Who’s No. 1?
It’s never an easy question, and deciding who was the world’s greatest athlete in the year you were born is a task that could, well, consume your entire birthday (or longer). We’ve made the job easier for those of you born in 1950 or later.
Our journey spans 18 countries, across individual and team sports. Tennis, basketball, boxing, football, soccer, baseball, hockey, swimming, gymnastics, track and field, speedskating, cycling, motorsports and horse racing are all represented. So are men and women.
They’re bigger-than-life stars, heroes and champions. And now you can have a sports legend to call your own.
1950: Babe Didrickson Zaharias
Ed Maloney / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Golf
Birthdate: June 26, 1911
Died: Sept. 27, 1956 (age 45)
Notable accomplishments in year: Won the Grand Slam of women’s golf by capturing all three majors of the day: U.S. Open, Titleholders Championship and the Women’s Western Open. Reached 10 tournament wins faster than any other LPGA golfer, a record that still stands at one year, 20 days. Associated Press female athlete of the year.
Bottom line: One of the great all-around athletes ever, Babe Didrickson Zaharias already was a sports legend by the time she captured her fifth AP female athlete of the year honor in 1950.
A two-time track and field gold medalist at the 1932 Olympics, she also excelled in basketball and baseball, but it was her incredible golf run in 1950 that may have been the pinnacle of her career.
Sadly, she died of colon cancer in 1956 at the age of 45.
1951: Sugar Ray Robinson
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Boxing
Birthdate: May 3, 1921
Died: April 29, 1989 (age 67)
Notable accomplishments in year: Named Ring Magazine’s Boxer of the Year for the second time. Won the undisputed world middleweight title with 13th round TKO of Jake LaMotta in the sixth meeting of their storied rivalry, a bout that came to be known as the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Reclaimed the title in rematch with Randolph Turpin, knocking him out in the 10th round.
Bottom line: Considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound boxer ever, Sugar Ray Robinson enjoyed one of the most memorable years of his legendary career in 1951, punctuated by his fierce battles against LaMotta and Turpin.
During his amazing career, Robinson held world championship belts in four weight classes (lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight) and piled up 175 victories.
1952: Bob Mathias
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: Nov. 17, 1930
Died: Sept. 2, 2006 (age 75)
Notable accomplishments in year: Became first athlete to capture two consecutive Olympic decathlon gold medals, winning by 912 points in Helsinki while setting a world record. As a member of Stanford’s football team, he became the first person to compete in an Olympics and Rose Bowl in the same year.
Bottom line: The Olympic decathlon winner is often regarded as the best all-around athlete in the world, but Bob Matthias’ feats, on and off the field, went beyond his Olympic triumph.
He also played fullback for Stanford for two years, helping lead it to the 1952 Rose Bowl.
After his athletic career, he served as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and a goodwill ambassador for the U.S. State Department before enjoying a successful acting career and winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
1953: Ben Hogan
Dennis Lee Royle / AP Photo
Country: USA
Sport: Golf
Birthdate: Aug. 13, 1912
Died: July 25, 1997 (age 84)
Notable accomplishments in year: Won five of six tournaments he entered, including three majors (Masters, U.S. Open and British Open).
Bottom line: Ben Hogan’s 1953 performance ranks among the greatest individual seasons in the history of golf. He became the first player to win three majors, a feat not duplicated until Tiger Woods nearly a half-century later.
He could have had an opportunity for a clean sweep of the grand slams if not for the fact the PGA Championship overlapped with the British Open.
His feat was all the more remarkable because it came four years after a near-fatal automobile accident in which doctors thought he might not ever walk again.
1954: Roger Bannister
AP Photo
Country: Great Britain
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: March 23, 1929
Died: March 3, 2018 (age 88)
Notable accomplishments in year: Became the first person to run the mile in under 4 minutes, clocking a time of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. Defeated rival John Landy, who had broken his world record, at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and also won the 1,500 meters at the European Championships.
Bottom line: Roger Bannister’s breaking of the 4-minute barrier in the mile ranks as one of the iconic moments in the history of sports, but his most famous race came after the feat.
It was the so-called “Miracle Mile” at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver that pitted Bannister against Landy, the only two men who had broken 4 minutes up to that point. Bannister overtook him around the last bend and won the race by less than a second.
The triumph was immortalized in a larger-than-life bronze statue that captured Landy looking over his left shoulder for Bannister as Bannister passed him on the right.
