BBC Sports Personality of the Year

From Free net encyclopedia

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year award has been given to one British sportsperson each year since 1954. The award is organised by the BBC and is voted for by the public, and was conceived by the BBC producer Paul Fox. It is the most prestigious all-sport award in British sport, and is held towards the end of the calendar year. The only people to win the award twice are the boxer Henry Cooper and the Formula One drivers Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. A number of other awards are presented at the ceremony including the team, young personality and overseas personality awards.

Despite the existence of a separate "Overseas Sports Personality of the Year Award", non-British nationals are not exempt from the main prize. Irishman Barry McGuigan won the Award in 1985, and Italian jockey Frankie Dettori finished in third place in the voting in 1996, for example. However both of these men made much of their careers in the UK.

The 2005 programme was criticised for keeping the England cricket team from their beds in Pakistan when they had a match to play the following day, which they went on to lose.

Contents

List of winners

List of other BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards

See also

External links