Associated Press Athlete of the Year

The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were never given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete. The awards are voted on annually by a panel of AP sports editors from across the United States.

A large majority of the winners, as one would expect from an award given by an American organization, has been Americans (this bias is also reflected in the list of recipients of the Sportsman of the Year award given by the American magazine "Sports Illustrated"). Non-Americans are also eligible, and have won on a few occasions, but the list of recipients reflects the award's American perspective. For example, it has never been given to an individual player, either male or female, of the world's most popular sport, soccer. In contrast, sports that are popular in the U.S. but which have little international presence, like college (American) football, have had representatives chosen.

List of award winners

"All winners are American unless a flag for another country is given prior to the name."

Notes and references

* "Adapted from the article [http://www.wikinfo.org/wiki.phtml?title=Associated_Press_Athlete_of_the_Year Associated Press Athlete of the Year] , from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License."