1955: Rocky Marciano
Country: United States
Sport: Boxing
Birthdate: Sept. 1, 1923
Died: Aug. 31, 1969 (age 45)
Notable accomplishments in year: Knocked out Archie Moore in the ninth round in final bout of his undefeated career. Also defeated Don Cockell by a ninth-round technical knockout. Named Ring Magazine’s Fighter of the Year for the third time.
Bottom line: Rocky Marciano remains the only heavyweight champion ever to retire undefeated, finishing his career with a 49-0 record.
In his final title defense against Moore, Marciano rallied from a second-round knockdown.
For his career, he knocked out nearly 88 percent of his opponents, one of the highest ratios ever in heavyweight boxing.
1957: Althea Gibson
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Tennis
Birthdate: Aug. 25, 1927
Died: Sept. 28, 2003 (age 76)
Notable accomplishments in year: Won singles titles at Wimbledon and U.S. National Championships, doubles titles at Australian Open and Wimbledon and mixed doubles title at U.S. Nationals. Reached finals of eight Grand Slam events.
Bottom line: A year after becoming the first black athlete to win a Grand Slam tennis event, Althea Gibson took over the sport in 1957, gaining international acclaim.
After winning Wimbledon, she was feted to a ticker-tape parade in New York City, only the second black athlete (after Jesse Owens) to be so honored.
She finished her amateur career with 56 international singles and doubles titles.
1959: Ingemar Johansson
AP Photo
Country: Sweden
Sport: Boxing
Birthdate: Sept. 22, 1932
Died: Jan. 30, 2009 (age 76)
Notable accomplishments in year: Knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round to win the world heavyweight championship. Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year.
Bottom line: The Swede pulled off one of the greatest upsets in boxing history when, as a 5-1 underdog, he stopped Patterson to capture the heavyweight belt, knocking him down seven times in the third round.
He was the only non-American to win the Hickok belt as the top professional athlete of the year in its 27-year existence.
Patterson knocked out Johansson in 1960 to reclaim the title and again in 1961, the only two defeats of Johansson’s career.
1960: Rafer Johnson
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: Aug. 18, 1935
Notable accomplishments in year: Won Olympic decathlon gold medal with an Olympic record score. Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.
Bottom line: Already the world record holder in the decathlon, Rafer Johnson staged one of the greatest duels in the history of the event at the 1960 Olympics.
Against his UCLA teammate, C.K. Yang, who was representing Taiwan, Johnson ran a personal best in the final event, the 1,500 meters, to edge Yang by 58 points.
Johnson also was a starter on UCLA’s 1959-60 men’s basketball team under legendary coach John Wooden.
1961: Roger Maris
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Baseball
Birthdate: Sept. 10, 1934
Died: Dec. 14, 1985 (age 51)
Notable accomplishments in year: Broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record with 61. Also led the American League with 141 RBI and 132 runs scored. Named AL MVP and Sporting News Major League Player of the Year.
Bottom line: Roger Maris’ career stats (.260 batting average, 275 home runs) don’t come close to matching most of his contemporary slugging stars from the 1950s and ’60s (Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron).
But he accomplished what none of them could, breaking Ruth’s iconic 1927 home run mark. Maris himself never came close to duplicating his 1961 feat, failing to reach even 40 homers in any other season.
But for one year, he captured the imagination of the entire sports world with his successful chase of Ruth.
1962: Wilt Chamberlain
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Basketball
Birthdate: Aug. 21, 1936
Died: Oct. 12, 1999 (age 63)
Notable accomplishments in year: Averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds per game for the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1961-62 season. Scored a single-game record 100 points in a 167-149 win over the New York Knicks. Became the first and only player to break the 4,000-point barrier in a single season.
Bottom line: The scoring records “Wilt the Stilt” set during his incredible 1961-62 campaign for total points, scoring average and points in a game have never been threatened, and likely never will be.
This season, more than any other during his 14-year career, established Chamberlain as indisputably the most prolific scorer in NBA history.
Somehow, Chamberlain failed to win the NBA MVP award, losing out to Bill Russell, whose Boston Celtics defeated Chamberlain’s Warriors in a thrilling seven-game series in the Eastern Conference finals.
