Year | Winner | Nationality | Sport | Achievement |
1954 | Roger Bannister | Great Britain | Track and field | First sub-four-minute mile |
1955 | Johnny Podres | United States | Baseball | World Series MVP |
1956 | Bobby Morrow | United States | Track and field | Triple Olympic gold medalist |
1957 | Stan Musial | United States | Baseball | National League batting champion |
1958 | Rafer Johnson | United States | Track and field | Decathlon world record |
1959 | Ingemar Johansson | Sweden | Boxing | World Heavyweight Champion |
1960 | Arnold Palmer | United States | Golf | PGA Player of the Year |
1961 | Jerry Lucas | United States | College basketball | Final Four MVP |
1962 | Terry Baker | United States | College football | Heisman Trophy winner |
1963 | Pete Rozelle | United States | Professional football | NFL Commissioner; credited for expansion and the suspension of athletes for gambling |
1964 | Ken Venturi | United States | Golf | U.S. Open champion |
1965 | Sandy Koufax | United States | Baseball | World Series Champion, Cy Young Award, Triple Crown winner, World Series MVP |
1966 | Jim Ryun | United States | Track and field | Mile world record |
1967 | Carl Yastrzemski | United States | Baseball | Triple Crown winner, AL MVP |
1968 | Bill Russell | United States | Professional basketball | NBA champion player-coach |
1969 | Tom Seaver | United States | Baseball | Cy Young Award, World Series champion |
1970 | Bobby Orr | Canada | Hockey | NHL MVP, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, Norris |
1971 | Lee Trevino | United States | Golf | PGA Player of the Year |
1972 | Billie Jean King | United States | Tennis | Three major titles |
John Wooden | United States | College basketball | NCAA champion coach |
1973 | Jackie Stewart | Great Britain | Auto racing | Formula One World Champion |
1974 | Muhammad Ali | United States | Boxing | World heavyweight champion |
1975 | Pete Rose | United States | Baseball | World Series MVP |
1976 | Chris Evert | United States | Tennis | Two major titles |
1977 | Steve Cauthen | United States | Horse racing | Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey |
1978 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | Golf | British Open champion |
1979 | Terry Bradshaw | United States | Professional football | Super Bowl MVP |
Willie Stargell | United States | Baseball | NL MVP, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP |
1980 | U.S. Olympic hockey team | United States | Hockey | Olympic gold medalists |
1981 | Sugar Ray Leonard | United States | Boxing | World welterweight champion |
1982 | Wayne Gretzky | Canada | Hockey | NHL MVP, Art Ross |
1983 | Mary Decker | United States | Track and field | Double world champion |
1984 | Edwin Moses | United States | Track and field | Olympic gold medalist |
Mary Lou Retton | United States | Gymnastics | Olympic gold medalist |
1985 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | United States | Professional basketball | Playoff MVP |
1986 | Joe Paterno | United States | College football | NCAA champion coach |
1987 | Bob Bourne | Canada | Hockey | Helped handicapped children's school |
Judi Brown King | United States | Track and field | Helped abused children |
Kipchoge Keino | Kenya | Track and field | Cared for orphaned children |
Dale Murphy | United States | Baseball | Charity spokesman |
Chip Rives | United States | College football | Helped needy children |
Patty Sheehan | United States | Golf | Helped abused girls |
Rory Sparrow | United States | Professional basketball | Helped school children |
Reggie Williams | United States | Professional football | Helped high school students |
1988 | Orel Hershiser | United States | Baseball | World Series Champion, Cy Young Award, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP |
1989 | Greg LeMond | United States | Road cycling | Tour de France and World champion |
1990 | Joe Montana | United States | Professional football | Three-time Super Bowl MVP |
1991 | Michael Jordan | United States | Professional basketball | NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion |
1992 | Arthur Ashe | United States | Tennis | Supported humanitarian causes |
1993 | Don Shula | United States | Professional football | Winningest NFL coach |
1994 | Bonnie Blair | United States | Speed skating | Double Olympic gold medalist |
Johann Olav Koss | Norway | Speed skating | Triple Olympic gold medalist |
