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The first issue of Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1954, showing Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium.
Sports Illustrated is the largest weekly American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the country. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice.

Its swimsuit issue, which has been published since 1964, is now an annual publishing event that generates its own television shows, videos and calendars.

The magazine's cover is the basis of a sports myth known as the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx.

History

Two other magazines named Sports Illustrated were started in the 1930s and 1940s, but they both quickly failed. In fact, there was no large-base, general sports magazine with a national following when TIME patriarch Henry Luce began considering whether his company should attempt to fill the gap. At the time, many believed sports was beneath the attention of serious journalism and didn't think sports news could fill a weekly magazine, especially during the winter. A number of advisers to Luce, including Life Magazine's Ernest Havemann, tried to kill the idea, but Luce, who was not a sports fan, decided the time was right."[1]

After offering $200,000 in an unsuccessful bid to buy the name Sport for the new magazine, they acquired the rights to the name Sports Illustrated instead for just $10,000. The goal of the new magazine was to be "not a sports magazine, but the sports magazine." Many at Time-Life scoffed at Luce's idea; in his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Luce and His Empire, W.A. Swanberg wrote that the company's intellectuals dubbed the proposed magazine "Muscle," "Jockstrap," and "Sweat Socks." Launched on August 16, 1954, it was not profitable and not particularly well run at first, but Luce's timing was good. The popularity of spectator sports in the United States was about to explode, and that popularity came to be driven largely by three things:
  • economic prosperity
  • television, and
  • Sports Illustrated.
The early issues of the magazine seemed caught between two opposing views of its audience. Much of the subject matter was directed at upper class activities such as yachting, polo and safaris, but upscale would-be advertisers were unconvinced that sports fans were a significant part of their market.[2]

Innovations

From its start, Sports Illustrated introduced a number of innovations that are generally taken for granted today:
  • Liberal use of color photos - though the six-week lead time initially meant they were unable to depict timely subject matter
  • Scouting reports - including a World Series Preview and New Year's Day bowl game roundup that enhanced the viewing of games on television
  • In-depth sports reporting from writers like Robert Creamer, Tex Maule and Dan Jenkins.
  • High school football Player of the Month awards.
In 1956, Luce asked Time, Inc. senior European Correspondent André Laguerre to come to New York and help define the magazine's character. Many of the staff had serious doubts that the English-born Frenchman could possibly know anything about American sports, but Laguerre won them over, and during his term as Managing Editor (1960 - 1974), SI became a model for other middle-class American magazines. One of the first changes was the beginning of a segment honouring unknown athletes called Faces in the Crowd. Its writers developed their own characteristic style by daring to tell people what was important. Many would say that the magazine legitimized sports — and being a sports fan — for a huge segment of the American population. The steady creation of landmark stories (e.g., "The Black Athlete — A Shameful Story" by Jack Olsen and "Paper Lion" by George Plimpton) showed that sports fans could be readers, and a generation of sportswriters patterned their own writing after what they read in SI.[3].

Color printing

The magazine's photographers also made their mark with innovations like putting cameras in the goal at a hockey game and behind a glass backboard at a basketball game. In 1965, offset printing began to allow the color pages of the magazine to be printed overnight, not only producing crisper and brighter images, but also finally enabling the editors to merge the best color with the latest news. By 1967, the magazine was printing 200 pages of "fast color" a year; in 1983, SI became the first American full-color newsweekly. An intense rivalry developed between photographers, particularly Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer, to get a decisive cover shot that would be on newsstands and in mailboxes only a few days later.[4]

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, during Gil Rogin's term as Managing Editor, the feature stories of Frank Deford became the magazine's anchor. "Bonus pieces" on Pete Rozelle, Bear Bryant, Howard Cosell and others became some of the most quoted sources about these figures, and Deford established a reputation as one of the best writers of the time.[5]

Regular Segments

First Person: A feature that has been added in the spring of 2007 features a question and answer session with a featured athlete accompanied by an unusual photo of the athlete holding a hand mirror (the hand mirror concept in First Person donates the athlete as the center of attention). It's also the only photo taking by the athlete himself.

Who's Hot, Who's Not: A feature on who's on a tear and who's in a slump. '''Inside the NFL, Baseball, NBA, College Football, College Basketball, NHL, Motor Sports, Golf, and Tennis (sports vary from issue to issue) has the writers from each sport to address the latest news and rumors in their repective fields.

Faces in the Crowd honors taltented amateur athletes and their accomplishments.

The Life of Reilly: A closing article from repected sports columnist Rick Reilly on the latest sports issues.