1964: Muhammad Ali
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Boxing
Birthdate: Jan. 17, 1942
Died: June 3, 2016 (age 74)
Notable accomplishments in year: Won the heavyweight title with a stunning seventh-round TKO victory over Sonny Liston, who entered the match as a 7-1 favorite. Named Ring Magazine’s Fighter of the Year.
Bottom line: The 22-year-old Muhammad Ali (who still went by Cassius Clay) was better known for his brash mouth than his punching prowess when he entered the ring against heavily favored champion Sonny Liston in Miami Beach on Feb. 24, 1964.
The imposing Liston was coming off two first-round knockouts of former champ Floyd Patterson, while Ali was coming off unimpressive wins against journeymen Doug Jones and Henry Cooper, who had knocked him down.
Nevertheless, Ali would show in this bout why he would go on to become “The Greatest” during his storied career, dominating Liston from the opening bell. When Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, Ali announced to the world, “I’m the greatest!”
Sports Illustrated ranked the fight as the fourth greatest sports moment of the 20th century.
1966: Jim Ryun
William P. Straeter / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: April 29, 1947
Notable accomplishments in year: Set world records in the mile (3:51.3) and half-mile (1:44.9). Named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year, and won the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete.
Bottom line: The 19-year-old Jim Ryun established himself as the top middle-distance runner in the world in 1966 with his world-record performances.
He was the first high school athlete to run the mile in under 4 minutes and won a silver medal in the 1,500 meters at the 1968 Olympics., but 1966 would always stand as the pinnacle of his running career.
Ryun went on to serve as a congressman from Kansas.
1968: Bob Gibson
In this Oct. 2, 1968, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson throws to Detroit Tigers’ Norm Cash in the ninth inning of the opening game of the World Series in St. Louis. Gibson struck Cash out for the 16th strikeout of the game and set a new World Series record. Looking on are catcher Tim McCarver, home plate umpire Tom Gorman and first base umpire Jim Honochick. On Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, Clayton Kershaw became the first pitcher since Gibson in 1968 to win the National League MVP award. AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Baseball
Birthdate: Nov. 9, 1935
Notable accomplishments in year: Won National League MVP and Cy Young awards with 22-9 record, 1.12 ERA and 268 strikeouts. Struck out 17 batters in Game 1 of World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
Bottom line: The St. Louis Cardinals flamethrower produced arguably the most dominating season by a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball history. He led the league in ERA, shutouts and strikeouts while throwing 28 complete games.
If not for the Cardinals’ relatively anemic offense, he may have matched or exceeded Denny McLain’s 31-game win total that season.
While McLain went 31-6 and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, Gibson was the superior pitcher by most statistical measures.
1969: Rod Laver
Bodini / AP Photo
Country: Australia
Sport: Tennis
Birthdate: Aug. 9, 1939
Notable accomplishments in year: Won Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles titles, becoming the only man to win the calendar Grand Slam in the Open era. Also became the only player to win the Grand Slam twice.
Bottom line: Rod Laver stands alone among the great men’s tennis players in history with his 1969 Grand Slam (he also accomplished the feat in 1962, prior to the Open era that opened Grand Slam tournaments to professionals).
In all, he won 18 of 32 singles tournaments he entered in 1969 and finished the year with a 106-16 record.
Laver won five five-set matches during his Grand Slam run, including twice coming back from two-set deficits.
1970: Bobby Orr
A.E. Maloof / AP Photo
Country: Canada
Sport: Hockey
Birthdate: March 20, 1948
Notable accomplishments in year: Became the first defenseman to lead the NHL in scoring, racking up 120 points. Collected nine goals and 11 assists in the playoffs to lead the Boston Bruins to their first Stanley Cup since 1941. Scored the series-clinching goal in a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues in the finals.
Bottom line: Bobby Orr is credited with revolutionizing the position of defenseman, winning eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best at the position.
In 1970, he also won the first of three consecutive Hart Trophies as the league’s MVP and added the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP.
Combined with the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer, he became the first player to win four major NHL awards in the same season.
1971: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Larry Stoddard / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Basketball
Birthdate: April 16, 1947
Notable accomplishments in year: NBA regular-season MVP and Finals MVP for the Milwaukee Bucks. Averaged 31.7 points and 16 rebounds per game. Led Bucks to 12-2 record in playoffs, including a sweep of Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals.
