated Top 20 Female Athletes of the Decade (2009)
- Sports Illustrated Top 20 Male Athletes of the Decade (2009)
- Athlete of the Year
- Associated Press Athlete of the Year (AP)
- ESPY Award
- United Press International Athlete of the Year Award (UPI) (defunct)
- Laureus World Sports Awards (Laureus World Sports Academy)
- BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year
- L'Équipe Champion of Champions
References
- ↑ Legends Donate To Smithsonian The Evening Independent, June 19, 1979; retrieved June 29, 2015.
- ↑ much is that trophy in the window? Farther Off The Wall; 3 November 2009; retrieved 29 June 2015.
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