1995 | Cal Ripken Jr. | United States | Baseball | Consecutive games record |
1996 | Tiger Woods | United States | Golf | U.S. Amateur, NCAA champion |
1997 | Dean Smith | United States | College basketball | Winningest college coach at the time of publication |
1998 | Mark McGwire | United States | Baseball | Single-season home run record holder at the time of publication |
Sammy Sosa | Dominican Republic | Baseball | National League MVP |
1999 | U.S. women's soccer team | United States | Soccer | World Cup champions |
2000 | Tiger Woods (2) | United States | Golf | Three major championships |
2001 | Curt Schilling | United States | Baseball | World Series Co-MVP |
Randy Johnson | United States | Baseball | World Series Co-MVP, Cy Young Award |
2002 | Lance Armstrong | United States | Cycling | Four-time Tour de France winner (wins later disqualified in 2012) |
2003 | David Robinson | United States | Professional basketball | Two-time NBA champion |
Tim Duncan | United States | Professional basketball | NBA MVP, NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP |
2004 | Boston Red Sox | United States | Baseball | 2004 World Series champions |
2005 | Tom Brady | United States | Professional football | Two-time Super Bowl MVP, Three-time Super Bowl champion |
2006 | Dwyane Wade | United States | Professional basketball | NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP |
2007 | Brett Favre | United States | Professional football | "For his perseverance and his passion" |
2008 | Michael Phelps | United States | Swimming | Eight gold medals in 2008 Summer Olympics |
2009 | Derek Jeter | United States | Baseball | World Series Champion |
2010 | Drew Brees | United States | Professional football | Super Bowl MVP and charitable work toward the reconstruction of New Orleans |
2011 | Mike Krzyzewski | United States | College basketball | Most wins as coach in NCAA men's Division I history |
Pat Summitt | United States | College basketball | All-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball |
2012 | LeBron James | United States | Professional basketball | NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion, Olympic gold medalist |
2013 | Peyton Manning | United States | Professional football | Five-Time NFL MVP, single-season touchdown record, AFC Champion |
2014 | Madison Bumgarner | United States | Baseball | World Series Champion, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP |
2015 | Serena Williams | United States | Tennis | Won three majors, oldest player to be ranked no. 1 during the Open Era |
2016 | LeBron James (2) | United States | Professional basketball | NBA Finals MVP, led Cleveland Cavaliers to first title in franchise history |
2017 | José Altuve | Venezuela | Baseball | American League MVP, World Series Champion, Helped lead the Houston Astros to their first ever title and the city's first major championship since 1995. |
J. J. Watt | United States | Professional football | Raised more than $37 million in relief aid for the city of Houston, Texas less than a month after the impact of Hurricane Harvey. |
2018 | Golden State Warriors | United States | Professional basketball | 2018 NBA champions, third title in last four years. |
2019 | Megan Rapinoe[7] | United States | Soccer | FIFA Women's World Cup champion, won Golden Ball and Golden Boot. |
2020 | Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | Canada | Professional football | Super Bowl LIV champion, sat out the 2020 season to serve as an orderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
LeBron James (3) [3] | United States | Professional basketball | NBA Finals MVP, worked to end voter suppression. First three-time winner. |
Patrick Mahomes | United States | 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 | Japan | Tennis | U.S. Open champion and advocate for social justice. |
Breanna Stewart[3] | United States | Professional basketball | WNBA Finals MVP, spoke out against racism and for women's equality. |
2021 | Tom Brady (2) | United States | Professional football | Super Bowl LV MVP, 7-time Super Bowl champion |
2022 | Stephen Curry | United States | Professional basketball | NBA Finals MVP, led the Golden State Warriors to their fourth title in eight years. |
2023 | Deion Sanders | United States | College football | For revitalizing the Colorado Buffaloes Football program, despite a 4–8 record. |