 | |
 The first issue ofSports Illustrated, showingMilwaukee Braves starEddie Mathews at bat andNew York Giants catcherWes Westrum inMilwaukee County Stadium with umpireAugie Donatelli behind the plate in a June 9, 1954, game[1] | |
| Co-editors in chief |
|
|---|---|
| Staff writers | Staff Managing Editor SI.com: Stephen Cannella Managing Editor SI Golf Group: Jim Gorant Creative Director: Christopher Hercik Director of Photography: Brad Smith[2] Senior Editor, Chief of Reporters: Richard Demak Senior Editors: Mark Bechtel, Trisha Lucey Blackmar,MJ Day (Swimsuit); Mark Godich; Stefanie Kaufman (Operations); Kostya P. Kennedy, Diane Smith (Swimsuit) Senior Writers: Kelli Anderson, Lars Anderson, Chris Ballard, Michael Bamberger, George Dohrmann, David Epstein, Michael Farber, Damon Hack, Lee Jenkins,Peter King, Thomas Lake, Tim Layden, J. Austin Murphy,Dan Patrick, Joe Posnanski, S.L. Price, Selena Roberts, Alan Shipnuck, Phil Taylor, Ian Thomsen, Jim Trotter, Gary Van Sickle,Tom Verducci, Grant Wahl, L. Jon Wertheim Associate Editors: Darcie Baum (Swimsuit); Mark Beech, Adam Duerson, Gene Menez, Elizabeth Newman, David Sabino (Statistics) Staff Writers: Brian Cazeneuve, Albert Chen, Chris Mannix, Ben Reiter, Melissa Segura Deputy Chief of Reporters: Lawrence Mondi Writer-Reporters: Sarah Kwak, Andrew Lawrence, Rick Lipsey, Julia Morrill, Rebecca Sun, Pablo S. Torre Reporters: Kelvin C. Bias, Matt Gagne, Rebecca Shore |
| Categories | Sports magazine |
| Frequency | Monthly (2020–present) Biweekly (2018–20) Weekly (1954–2018) |
| Publisher | Minute Media (brand licensee) |
| Total circulation (December 2020) | 1,618,476[3] |
| First issue | August 16, 1954; 70 years ago (1954-08-16) |
| Company | Authentic Brands Group |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | New York City |
| Language | English |
| Website | si.com |
| ISSN | 0038-822X |
| OCLC | 1766364 |
Sports Illustrated (SI) is an Americansports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded byStuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice. It is also known for its annualswimsuit issue, which has been published since 1964, and has spawned other complementary media works and products.
Owned until 2018 byTime Inc., it was sold toAuthentic Brands Group (ABG) following the sale of Time Inc. toMeredith Corporation. The Arena Group (formerly theMaven, Inc.) was subsequently awarded a 10-year license to operate theSports Illustrated–branded editorial operations, while ABGlicenses the brand for other non-editorial ventures and products. In January 2024, The Arena Group missed a quarterly licensing payment, leading ABG to terminate the company's license. Arena, in turn, laid off the publication's editorial staff.[4]
In March 2024, ABG licensed the publishing rights toMinute Media in a 10-year deal, jointly announcing that the print and digital editions would be revived by rehiring some of the editorial staff.[5]
In May 2024,Sports Illustrated failed to deliver a print copy of the publication for the month to its subscribers for the first time in the magazine's 70-year history, according to theNew York Post’s Josh Kosman (May 17, 2024).
There were two previous magazines namedSports Illustrated before the current magazine was launched on August 9, 1954.[6] In 1936,Stuart Scheftel createdSports Illustrated with a target market of sportsmen. He published the magazine monthly from 1936 to 1942. The magazine focused on golf, tennis, and skiing with articles on the major sports. He then sold the name to Dell Publications, which releasedSports Illustrated in 1949 and this version lasted six issues before closing. Dell's version focused on major sports (baseball, basketball, boxing) and competed on magazine racks againstSports and other monthly sports magazines. During the 1940s, these magazines were monthly, which prevented them from cover current events. There was no large-base, general, weekly sports magazine with a national following on actual active events. It was then thatTime patriarchHenry Luce began considering whether his company should attempt to fill that gap. At the time, many believed sports was beneath the attention of serious journalism and did not think sports news could fill a weekly magazine, especially during the winter. A number of advisers to Luce, includingLife magazine's Ernest Havemann, tried to kill the idea, but Luce, who was not a sports fan, decided the time was right.[7]
Luce and editors of the planned magazine met in 1954 atPine Lakes Country Club, the oldest golf course inMyrtle Beach, South Carolina. The course's pro shop has a plaque mentioning the meetings, and the plaque also states that the first issue was given to the course. It is on display there. Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association executive director Tracy Conner credits the magazine with making Myrtle Beach a golf destination.[8]
Many atTime-Life scoffed at Luce's idea; in hisPulitzer 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 9, 1954, it was not profitable (and would not be for 12 years)[9] 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, andSports Illustrated.[10]
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 asyachting,polo andsafaris, but upscale would-beadvertisers were unconvinced thatsports fans were a significant part of their market.[11]
In 1965,offset printing began. This allowed 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 betweenphotographers, particularlyWalter Iooss andNeil Leifer, to get a decisive cover shot that would be on newsstands and in mailboxes only a few days later.[12]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, duringGilbert Rogin's term as Managing Editor, the feature stories ofFrank Deford became the magazine's anchor. "Bonus pieces" onPete Rozelle,Woody Hayes,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.[13]
