The Associated Press top sports story of 1991 was Magic Johnson's announcement that he tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS.
Johnson's Nov. 7 announcement received 338 points and 29 first-place votes in balloting released Wednesday by the AP. Johnson, who had led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles, announced at a dramatic news conference that he was retiring from pro basketball because of the positive test.Minnesota's tense seven-game victory over Atlanta in the World Series was second with 236 points and three first-place votes. The Twins beat the Braves 1-0 in 10 innings in Game 7, the fourth game of the Series decided on the final swing.
Mike Powell's long-jump record was third with 177 points and two first-place votes. He jumped 29 feet, 41/2 inches on Aug. 30 at Tokyo, breaking the previous record of 29-21/2 set by Bob Beamon at the 1968 Olympics.
The New York Giants' 20-19 victory over Buffalo on Jan. 27 in the closest Super Bowl ever was fourth with 120 points, followed by Nolan Ryan's record seventh no-hitter, a 3-0 victory over Toronto on May 1. Ryan, who struck out 16 and walked two in the game, received 112 points and one-first place vote.
The Chicago Bulls finished sixth for their first NBA championship, a five-game victory over the Los Angeles Lakers that ended with a 108-101 win on June 12.
Duke's upset 79-77 victory over defending champion UNLV in the NCAA basketball tournament semifinals on March 30 was seventh with 109 points.
Carl Lewis' world record of 9.86 seconds in the 100 meters on Aug. 25 at Tokyo was eighth with 94 points. Lewis was four-hundredths of a second faster than the previous record of 9.90 set by Leroy Burrell at the U.S. Championships two months earlier in New York.
The advance of 39-year-old Jimmy Connors to the semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament was ninth with 78 points. Connors was eliminated in the semifinals on Sept. 7, losing to Jim Courier 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
The Sept. 9 indictment of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on rape charges was 10th with 65 points. Tyson's loss to James "Buster" Douglas was the AP's top sports story of 1990.
Voting was conducted among AP member newspapers and broadcasters. First-place votes were worth 10 points, second place was worth nine points, etc.