| Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year |
| Year |
Winner |
Sport |
Reason |
| 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 1956 Summer Olympics gold medalist |
| 1957 |
Stan Musial |
Baseball |
National League batting average champion |
| 1958 |
Rafer Johnson |
Track and field |
Decathlon world record |
| 1959 |
Ingemar Johansson |
Boxing |
Heavyweight Champion |
| 1960 |
Arnold Palmer |
Golf |
PGA Player of the Year |
| 1961 |
Jerry Lucas |
College basketball |
Final Four NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player |
| 1962 |
Terry Baker |
College football |
Heisman Trophy Winner |
| 1963 |
Pete Rozelle |
Professional football |
NFL Expansion |
| 1964 |
Ken Venturi |
Golf |
U.S. 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 |
NProfessional basketball |
NBA Champion, Player-coach |
| 1969 |
Tom Seaver |
Baseball |
Cy Young Award |
| 1970 |
Bobby Orr |
Hockey |
NHL Hart Memorial Trophy MVP, Art Ross Trophy,Conn Smythe Trophy, Norris Trophy |
| 1971 |
Lee Trevino |
Golf |
PGA Player of the Year |
| 1972 |
Billie Jean King |
Tennis |
Grand Slam in Tennis |
| 1972 |
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 |
Outstanding Jockey |
| 1978 |
Jack Nicklaus |
Golf |
British Open Champion |
| 1979 |
Terry Bradshaw |
Professional football |
Super Bowl MVP |
| 1979 |
Willie Stargell |
Baseball |
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 |
National Hockey League |
| 1983 |
Mary Decker |
Track and field |
Double 1983 World Champion |
| 1984 |
Edwin Moses |
Track and field |
1984 Summer Olympics gold medalist |
| 1984 |
Mary Lou Retton |
Gymnastics |
1984 Summer Olympics gold medalist |
| 1985 |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar |
Professional basketball |
Playoff MVP |
| 1986 |
Joe Paterno |
College football |
NCAA champion coach |
| 1987 |
Athletes Who Care |
|
|
| 1987 |
Bob Bourne |
Hockey |
Helped handicapped children's school |
| 1987 |
Judi Brown King |
Track and field |
Helped abused children |
| 1987 |
Kip Keino |
Track and field |
Cared for orphaned children |
| 1987 |
Dale Murphy |
Baseball |
Charity spokesman |
| 1987 |
Chip Rives |
College football |
Helped needy children |
| 1987 |
Patty Sheehan |
Golf |
Helped abused girls |
| 1987 |
Rory Sparrow |
Professional basketball |
Helped school children |
| 1987 |
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, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Champion |
| 1992 |
Arthur Ashe |
Tennis |
Supported humanitarian causes |
| 1993 |
Don Shula |
Professional football |
Winningest NFL coach |
| 1994 |
Bonnie Blair |
Speed skating |
Double 1994 Winter Olympics gold medalist |
| 1994 |
Johann Olav Koss |
Speed skating |
Triple Olympic gold medalist |
| 1995 |
Cal Ripken, Jr. |
Baseball |
Consecutive games record |
| 1996 |
Tiger Woods |
Golf |
NCAA champion |
| 1997 |
Dean Smith |
College basketball |
Winningest college coach at the time of publication |
| 1998 |
Mark McGwire |
Baseball |
Single-season home run record |
| 1998 |
Sammy Sosa |
Baseball |
National League MLB MVP Award |
| 1999 |
U.S. Women's Soccer Team |
Soccer |
World Cup champions |
| 2000 |
Tiger Woods |
Golf |
Three Men's major championships |
| 2001 |
Curt Schilling |
Baseball |
World Series Co-MVP |
| 2001 |
Randy Johnson |
Baseball |
World Series Co-MVP, Cy Young Award |
| 2002 |
Lance Armstrong |
Cycling |
Four-time Tour de France winner |
| 2003 |
David Robinson |
Professional basketball |
Two-time NBA champion |
| 2003 |
Tim Duncan |
Professional basketball |
NBA MVP, Playoff MVP |
| 2004 |
Boston Red Sox |
Professional Baseball Team |
2004 World Series champions, winners for the first time since 1918 |
| 2005 |
Tom Brady |
Professional Football |
Two-time Super Bowl MVP |
| 2006 |
Dwyane Wade |
Professional Basketball |
NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP |
| 2007 |
Brett Favre |
Professional Football |
His perseverance and his passion |
| 2008 |
Michael Phelps |
Swimming |
Record eight Gold Medals in 2008 Summer Olympics |