Bottom line: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gained his greatest fame later in his career as a centerpiece of the Los Angeles Lakers’ dynasty of the 1980s, but his most dominant seasons came in the early 1970s, when he was still known as Lew Alcindor and toiled far from the glitz of Hollywood.
In winning the first of his six NBA MVP awards in 1970-71, Abdul-Jabbar averaged over 30 points a game for the first of only two times in his career.
It was also the only time in his career that he won both the regular-season and Finals MVP awards in the same season.
1973: O.J. Simpson
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Football
Birthdate: July 9, 1947
Notable accomplishments in year: Became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, finishing with 2,003. Averaged 6 yards per carry. Named NFL MVP and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.
Bottom line: O.J. Simpson remains the only player to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a 14-game regular season.
He also led the league in rushing touchdowns (12) and set an NFL record that still stands by averaging 143.1 yards on the ground per game.
Of course, his legendary career was overshadowed in later years by his role in the murder trial of the century involving the death of his ex-wife, as well as future run-ins with the law.
1982: Wayne Gretzky
Reed Saxon / AP Photo
Country: Canada
Sport: Hockey
Birthdate: Jan. 26, 1961
Notable accomplishments in year: Led league in goals (92), assists (120) and points (212), all NHL records. Became the first hockey player ever to surpass 200 points in a single season. Surpassed record of 50 goals in 50 games that had stood for 35 years, accomplishing the feat in only 39 games. Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
Bottom line: For the “Great One,” 1982 was the greatest of seasons. He became the first hockey player and Canadian ever named SI’s Sportsman of the Year thanks to the plethora of records he set that season.
Though his Edmonton Oilers didn’t win the Stanley Cup, he would go on to lead them to four Cups before the end of the decade.
He finished his remarkable career with 61 NHL records and is regarded by many as the greatest ever to play his sport.
1983: Martina Navratilova
Stoltman / AP Photo
Country: Czechoslovakia/United States
Sport: Tennis
Birthdate: Oct. 18, 1956
Notable accomplishments in year: Won Australian, Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles and doubles titles. Named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.
Bottom line: 1983 was the year Martina Navratilova clearly supplanted her longtime rival, Chris Evert, as the most dominant women’s player in the world.
Navratilova went an incredible 86-1 in singles play that year, losing her only match at the French Open.
From 1982 to 1984, Navratilova lost only six singles matches and defeated Evert 13 consecutive times.
1984: Carl Lewis
Dave Tenenbaum / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: July 1, 1961
Notable accomplishments in year: Matched Jesse Owens’ feat of four Olympic track and field gold medals, winning the 100 and 200 meters, long jump and 400-meter relay. Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Bottom line: Carl Lewis was the most dominant athlete of the 1984 Olympics with his gold medal sweep of the same four events that propelled Jesse Owens to fame nearly a half-century earlier.
But unlike Owens, whose Olympic greatness was limited to the 1936 Games, this was just the start for Lewis.
He went on to compete in three Olympic Games, successfully defending his long jump title each time and finishing his career with nine Olympic gold medals.
1985: Larry Bird
AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Basketball
Birthdate: Dec. 7, 1956
Notable accomplishments in year: Named NBA MVP for second consecutive season, averaging 28.7 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. Scored a career-high and franchise-record 60 points in a game.
Bottom line: Along with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, Larry Bird took the NBA to a new level of popularity in the 1980s.
He was at his greatest from 1983 to 1986, when he won three consecutive NBA MVP awards and led the Celtics to two NBA titles.
This season was also the sixth consecutive season, and last, that Bird averaged both more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game.
Though Bird and the Celtics came up short in the 1985 NBA Finals to Johnson’s Lakers, it was still a year that earned Bird recognition as the greatest in the game.
1986: Diego Maradona
Carlo Fumagalli / AP Photo
Country: Argentina
Sport: Soccer
Birthdate: Oct. 30, 1960
Notable accomplishments in year: Won the Golden Ball as the best player at the 1986 World Cup, leading Argentina to the championship. Scored both goals in 2-1 win over England in the final.
Bottom line: Diego Maradona tallied five goals and five assists during Argentina’s run to a second consecutive World Cup title, drawing comparisons to Pele’s performance at the 1958 Cup.
His first goal in the 1986 final became known in soccer lore as the “Hand of God” because of replays showing he struck the ball with his hand.
His second goal in that match was voted the greatest in World Cup history by FIFA as he dribbled past five English players.
He and Pele were joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award.
