Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson Of The Year Winners List, All-Time: History Stats, Facts, Records By The Numbers.

Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year has been awarded since 1954 to the "athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." The 2017 award has been given to Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve.

Watt is the first NFL player to win the honor since Peyton Manning was named the 2013 Sportsman of the Year. Watt earned the honor after he raised more than $37 million for Hurricane Harvey relief.

From José Altuve and J.J. Watt in 2017 to Roger Bannister in 1954, here is every winner of Sportsperson of the Year — including Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King, Sandy Koufax and Bill Russell.

Williams is the first woman to be recognized with the honor as an individual since Mary Decker in 1983, and the magazine took the opportunity to rename its award from Sportsman of the Year to Sportsperson of the Year. Following is a list of winners of the Sportsperson of the Year award by Sports Illustrated magazine.

First male winner: Roger Bannister, 1954
First female winner: Billie Jean King, 1972
First African-American man to win: Rafer Johnson, 1958
First African-American woman to win: Judi Brown-King, 1987

Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year: Every winner since 1954 to 2023

1956 - Bobby Morrow, Track

1957 - Stan Musial, Baseball

1958 - Rafer Johnson, Track

1959 - Ingemar Johansson, Boxing

1960 - Arnold Palmer, Golf

1961 - Jerry Lucas, College Basketball

1962 - Terry Baker, College Football

1963 - Pete Rozelle, Pro Football

1964 - Ken Venturi, Golf

1965 - Sandy Koufax, Baseball

1966 - Jim Ryun, Track

1967 - Carl Yastrzemski, Baseball

1968 - Bill Russell, Pro Basketball

1969 - Tom Seaver, Baseball

1970 - Bobby Orr, Pro Hockey

1971 - Lee Trevino, Golf

1972 - Billie Jean King, Tennis; John Wooden, College Basketball

1973 - Jackie Stewart, Auto Racing

1974 - Muhammad Ali, Boxing

1975 - Pete Rose, Baseball

1976 - Chris Evert, Tennis

1977 - Steve Cauthen, Horse Racing

1978 - Jack Nicklaus, Golf

1979 - Terry Bradshaw, Pro Football; Willie Stargell, Baseball

1980 - US Olympic Hockey Team

1981 - Sugar Ray Leonard, Boxing

1982 - Wayne Gretzky, Pro Hockey

1983 - Mary Decker, Track

1984 - Edwin Moses, Track; Mary Lou Retton, Gymnastics

1985 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pro Basketball

1986 - Joe Paterno, College Football

1987 - Athletes Who Care

1988 - Orel Hershiser, Baseball

1989 - Greg LeMond, Cycling

1990 - Joe Montana, Pro Football

1991 - Michael Jordan, Pro Basketball

1992 - Arthur Ashe,Tennis

1993 - Don Shula, Pro Football

1994 - Bonnie Blair, Speed Skating; Johann Olav Koss, Speed Skating

1995 - Cal Ripken Jr., Baseball

1996 - Tiger Woods, Golf

1997 - Dean Smith, College Basketball

1998 - Mark McGwire, Baseball; Sammy Sosa, Baseball

1999 - U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team

2000 - Tiger Woods, Golf

2001 - Randy Johnson, Baseball; Curt Schilling, Baseball

2002 - Lance Armstrong, Cycling

2003 - Tim Duncan, Pro Basketball; David Robinson, Pro Basketball

2004 - Boston Red Sox

2005 - Tom Brady, Pro Football

2006 - Dwyane Wade, Pro Basketball

2007 - Brett Favre, Pro Football

2008 - Michael Phelps, Swimming

2009 - Derek Jeter, Baseball

2010 - Drew Brees, Pro Football-NFL

2011 - Pat Summitt, College Basketball; Mike Krzyzewski, College Basketball

2012 - LeBron James, Pro Basketball, NBA

2013 - Peyton Manning, Pro Football, NFL

2014 - Madison Bumgarner, Baseball

2015 - Serena Williams, Tennis

2016 - LeBron James, Pro Basketball, NBA

2017 - José Altuve and J.J. Watt, MLB

2018 - Golden State Warriors, Pro Basketball, NBA

2019 - Megan Rapinoe, Soccer, WSL

2020 - Naomi Osaka-Tennis, LeBron James-NBA, Patrick Mahomes-NFL, Breanna Stewart-WNBA, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif-NFL

2021 - Tom Brady, Pro Football, NFL

2022 - Stephan Cury, Pro Basketball, NBA

2023 - Deion Sanders, College Football

Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson Of The Year Winners by Sports and Country

WINNERS BY SPORTS

Baseball: 18
NFL: 14
NBA: 12
Track and field: 8
Golf: 7
College basketball: 5
Tennis: 5
Hockey: 4
Boxing: 3
College football: 4
Speed skating: 2
Cycling: 2
Swimming: 1
Soccer: 1
Horse racing: 1
Gymnastics: 1
WNBA: 1

WINNERS BY COUNTRY

United States: 79
Great Britain: 2
Canada: 1
Dominican Republic: 1
Kenya: 1
Norway: 1
Sweden: 1
Venezuela: 1

Teams that have won the Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson Of The Year award:

1980 - U.S. Olympic hockey team,

1999 - U.S. women's soccer team,

2004 - Boston Red Sox

2018 - Golden State Warriors

Who won the most Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson Of The Year awards

Multiple-time champions: Tiger Woods (1996 & 2000), Tom Brady (2005 & 2021) and LeBron James (2012,2016 & 2020)

Who was the first athlete to win the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award twice?

Sports Illustrated selected Woods as the 1996 and 2000 Sportsman of the Year, the first to win the award more than once.

Who was the first woman sportsperson of the year?

Billie Jean King: Fifty years ago, Billie Jean King became the first woman to receive Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year Award after capturing the 1972 titles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open.

Who was Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year in 1954?

Roger Bannister: Starting with Roger Bannister in 1954, here is every winner of Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year Award—including Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King and more

Who is the First and Latest international Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year:

First international winner: Roger Bannister (Great Britain) in 1954
Latest international winner: Jose Altuve (Venezuela) in 2017

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