Associated Press Athletes of the Year This award was first presented in 1931.

Associated Press Athletes of the Year This award was first presented in 1931.. Year Name Sport 1 950 Jim Konstanty baseball 1951 Dick Kazmaier football 1952 Bob Mathias track and field 1953 Ben Hogan golf 1954 Willie Mays baseball 1955 Hopalong Cassady football 1956 Mickey Mantle baseball 1957 Ted Williams baseball 1958 Herb Elliott track and field 1959 Ingemar Johansson boxing 1960 Rafer Johnson track and field 1961 Roger Maris baseball 1962 Maury Wills baseball 1963 Sandy Koufax baseball 1964 Don Schollander swimming 1965 Sandy Koufax baseball 1966 Frank Robinson baseball 1967 Carl Yastrzemski baseball 1968 Denny McLain baseball 1969 Tom Seaver baseball 1970 George Blanda football 1971 Lee Trevino golf 1972 Mark Spitz swimming 1973 O. J. Simpson football 1974 Muhammad Ali boxing 1975 Fred Lynn baseball 1976 Bruce Jenner track and field 1977 Steve Cauthen horseracing 1978 Ron Guidry baseball 1979 Willie Stargell baseball 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team hockey 1981 John McEnroe tennis 1982 Wayne Gretzky hockey 1983 Carl Lewis track and field 1984 Carl Lewis track and field 1985 Dwight Gooden baseball 1986 Larry Bird basketball 1987 Ben Johnson track and field 1988 Orel Hershiser baseball 1989 Joe Montana football 1990 Joe Montana football 1991 Michael Jordan basketball 1992 Michael Jordan basketball 1993 Michael Jordan basketball 1994 George Foreman boxing 1995 Cal Ripken, Jr. baseball 1996 Michael Johnson track and field 1997 Tiger Woods golf 1998 Mark McGwire baseball 1999 Tiger Woods golf 2000 Tiger Woods golf 2001 Barry Bonds baseball 2002 Lance Armstrong cycling 2003 Lance Armstrong cycling 2004 Lance Armstrong cycling 2005 Lance Armstrong cycling 2006 Tiger Woods golf 1 950 Babe Zaharias golf 1951 Maureen Connolly tennis 1952 Maureen Connolly tennis 1953 Maureen Connolly tennis 1954 Babe Zaharias golf 1955 Patty Berg golf 1956 Pat McCormick diving 1957 Althea Gibson tennis 1958 Althea Gibson tennis 1959 Maria Bueno tennis 1960 Wilma Rudolph track and field Men Women 1 961 Wilma Rudolph track and field 1962 Dawn Fraser swimming 1963 Mickey Wright golf 1964 Mickey Wright golf 1965 Kathy Whitworth golf 1966 Kathy Whitworth golf 1967 Billie Jean King tennis 1968 Peggy Fleming skating 1969 Debbie Meyer swimming 1970 Chi Cheng track and field 1971 Evonne Goolagong tennis 1972 Olga Korbut gymnastics 1973 Billie Jean King tennis 1974 Chris Evert tennis 1975 Chris Evert tennis 1976 Nadia Comaneci gymnastics 1977 Chris Evert tennis 1978 Nancy Lopez golf 1979 Tracy Austin tennis 1980 Chris Evert Lloyd tennis 1981 Tracy Austin tennis 1982 Mary Decker track and field 1983 Martina Navratilova tennis 1984 Mary Lou Retton gymnastics 1985 Nancy Lopez golf 1986 Martina Navratilova tennis 1987 Jackie Joyner-Kersee track and field 1988 Florence Griffith Joyner track and field 1989 Steffi Graf tennis 1990 Beth Daniel golf 1991 Monica Seles tennis 1992 Monica Seles tennis 1993 Sheryl Swoopes basketball 1994 Bonnie Blair speed skating 1995 Rebecca Lobo basketball 1996 Amy Van Dyken swimming 1997 Martina Hingis tennis 1998 Se Ri Pak golf 1999 U.S. Women's Soccer Team soccer 2000 Marion Jones track and field 2001 Jennifer Capriati tennis 2002 Serena Williams tennis 2003 Annika Sörenstam golf 2004 Annika Sörenstam golf 2005 Annika Sörenstam golf 2006 Lorena Ochoa golf Source: Associated Press. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.