1989: Bo Jackson
Bob Galbraith / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sports: Baseball and football
Birthdate: Nov. 30, 1962
Notable accomplishments in year: Hit 32 home runs and drove in 105 runs for the Kansas City Royals and was named All-Star Game MVP. Rushed for 950 yards and four touchdowns for the Los Angeles Raiders, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Bottom line: Bo Jackson is the only athlete ever to be named an All-Star or All-Pro in both baseball and football, and 1989 was his best all-around season in both sports.
He became only the second player after Willie Mays ever to both hit a home run and steal a base in the same All-Star Game.
He posted career highs in home runs in baseball and rushing yards in football, and still found time for the iconic “Bo Knows” television commercial campaign for Nike.
1990: Joe Montana
Ron Heflin / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Football
Birthdate: June 11, 1958
Notable accomplishments in year: Named NFL MVP for the second consecutive year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. Threw for 297 yards and five touchdowns to win Super Bowl MVP award in January. Won 14 of 15 starts for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1990 season, passing for a career-high 3,944 yards.
Bottom line: Joe Montana already was a legend before the calendar turned to a new decade in 1990. But that was the year when his greatness reached its peak, before an injury in that season’s playoffs sparked its decline.
In January of that year, Montana capped the 1989 season by leading the 49ers to a dominating 55-10 win over the Denver Broncos with five touchdown passes, winning Super Bowl MVP honors for a record third time.
The next season, he won his second consecutive NFL MVP award, but his hopes for a third consecutive Super Bowl title were dashed by the New York Giants in the NFC championship game, and he missed virtually all of the next two seasons with injuries before being traded away to the Kansas City Chiefs.
1991: Michael Jordan
David Scarbrough / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Basketball
Birthdate: Feb. 17, 1963
Notable accomplishments in year: Named NBA regular-season and Finals MVP. Averaged 31.5 points per game and led the Chicago Bulls to the first of six NBA titles in the 1990s.
Bottom line: Widely regarded as the greatest player in NBA history, Michael Jordan could have been selected as the world’s most dominant athlete any number of years during his prime in the 1980s and 1990s.
This was the year that Jordan finally led the Bulls to the promised land, toppling Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the NBA Finals as the dynasty of the 1980s gave way to the dynasty of the 1990s.
The 1991 Bulls also may have been the most dominant of the six championship teams led by Jordan, as the Bulls went 15-2 in the playoffs.
Jordan averaged 31.2 points, 11.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds in the NBA Finals as the Bulls defeated the Lakers in five games.
1993: Wang Junxta
Ed Reinke / AP Photo
Country: China
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: Jan. 19, 1973
Notable accomplishments in year: Set world records in 3,000 and 10,000 meters. Won world championship in the 10,000. Won the Jesse Owens prize for her record-setting performances.
Bottom line: Wang Junxta turned in one of the most dominant seasons ever in middle-distance running, setting three world records in three races while winning the 3,000 and 10,000 meters at the Chinese National Games, after capturing gold in the 10,000 at the World Championships a month earlier.
She ran the first sub 30-minute 10,000 in a time of 29:31.78, which remained the world record until 2016. In the 3,000, she set a world record in the heats and topped it in the final in 8:06.11, a time that has not been matched since.
1995: Steffi Graf
Lionel Cironneau / AP Photo
Country: Germany
Sport: Tennis
Birthdate: June 14, 1969
Notable accomplishments in year: Won French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles titles and WTA Tour Championship.
Bottom line: If not for a calf injury that forced her to withdraw from the Australian Open, Steffi Graf may have won the calendar Grand Slam for the second time. the first came in 1988 when she also won the Olympic gold medal.
Graf won all three of her major titles in 1995 with three-set victories in the finals, beating Arantxa Sánchez Vicario at the French Open and Wimbledon and Monica Seles at the U.S. Open (she won all three again the following year).
At the WTA Tour Championship, Graf prevailed over countrywoman Anke Huber in a five-set final that lasted nearly three hours.
1996: Michael Johnson
Doug Mills / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: Sept. 13, 1967
Notable accomplishments in year: Won gold medals in the 200 and 400 meters at the 1996 Olympics, the only male athlete to win those events at the same Olympics. Set a world record of 19.32 seconds in the 200. Received the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete and named the Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.
Bottom line: Michael Johnson dominated the 200- and 400-meter sprints through much of the 1990s, and his world record in the 200 at the Atlanta Olympics lowered his previous record by an eye-popping three-tenths of a second.
