A list of the winners of the Red Smith Award, given annually by the APSE to a person who has made "major contributions to sports journalism."
| Year | Writer | Publication | Story |
| 1981 | Red Smith | New York Times | — |
| 1982 | Jim Murray | Los Angeles Times | — |
| 1983 | Shirley Povich | Washington Post | — |
| 1984 | Fred Russell | Nashville Banner | — |
| 1985 | Blackie Sherrod | Dallas Morning News | — |
| 1986 | Si Burick | Dayton Daily News | — |
| 1987 | Will Grimsley | Associated Press | — |
| 1988 | Furman Bisher | Atlanta Journal | — |
| 1989 | Edwin Pope | Miami Herald | — |
| 1990 | Dave Smith | Dallas Morning News | — |
| 1991 | Dave Kindred | National Sports Daily | — |
| 1992 | Ed Storin | Miami Herald | — |
| 1993 | Tom McEwen | Tampa Tribune | — |
| 1994 | Dave Anderson | New York Times | — |
| 1995 | Richard Sandler | Newsday | — |
| 1996 | Bill Dwyre | Los Angeles Times | — |
| 1997 | Jerome Holtzman | Chicago Tribune | — |
| 1998 | Sam Lacy | Baltimore Afro-American | — |
| 1999 | Bud Collins | Boston Globe | Story |
| 2000 | Jerry Izenberg | Newark Star-Ledger | Story |
| 2001 | John Steadman | Baltimore Sun | Story |
| 2002 | Dick Schaap | ESPN "The Sports Reporters" | Story |
| 2003 | George Solomon | Washington Post | Story |
| 2004 | Jimmy Cannon | New York City columnist | Story |
| 2005 | Mary Garber | Winston-Salem Journal | Story |
| 2006 | Joe McGuff | Kansas City Star | Story |
| 2007 | Van McKenzie | Orlando Sentinel | Story |
| 2008 | W.C. Heinz | New York Sun | Story |
| 2009 | Vince Doria | ESPN | Story |