Purported creative decline

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After the death of Henry Luce in 1967, the creative freedom that the staff had enjoyed seemed to diminish. By the 1980s and 1990s, the magazine had become more profitable than ever, but many also believed it had become more predictable. Mark Mulvoy was the first top editor whose background contained nothing but sports; he had grown up as one of the magazine's readers, but he had no interest in fiction, movies, hobbies or history. Mulvoy's top writer Rick Reilly had also been raised on SI and followed in the footsteps of many of the great writers that he grew up admiring, but many felt that the magazine as a whole came to reflect Mulvoy's complete lack of sophistication. Mulvoy also hired the current creative director Steven Hoffman. Critics said that it rarely broke (or even featured) stories on the major controversies in sports (drugs, violence, commercialism) any more, and that it focused on major sports and celebrities to the exclusion of other topics.

The proliferation of "commemorative issues" and crass subscription incentives seemed to some like an exchange of journalistic integrity for commercial opportunism. More importantly, perhaps, many feel that 24-hour-a-day cable sports television networks and sports news web sites have forever diminished the role a weekly publication can play in today's world, and that it is unlikely any magazine will ever again achieve the level of prominence that SI once had.[6]

Another example of a big change in direction for the periodical is in its capitalizing on alternate covers. The concept took off in the 2000s. There was an alternate issue in fall 2000 for the 2000 World Series. One issue featured Derek Jeter with the heading Subway Series. In January 2004, the controversy over USC and LSU's share of the National Football Championship, resulted in SI creating one issue for the West Coast with USC as champions while the state of Louisiana had an alternate cover with LSU as National Champions. In 2006 alone, there have been three different weeks in which alternate covers have been featured. The August 21 issue featured the College Football Preview and had five alternate covers. The October 23 issue was the NBA Preview and featured three covers with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony. The College Basketball Preview was dated November 20 and had five alternate covers.

Sportsman of the Year

Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Roger Bannister won the first ever Sportsman of the year award thanks to his record breaking time of 3:59.4 for a mile (the first ever time a mile had been run under four minutes).

Dwyane Wade is Sports Illustrated's most recent Sportsman of the Year, for 2006. Wade averaged almost 35 points per game during the six game NBA Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks. Tiger Woods is the only athlete to win the award twice.

Cover history

Most covers by athlete, 1954-2003

Athlete Number of Covers
Michael Jordan49
Muhammad Ali37
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar29
Magic Johnson22
Jack Nicklaus22


Most covers by team, 1954-2003

Team Number of Covers
New York Yankees61
Los Angeles Lakers60
Dallas Cowboys45
Chicago Bulls44
Los Angeles Dodgers38
Boston Celtics37
Boston Red Sox36
Cincinnati Reds36
San Francisco 49ers33
Notre Dame Football32


Most covers by sport, 1954-2003

Sport Number of Covers
Pro Football519
Baseball510
Pro Basketball302
College Basketball200
Golf155
College Football153
Boxing134
Track and Field99
Hockey83
Tennis78


Celebrities on the cover, 1954-2003

Celebrity Year Special Notes
Ed Sullivan1959On cover as golfer
Bob Hope1963Owner of Cleveland Indians
Shirley MacLaine1964Wearing a football uniform
Steve McQueen1971Riding a motorcycle
Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson1977Promoting the film Semi-Tough
Big Bird1977On the cover with Mark Fidrych
Hulk Hogan1985Caption on cover was Mat Mania
Arnold Schwarzenegger1987Caption on cover was Hot Stuff
Ice Cube1999On cover with Shaquille O'Neal
Chris Rock2000Wearing Los Angeles Dodgers hat


Fathers and sons who have been featured on the cover

Father Son
Archie ManningPeyton Manning
Calvin HillGrant Hill
Bobby HullBrett Hull
Bill WaltonLuke Walton
Jack NicklausGary Nicklaus
Phil SimmsChris Simms
Dale EarnhardtDale Earnhardt, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Sr.Cal Ripken, Jr. & Billy Ripken
Boomer EsiasonGunnar Esiason


Presidents who have been featured on the cover

President SI Cover Date Special Notes
John F. KennedyDecember 26, 1960First Lady Jackie Kennedy also on cover and Kennedy was President-Elect at the time of the cover.
Gerald FordJuly 8, 1974Cover came one month before President Richard Nixon announced he would resign from the Presidency.
Ronald ReaganNovember 26, 1984On cover with Georgetown Hoyas coach John Thompson and Patrick Ewing
Ronald ReaganFebruary 16, 1987On cover with America's Cup champion Dennis Conner
Bill ClintonMarch 21, 1994On cover about the Arkansas college basketball team


Tribute covers (In Memoriam)