He finished his career with four Olympic gold medals and eight golds at the World Championships.
Johnson still owns national records in the 200, 300 and 400, as well as a world record in the 1,600-relay set in 1993.
1997: Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras of the U.S. fires the ball back to Spain’s Felix Mantilla in their first round match at the dlrs six million Compaq Grand Slam Cup tennis tournament in Munich, Wednesday, September 24, 1997. Sampras defeated his opponent 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Frank Augstein / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Tennis
Birthdate: Aug. 12, 1971
Notable accomplishments in year: Won Australian and Wimbledon singles titles. Became the only player to win the Grand Slam Cup and ATP Tour Title in same year. Was 10-1 against top 10-ranked opponents and undefeated in eight singles tournament finals.
Bottom line: “Pistol Pete” was the dominant men’s tennis player of the 1990s, and 1997 was his most dominant year.
He held the No. 1 ranking for the entire year, and joined Jimmy Connors as the only players to finish the year as the world’s top-ranked player five consecutive times.
Sampras also earned a career-high $6.5 million in prize money, and was named both the ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion for the fifth consecutive year.
2000: Tiger Woods
Elise Amendola / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Golf
Birthdate: Dec. 30, 1975
Notable accomplishments in year: Won six consecutive PGA Tour events, the longest streak since Ben Hogan in 1948, and nine total. Won PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open, joining Ben Hogan as the only golfers ever to win three majors in the same year. Named PGA Player of the Year.
Bottom line: This was the most dominant year of Tiger Woods’ legendary career.
His performance at the U.S. Open, where he broke or tied nine tournament records and won by 15 strokes, was called by Sports Illustrated the “greatest performance in golf history.”
At age 24, he became the youngest golfer ever to win a career grand slam, and was named SI’s Sportsman of the Year for the second time.
2001: Randy Johnson
Matt York / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Baseball
Birthdate: Sept. 10, 1963
Notable accomplishments in year: National League Cy Young Award winner with 21-6 record, 2.46 ERA and 372 strikeouts. Co-MVP of World Series along with Curt Schilling. Also named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year along with Schilling. Went 3-0 in the World Series with a 1.04 ERA and 2-0 in the National League Championship Series with a 1.13 ERA.
Bottom line: “The Big Unit” dominated the postseason as he led the Arizona Diamondbacks to their first World Series title and ended the New York Yankees’ championship run.
After leading the league in both ERA and strikeouts during the regular season, Johnson got the win in three of the Diamondbacks’ four World Series victories over the Yankees, including coming out of the bullpen in Game 7.
This performance was the pinnacle of a career that saw Johnson win five Cy Young Awards and 303 games.
2002: Serena Williams
Christophe Ena / AP Photo
Country: United Staters
Sport: Tennis
Birthdate: Sept. 26, 1981
Notable accomplishments in year: Won French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles titles and Wimbledon doubles title.
Bottom line: After withdrawing from the Australian Open because of injury, Williams dominated the women’s tour for the rest of 2002, winning eight tournament titles, including three majors, and finishing the year with a 56-5 record and the No. 1 ranking in the world.
The highlight of the year was her dominance at Wimbledon, where she won the tournament without dropping a set, defeating her sister Venus in the finals before teaming with her to win the doubles title.
When she won the 2013 Australian Open, Serena became only the fifth woman in history to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.
2003: Tim Duncan
Tim Sharp / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Basketball
Birthdate: April 25, 1976
Notable accomplishments in year: Named NBA regular-season and Finals MVP. Named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year along with teammate David Robinson. Averaged 23.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.
Bottom line: Tim Duncan set a career-high in rebounds as he led the San Antonio Spurs to the second of five NBA titles during his career.
In the playoffs, Duncan scored 37 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in a series-clinching victory over the three-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.
In the clinching victory in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets, Duncan had a triple-double with 21 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. He also added eight blocks in the 88-77 win.
2004: Roger Federer
Anja Niedringhaus / AP Photo
Country: Switzerland
Sport: Tennis
Birthdate: Aug. 8, 1981
Notable accomplishments in year: Won Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles titles. Won 11 tournaments during the year.
Bottom line: Roger Federer became the first men’s player since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three Grand Slam titles in the same year, firmly establishing himself as the best player in the world.
