Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award has been presented annually since 1993

1993 in sports

1993 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg** Women's overall season champion: Anita Wachter, Austria-American football:...

to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender

Gender

Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...

, contesting a team sport

Team sport

A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...

professional

Professional sports

Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...

ly under the auspices of one of the four North American leagues or an individual sport

Individual sport

-Examples:Examples of individual sports include:*Archery*Athletics*Bodybuilding*Badminton*Boomerang*Boxing*Chess*Croquet*Cycling*Darts*Equestrian*Fencing*Figure Skating*Golf*Gymnastics*Knife Throwing*Krav Maga*Judo*Lawn Bowls*Orienteering*Pilates...

on either an amateur

Amateur sports

Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. Sporting amateurism was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports...

or professional basis primarily in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

or international

International

----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...

ly under the auspices of an sport governing body adjudged to have made the most significant, profound, or impressive comeback from serious illness

Illness

Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...

, injury

Injury

-By cause:*Traumatic injury, a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident*Other injuries from external physical causes, such as radiation injury, burn injury or frostbite*Injury from infection...

, personal or familial hardship, retirement

Retirement

Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...

, or significant loss of form.

Between 1993 and 2004

2004 in sports

2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* College football Bowl Championship Series :**January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14...

, the award voting panel comprised variously fans; sportswriter

Sports journalism

Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...

s and broadcasters

Presenter

A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

, sports executives, and retired sportspersons, termed collectively experts; and ESPN personalities, but balloting thereafter has been exclusively by fans over the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

from amongst choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.

Through the 2001

2001 in sports

2001 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...

iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in June and reflect performance from the June previous.

List of winners

Year	Sportsperson	Team	Competition, federation, or league	Sport
1993 1993 in sports 1993 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg Women's overall season champion: Anita Wachter, Austria-American football:...	Dave Winfield Dave Winfield David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...	Toronto Blue Jays Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....	Major League Baseball Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
1994 1994 in sports 1994 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* January 29 – death of Ulrike Maier , Austrian skier, who broke her neck when she crashed during a World Cup downhill race at Garmisch-Partenkirchen...	Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...	Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...	National Hockey League National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...	Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
1995 1995 in sports 1995 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Alberto Tomba, Italy Women's overall season champion: Vreni Schneider, Switzerland-American football:...	Dan Marino Dan Marino Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...	Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	National Football League National Football League The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...	American football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
1996 1996 in sports 1996 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Lasse Kjus, Norway Women's overall season champion: Katja Seizinger, Germany-American football:...	Michael Jordan Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...	Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...	National Basketball Association National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...	Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
1997 1997 in sports 1997 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Luc Alphand, France Women's overall season champion: Pernilla Wiberg, Sweden-American football:...	Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...	not applicable	not applicable	Boxing Professional Boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract... (Heavyweight Heavyweight Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing... )
1998 1998 in sports 1998 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria Women's overall season champion: Katja Seizinger, Germany-American football:...	Roger Clemens Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens , nicknamed "Rocket", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who broke into the league with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he would help anchor for 12 years. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher. He played for four different teams over...	Toronto Blue Jays Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....	Major League Baseball Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
1999 1999 in sports 1999 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Lasse Kjus, Norway Women's overall season champion: Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austria-American football:...	Eric Davis	Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...	Major League Baseball Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
2000 2000 in sports 2000 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria Women's overall season champion: Renate Götschl, Austria-American football:...	Lance Armstrong Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...	US Postal Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team was a United States-based professional road bicycle racing team. It was the continuation of the 2004 U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner, was its leader until July 2005...	UCI ProTour UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...	Road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
2001 2001 in sports 2001 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria Women's overall season champion: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...	Andrés Galarraga Andrés Galarraga Andrés José Padovani Galarraga is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Montreal Expos , St. Louis Cardinals , Colorado Rockies , Atlanta Braves , Texas Rangers , San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels...	Atlanta Braves Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....	Major League Baseball Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
2002 2002 in sports 2002 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Stephan Eberharter, Austria Women's overall season champion: Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria-American football:...	Jennifer Capriati Jennifer Capriati Jennifer Marie Capriati is a former world number one ranked professional tennis player, and the winner of three women's singles championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 14 when she reached the finals of the hard court tournament in Boca...	not applicable	WTA Tour Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...	Tennis Tennis Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
2003 2003 in sports 2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria Women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...	Tommy Maddox Tommy Maddox Thomas "Tommy" Alfred Maddox is a former football quarterback in the National Football League, the XFL and the Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He played college football at UCLA.-Early years:At L. D...	Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...	National Football League National Football League The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...	American football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
2004 2004 in sports 2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* College football Bowl Championship Series :**January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14...	Bethany Hamilton Bethany Hamilton Bethany Meilani Hamilton is an American professional surfer. She is known for surviving a shark attack in which she lost her left arm, and for overcoming the injury to ultimately return to professional surfing. She wrote about her experience in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of...	not applicable	not applicable	Surfing Surfing Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
2005 2005 in sports 2005 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup Men's overall season champion: Bode Miller Women's overall season champion: Anja Pärson -American football:...	Mark Fields Mark Fields (football) Mark Anthony Fields is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League.Fields played college football for Washington State University. He was selected in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played six years in New Orleans, leading or coming...	Carolina Panthers Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...	National Football League National Football League The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...	American football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
2006 2006 in sports 2006 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* January 2, Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State 34-20 Notre Dame* January 2, Sugar Bowl – West Virginia 38-35 Georgia...	Tedy Bruschi Tedy Bruschi Tedy Lacap Bruschi is a former professional American football linebacker. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft...	New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...	National Football League National Football League The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...	American football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
2007 2007 in sports 2007 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* February 4 – Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 to win Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The win was the Colts' first Super Bowl Championship since their 1970-71 team, when...	No award given
2008 2008 in sports 2008 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* Louisiana State University Tigers defeat The Ohio State University Buckeyes 38-24 in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game, thus becoming the first two-time BCS National Champions, and the first BCS titlists with two...	Josh Hamilton	Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890.... , Texas Rangers Texas Rangers (baseball) The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...	Major League Baseball Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
2009 2009 in sports -Alpine skiing:* Alpine World Ski Championships 2009 held at Val d'Isère, Savoy, France-American football:* The Florida Gators defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 in front of a Dolphin Stadium record crowd of 78,468 to win the 2009 BCS National Championship Game...	Dara Torres Dara Torres Dara Grace Torres is an American international swimmer and a twelve-time Olympic medalist. Torres was the first swimmer from the United States to compete in five Olympic Games , and, at age 41, the oldest swimmer ever to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team...	not applicable	not applicable	Swimming Swimming (sport) Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
2010 2010 in sports 2010 in sports will describe the year's events in world sport.-January:* Alabama defeats Texas 37–21 in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, thereby claiming the 2009 National Championship in College Football....	Kim Clijsters Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....	not applicable	WTA Tour Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...	Tennis Tennis Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
2011 2011 in sports 2011 in sports will describe the year's events in world sport.-Alpine Skiing:* October 23, 2010 – March 20, 2011 –2011 Alpine Skiing World CupMen Overall Title: Ivica Kostelić of CroatiaWomen Overall Title: Maria Riesch of Germany...	Mark Herzlich Mark Herzlich Sandon Mark Herzlich, Jr. is an American football linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2011...	Boston College Eagles Boston College Eagles football The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...	NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States... (Division I FBS)	American football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

List of winners

See also