Athlete SI Cover Date Special Notes
Len BiasJune 30, 1986Died of a cocaine overdose just after being drafted by the Boston Celtics
Arthur AsheFebruary 15, 1993Tennis great and former US Open champion who died from AIDS
Reggie LewisAugust 9, 1993Celtics player who died due to a heart defect
Mickey MantleAugust 21, 1995Died after years of battling alcoholism
Walter PaytonNovember 8, 1999Died from rare liver disorder
Dale EarnhardtFebruary 26, 2001Died in a crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500
Ted WilliamsJuly 15, 2002Boston Red Sox who died due to old age
Johnny UnitasOctober 23, 2002Baltimore Colts great who died due to old age
Brittanie CecilApril 1, 2002Fan killed as the result of being struck with a puck to the head while in the crowd at a Columbus Blue Jackets game
Pat TillmanMay 3, 2004Arizona Cardinals player who was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.

Writers

Spinoffs

Sports Illustrated has helped launched a number of related publishing ventures, including:
  • Sports Illustrated KIDS magazine (circulation 950,000)
  • Launched in January 1989
  • Won the "Distinguished Achievement for Excellence in Educational Publishing" award 11 times
  • Won the "Parents' Choice Magazine Award" 7 times
  • Sports Illustrated Almanac annuals
  • Introduced in 1991
  • Yearly compilation of sports news and statistics in book form
  • SI.com sports news web site
  • Launched on July 17, 1997
  • Online version of the magazine and sports site for CNN.com
  • Sports Illustrated Women magazine (highest circulation 400,000)
  • Launched in March 2000
  • Ceased publication in December 2002 because of a weak advertising climate
  • Sports Illustrated on Campus magazine
  • Launched on September 4, 2003
  • Dedicated to college athletics and the sports interests of college students.
  • Distributed free on 72 college campuses through a network of college newspapers.
  • Circulation of one million readers between the ages of 18 and 24.
  • Ceased publication in December 2005 because of a weak advertising climate

Footnotes

1. ^ .
2. ^ .
3. ^ .
4. ^ .
5. ^ .
6. ^ .

References

  • MacCambridge, Michael (1997), The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine, Hyperion Press, ISBN 0-7868-6216-5.
  • Fleder, Rob (2005), Sports Illustrated 50: The Anniversary Book, Time Inc., ISBN 1-932273-49-2.

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Time Warner Inc.

Public (NYSE: TWX )
Founded Merger between Time Inc. and Warner Communications (1990); subsequently purchased by AOL (2001)
Headquarters New York City, New York (incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware) [1]

Key people Richard D.
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Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated magazine. It features top fashion models wearing designer swimwear in exotic locales. New issues come out around the middle of February or later. It was first published in 1964.
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Television (often abbreviated to TV, T.V., or more recently, tv; sometimes called telly, the tube, boob tube, or idiot box in British English) is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures
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calendar is a system for naming periods of time, typically days. These names are known as calendar dates. Cycles in a calendar are often synchronised with the perceived motion of astronomical objects.

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A sports-related curse is the effective action of some power or evil, that is used to explain the failures or misfortunes of specific sports teams, players, or even cities.
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The Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx is a myth that states that individuals or teams who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine will experience bad luck at varying lengths into the future.
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time.

One view is that time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence, and time itself is something that can be measured.
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Henry Robinson Luce (pronounced like "loose") (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967) was an influential American publisher.

Biography

Luce was born in Dengzhou, China, the son of a Presbyterian missionary and educated in various boarding schools in China and England.
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Life generally refers to two American magazines:
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Pulitzer Prize

Awarded for Excellence in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition
Presented by Columbia University
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August 16 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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Robert W. "Bob" Creamer (b. July 14, 1922 in Tuckahoe, New York) is an American sportswriter and editor. The majority of his career was spent at Sports Illustrated.

Creamer was one of the first hired on the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1954.
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Hamilton Prieleaux Bee Maule, commonly known as Tex Maule (May 19, 1915 in Ojus, Florida — May 16, 1981) was the lead American football writer for Sports Illustrated in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
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Dan Jenkins (born December 2, 1929 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American author and sportswriter, most notably for Sports Illustrated.

Jenkins was born and raised in Fort Worth, where he attended R.L. Paschal High School and Texas Christian University.
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Faces in the Crowd is a long-running segment from Sports Illustrated. Starting in the January 9, 1956 issue, the segment was originally titled These Faces in the Crowd. [1] The predecessor to These Faces...
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George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor.

Biography

Plimpton was born in New York. He attended St. Bernard's School, Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.
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Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey in Canada and the United States, is a team sport played on ice. It is a speedy and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural, reliable seasonal ice cover, though with the advent
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