Sportsman of the Year

From BR Bullpen

The Sportsman of the Year award has been presented annually by Sports Illustrated magazine since its founding in 1954. It is presented to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." The award's trophy is a ceramic urn depicting Greek athletes. It has been won by a baseball player on eighteen occasions, the most of any sport.

Award Winners[edit]

Year Winner Sport Achievement
1954 Roger Bannister Track and Field First sub-four-minute mile
1955 Johnny Podres Baseball World Series MVP
1956 Bobby Joe Morrow Track and Field Double Olympic gold medalist
1957 Stan Musial Baseball National League batting champion
1958 Rafer Johnson Track and Field Decathlon world record
1959 Ingemar Johansson Boxing World heavyweight champion
1960 Arnold Palmer Golf PGA Player of the Year
1961 Jerry Lucas College Basketball Final Four MVP
1962 Terry Baker College Football Heisman Trophy winner
1963 Pete Rozelle Professional Football NFL expansion
1964 Ken Venturi Golf US Open Champion
1965 Sandy Koufax Baseball Cy Young Award, Strikeout record
1966 Jim Ryun Track and Field Mile world record
1967 Carl Yastrzemski Baseball Triple Crown winner
1968 Bill Russell Professional Basketball NBA champion player-coach
1969 Tom Seaver Baseball Cy Young Award
1970 Bobby Orr Hockey NHL MVP
1971 Lee Trevino Golf PGA Player of the Year
1972 Billie Jean King Tennis Three major titles
John Wooden College Basketball NCAA champion coach
1973 Jackie Stewart Auto Racing Formula One World Champion
1974 Muhammad Ali Boxing World heavyweight champion
1975 Pete Rose Baseball World Series MVP
1976 Chris Evert Tennis Two major titles
1977 Steve Cauthen Horse Racing Most Outstanding Jockey
1978 Jack Nicklaus Golf British Open champion
1979 Terry Bradshaw Professional Football Super Bowl MVP
Willie Stargell Baseball National League MVP, World Series MVP
1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team Hockey Olympic gold medalists
1981 Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing World welterweight champion
1982 Wayne Gretzky Hockey NHL MVP
1983 Mary Decker Track and Field Double world champion
1984 Edwin Moses Track and Field Olympic gold medalist
Mary Lou Retton Gymnastics Olympic gold medalist
1985 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Professional Basketball Playoff MVP
1986 Joe Paterno College Football NCAA champion coach
1987 Athletes Who Care
Bob Bourne Hockey Helped handicapped children's school
Judi Brown King Track and Field Helped abused children
Kip Keino Track and Field Cared for orphaned children
Dale Murphy Baseball Charity spokesman
Chip Rives College Football Helped needy children
Patty Sheehan Golf Helped abused girls
Rory Sparrow Professional Basketball Helped school children
Reggie Williams Professional Football Helped high school students
1988 Orel Hershiser Baseball Cy Young Award, World Series MVP
1989 Greg LeMond Cycling Tour de France winner
1990 Joe Montana Professional Football Three-time Super Bowl MVP
1991 Michael Jordan Professional Basketball NBA MVP
1992 Arthur Ashe Tennis Supported humanitarian causes
1993 Don Shula Professional Football Winningest NFL coach
1994 Bonnie Blair Speed skating Double Olympic gold medalist
Johann Olav Koss Speed skating Triple Olympic gold medalist
1995 Cal Ripken, Jr. Baseball Consecutive games record
1996 Tiger Woods Golf US Amateur, NCAA champion
1997 Dean Smith College Basketball Winningest college coach
1998 Mark McGwire Baseball Single-season home run record
Sammy Sosa Baseball National League MVP
1999 U.S. Women's Soccer Team Soccer World Cup champions
2000 Tiger Woods Golf Three major championships
2001 Curt Schilling Baseball Co-World Series MVP
Randy Johnson Baseball Cy Young Award, Co-World Series MVP
2002 Lance Armstrong Cycling Tour de France winner
2003 David Robinson Professional Basketball Two-time NBA champion
Tim Duncan Professional Basketball NBA MVP, Playoff MVP
2004 Boston Red Sox Baseball 2004 World Series champions
2005 Tom Brady Professional Football Two-time Super Bowl MVP
2006 Dwayne Wade Professional Basketball NBA Champion Miami Heat
2007 Brett Favre Professional Football 3 time NFL MVP
2008 Michael Phelps Olympic Swimming 8-time Gold Medal winner at 2008 Summer Games
2009 Derek Jeter Baseball Broke Yankees and shortstop career hit records
2010 Drew Brees Professional Football Super Bowl MVP and charitable work toward the reconstruction of New Orleans
2011 Mike Krzyzewski College Basketball Most wins in NCAA men's Division I history
2012 Pat Summitt College Basketball All-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball
2013 LeBron James Professional Basketball NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist
2014 Madison Bumgarner Baseball Three-time World Series Champion, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP
2015 Serena Williams Tennis Three major titles, oldest player to be ranked number one in women's tennis during the Open Era
2016 LeBron James Professional Basketball NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion, led Cleveland Cavaliers to first title in franchise history
2017 José Altuve Baseball American League MVP, World Series Champion, helped lead Houston Astros
to first title and the city's first major championship since 1995
J. J. Watt Professional Football Raised more than $37 million in raid for the city of Houston, TX in wake of Hurricane Harvey
2018 Golden State Warriors team Professional Basketball 2018 NBA champions, third title in last four years
2019 Megan Rapinoe Soccer FIFA Women's World Cup champion, won Golden Ball and Golden Boot
2020 Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Professional Football Super Bowl LIV champion, sat out the 2020 season to serve as an orderly during the COVID-19 pandemic
LeBron James Professional Basketball NBA Finals MVP; Voter's rights
Patrick Mahomes Professional Football Super Bowl MVP, pushed the NFL to recognize the Black Lives Matter movement,
pushed to encourage voter registration across the country, as well as among his teammates
Naomi Osaka Tennis U.S. Open champion and advocate for social justice
Breanna Stewart Professional Basketball WNBA Finals MVP, spoke out against racism and for women's equality
2021 Tom Brady Professional Football Super Bowl LV MVP, 7-time Super Bowl champion