Federer’s 11 tournament singles titles were the most of any player in two decades, and he finished the year with a 74-6 record, the best since Ivan Lendl in 1986.
Federer continued to dominate the game throughout the rest of the decade and went on to set the record for most Grand Slam singles titles in the history of men’s tennis.
2006: Manny Pacquiao
Bullit Marquez / AP Photo
Country: Philippines
Sport: Boxing
Birthdate: Dec. 17, 1978
Notable accomplishments in year: Defeated three-division world champion Erik Morales twice to avenge a 2005 loss to the Mexican great, including a third-round knockout in their third matchup. Also defeated two-time super bantamweight champion Oscar Larios, knocking him down three times en route to a 12-round unanimous decision. Named Ring Magazine and Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year.
Bottom line: Manny Pacquiao was named Fighter of the Decade for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America, cementing his place as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers in the history of the sport.
During his incredible career, he defeated 22 world champions and became the only boxer to win championships in eight divisions. His career record stands at 62 wins, seven losses and two draws.
In 2006, he won the first of three Ring Magazine and BWAA Fighter of the Year awards, winning again in 2008 and 2009.
2007: Tom Brady
Stephan Savoia / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Football
Birthdate: Aug. 3, 1977
Notable accomplishments in year: Named NFL MVP and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year as he led the league in completion percentage (68.9%), passing yards (4,806) and touchdown passes (50). Led New England Patriots to 16-0 regular-season record.
Bottom line: The Patriots’ great didn’t win one of his six Super Bowl titles in 2007, but by most accounts, it was his most dominating season.
The Patriots became the first team ever to complete a regular-season 16-0 and only the second ever (after the 1972 Dolphins) to post an undefeated regular season. He also set NFL records for touchdown passes in a season and touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Despite the fact this was clearly the most dominant season of the Brady-led New England dynasty, he and the Patriots were upset by the New York Giants in that season’s Super Bowl.
2008: Michael Phelps
Mark Baker / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Swimming
Birthdate: June 30, 1985
Notable accomplishments in year: Won eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the most ever in a single Olympics. Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
Bottom line: This Olympic performance was the greatest Olympics performance for the greatest Olympian in history, as Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven gold medals while dominating the swimming competition in Beijing.
Phelps set seven world records and one Olympic record in winning the 200- and 400-meter individual medley, 100 and 200 butterfly, 200 freestyle, and 400 freestyle, 400 medley and 800 freestyle relays.
The most decorated Olympians of all time, Phelps went on to collect a total of 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold, during his storied career.
2009: Jimmie Johnson
Mary Schwalm / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Motorsports
Birthdate: Sept. 17, 1975
Notable accomplishments in year: NASCAR Series Cup champion for the fourth consecutive year. Named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Won seven races.
Bottom line: Jimmie Johnson became the first driver to win four consecutive NASCAR Series titles, and has won three more since.
He also became the only driver to win at least three races in each of his first eight seasons. For the year, Johnson had 24 top 10 finishes.
For his career (as of November 2019), Johnson has 83 NASCAR wins (sixth all-time), 364 top 10 finishes, and 36 pole positions.
2011: Aaron Rogers
Eric Gay / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Football
Birthdate: Dec. 2, 1983
Notable accomplishments in year: Named Super Bowl MVP in January as he led the Green Bay Packers over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Named 2011 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and 2011 NFL MVP, completing 68.3 percent of his passes for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns. Set the single-season NFL passer rating record of 122.5. Won 14 of 15 regular-season starts.
Bottom line: Aaron Rodgers started the year with an MVP performance in the Super Bowl, completing 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns in the Packers’ 31-25 win over the Steelers.
He then put together arguably the greatest passing season of any NFL quarterback in history, setting a passer rating record that still stands.
Rodgers set career highs in completion percentage, yards passing and touchdowns.
2012: Usain Bolt
David J. Phillip / AP Photo
Country: Jamaica
Sport: Track and field
Birthdate: Aug. 21, 1986
Notable accomplishments in year: Won gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters and 400-meter relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Bottom line: By defending his Olympic titles in the 100 and 200, Usain Bolt cemented his place as the fastest man in history and top Olympic sprinter ever.
He broke his own Olympic record in the 100, winning in a time of 9.63 seconds. After winning the 200, he anchored Jamaica to a world-record time of 36.84 seconds in the 400 relay.
