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

References

  1. Legends Donate To Smithsonian The Evening Independent, June 19, 1979; retrieved June 29, 2015.
  2. much is that trophy in the window? Farther Off The Wall; 3 November 2009; retrieved 29 June 2015.
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