NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sports Illustrated held their annual Sportsman of the Year Award Gala on Tuesday evening at Chelsea Piers in New York City. The event honored several athletes who greatly impacted the sports conversation of 2014 including: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner as the 2014 Sportsman of the Year, NBA Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson with The Legacy Award and Little Leaguer Mo'ne Davis as the 2014 Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKid of the Year.
As tonight's emcee, CBS Sports Analyst and WFAN radio personality Boomer Esiason welcomed attendees by discussing each honorees' impact and accompanying video highlighting the year in sports.
President Bill Clinton, founder of the Clinton Global Initiative, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and MLB COO and Commissioner-elect Rob Manfred were among the speakers for the affair. Some of the notable comments included:
President Bill Clinton On Madison Bumgarner…"Greatness in athleticism is about more than physical talent. In the end, it's a matter of the mind and the heart as well. That is the gift [Bumgarner] gave all Americans who love baseball."
On Magic Johnson…"I don't believe in my whole life, I've ever watched any human being play basketball who loved it as much as [Johnson] did. I believe everybody who ever watched him play thought, 'That is the happiest person on earth right now.'"
On Mo'ne Davis…"When I saw Mo'ne Davis pitch several times -- it was awesome -- and now that I have a granddaughter (who so far is in the 95th percentile in size for her age) and reading about girls on the mound -- she may be the SportsKid of the year in 2014 but she may be something else altogether in 2015 and '16 and '17. She is a remarkable young woman."
After being honored with the 2014 Executive Award, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke on the societal importance of Earvin "Magic" Johnson when presenting Johnson the 2014 Legacy Award.
Speaking on Bumgarner, Johnson said "There's only one person that I hate, love and respect and that's Larry Bird. I hated him. I loved him. And I respected him so much that I knew if I made a mistake, he would get me the next year. Well, I now have the second person right in front of me – Madison Bumgarner. I hate him because he plays for the Giants and beats us. I love him because he's so good. And I respect him because he's such a competitor and his will to win is off the charts."
The evening also honored Pete Frates and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge as the 2014 Inspiration of the Year. After being celebrated during her own event in Philadelphia on December 8, SI Kids Managing Editor Mark Bechtel presented Mo'ne Davis with her SportsKid jacket in honor of being named 2014's SportsKid of the Year.
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