He became the first man to win both the 100 and 200 in consecutive Olympics, and maee it three in a row in each race in 2016.
2013: LeBron James
Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Basketball
Birthdate: Dec. 30, 1984
Notable accomplishments in year: Named NBA regular-season and Finals MVP and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Averaged 26.8 points, eight rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.
Bottom line: For the second consecutive season, “King James” was both regular-season and Finals MVP while leading the Miami Heat to the NBA title. It was his fourth league MVP award in all.
During the regular season, he fueled the Heat to a 27-game winning streak, the third-longest in NBA history, on their way to 66 victories.
In the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, he scored 16 fourth-quarter points to lead Miami to a dramatic Game 6 comeback win and poured in 37 points in the Heat’s Game 7 victory.
2014: Cristiano Ronaldo
Andres Kudacki / AP Photo
Country: Portugal
Sport: Soccer
Birthdate: Feb. 5, 2014
Notable accomplishments in year: Won the FIFA Golden Ball Award as the world’s best men’s soccer player for the second consecutive year. Also won La Liga Best Player and European Golden Shoe awards. Led Real Madrid to its 10th European Cup. Named BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. Scored a record 17 goals and led the Champions League in scoring for the third time.
Bottom line: The Portuguese legend, who is widely considered one of the best goal scorers in the history of soccer, enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2013-14.
He became the first player to score in two European Cup finals for two different teams. For his career, Ronaldo holds records for most goals in the UEFA Champions League (27), UEFA European Championship (nine), the FIFA Club World Cup (seven) and UEFA Nations League Finals (three).
He also has won five Golden Ball awards, tied for most all-time.
2016: Simone Biles
Rebecca Blackwell / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Gymnastics
Birthdate: March 14, 1997
Notable accomplishments in year: Won gold medals in the all-around, vault, floor exercise and team competitions at the 2016 Olympics and a bronze in the balance beam. Named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.
Bottom line: Simone Biles became the first American and only the fifth women’s gymnast ever to win four gold medals in the same Olympics (the last being Ecaterina Szabo in 1984).
She is the first gymnast since Lilia Podkopayeva in 1996 to hold both the Olympic and World Championships all-around titles simultaneously.
With a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championships medals, Biles is the third most-decorated gymnast in history behind Vitaly Scherbo and Larisa Latynina.
2017: Katie Ledecky
Michael Conroy / AP Photo
Country: United States
Sport: Swimming
Birthdate: March 17, 1997
Notable accomplishments in year: Won five gold medals and one silver at World Championships. Named Associated Press and U.S. Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year and Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year.
Bottom line: The 20-year-old set the record for career World Championships gold medals by a female swimmer with 14, winning the 400, 800 and 1,500-meter freestyle for the third consecutive time.
She also won gold medals in the 400 and 800 freestyle relays.
For her career, Ledecky has won five Olympic gold medals and holds the world record in the 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle.
2018: Alex Ovechkin
Alex Brandon / AP Photo
Country: Russia
Sport: Hockey
Birthdate: Sept. 17, 1985
Notable accomplishments in year: Won the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer for the seventh time, totaling 49 goals. Won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP in the 2018 playoffs, leading the Washington Capitals to their first Stanley Cup trophy.
Bottom line: Regarded as one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history, Ovechkin served noticed that the 2017-18 season would be special when he became the first player in 100 years to start the season with back-to-back hat tricks.
The season also saw him become the 20th player ever to score 600 goals in his career, and the fourth to do it in fewer than 1,000 games.
During the Capitals’ championship run in the playoffs, he had 12 goals and 22 points in 19 games.
2019: Megan Rapinoe
David Vincent / AP Photo
Country: USA
Sport: Soccer
Birthdate: July 5, 1985
Notable accomplishments in year: Led the United States to the Women’s World Cup title, scoring six goals in the tournament and winning the Golden Boot award as the tournament’s top scorer and Golden Ball Award as its best player. Named Best FIFA Women’s Player for 2019.
Bottom line: One of the greatest women’s soccer players ever, Megan Rapinoe powered the United States to its second consecutive World Cup title.
In the final against the Netherlands, she scored her 50th career international goal on a penalty kick to open the scoring in a 2-0 victory.
At age 34, she was the oldest woman ever to score in a World Cup final and was named Player of the Match.
For the tournament, she averaged a goal or an assist for every 48 minutes played, the best ratio of any player.