After more than a decade of steady losses, the magazine's fortunes finally turned around in the 1960s whenAndre Laguerre became its managing editor. A European correspondent for Time, Inc., who later became chief of the Time-Life news bureaux in Paris and London (for a time he ran both simultaneously), Laguerre attracted Henry Luce's attention in 1956 with his singular coverage of theWinter Olympic Games inCortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, which became the core ofSI's coverage of those games. In May 1956, Luce brought Laguerre to New York to become the assistant managing editor of the magazine. He was named managing editor in 1960, and he more than doubled the circulation by instituting a system of departmental editors, redesigning the internal format,[14] and inaugurating the unprecedented use in a news magazine of full-color photographic coverage of the week's sports events. He was also one of the first to sense the rise of national interest in professionalfootball.[15]
Laguerre also instituted the innovative concept of one long story at the end of every issue, which he called the "bonus piece". These well-written, in-depth articles helped to distinguishSports Illustrated from other sports publications, and helped launch the careers of such legendary writers asFrank Deford, who in March 2010 wrote of Laguerre, "He smoked cigars and drank Scotch and made the sun move across the heavens ... His genius as an editor was that he made you want to please him, but he wanted you to do that by writing in your own distinct way."[16]
Laguerre is also credited with the conception and creation of the annualSwimsuit Issue, which quickly became, and remains, the most popular issue each year.
In 1986, co-owned propertyHBO/Cannon Video had inked a pact to produce video versions of the magazine for $20 on the sell-through market, running just 30–45 minutes on the tape.[17]
In 1990, Time Inc. merged withWarner Communications to form the media conglomerateTime Warner.Sports Illustrated acquired FanNation.com in 2007 to compete in theWeb 2.0 market; the siteaggregated sports news and alloweduser-generated content.[18] In 2014, Time Inc. was spun off from Time Warner.
In 2018, the magazine was sold toMeredith Corporation by means of its acquisition of parent companyTime Inc.. Meredith, however, planned to sellSports Illustrated due to not aligning with its lifestyle properties.[19]Authentic Brands Group announced its intent to acquireSports Illustrated for $110 million the next year, stating that it would leverage its brand and other assets for new opportunities that "stay close to the DNA and the heritage of the brand." Upon the announcement, Meredith would enter into a licensing agreement to continue as publisher of theSports Illustrated editorial operations for at least the next two years.[20][21] In June 2019, the rights to publish theSports Illustrated editorial operations were licensed to the digital media company theMaven, Inc. under a 10-year contract, withRoss Levinsohn as CEO. The company had backed a bid byJunior Bridgeman to acquireSI.[22][23] In preparation for the closure of the sale to ABG and Maven,[24]The Wall Street Journal reported that there would beSports Illustrated employee layoffs,[25] which was confirmed after the acquisition had closed.[26]
In October 2019, editor-in-chief Chris Stone stepped down.[27] Later that month,Sports Illustrated announced its hiring of veteran college sports writerPat Forde.[28] In January 2020, it announced an editorial partnership withThe Hockey News, focusing on syndication of NHL-related coverage.[29][30] In 2021, it announced a similar partnership withMorning Read for golf coverage, with its website being merged into that ofSports Illustrated.[31] It also partnered withiHeartMedia to distribute and co-producepodcasts.[32]
In September 2021, Maven, now known as The Arena Group, acquired the New Jersey–based sports news websiteThe Spun, which would integrate intoSports Illustrated.[33] In 2022, ABG announced several non-editorial ventures involving theSports Illustrated brand, including an apparel line forJCPenney "inspired by iconic moments in sports" (it was not the brand's first foray into clothing, as it launched a branded swimsuit line in conjunction with itsSwimsuit Issue in 2018),[34] andresort hotels inOrlando andPunta Cana.[35] In September 2023, it delved deeper into the resort world through a new partnership withTravel + Leisure.[36]
On November 27, 2023,Futurism published an article alleging thatSports Illustrated was publishing AI-generated articles credited to authors who were also AI-generated; the latter practice apparently extended to their profile photos, which the website alleged were sourced from online marketplaces selling such photos.[37] AfterFuturism reached out to The Arena Group, the magazine purportedly removed some of the implicated writers and republished their articles under other AI-generated authors with notes disclaiming its staff's involvement.[38][39] In response to the report, a spokesperson forSports Illustrated claimed that the affected articles were product reviews written without the involvement of AI by AdVon Commerce, a third-party company who they claimed used pseudonyms to "protect author privacy" and had already severed ties with; meanwhile, writers and editors at the magazine sharply criticized the alleged practices.[39]
On January 5, 2024, The Arena Group missed a $3.75 million quarterly licensing payment to Authentic Brands Group.[40] Two weeks later, on January 19, Authentic Brands Group terminated its licensing agreement. As a result, The Arena Group fought back by announcing that it would lay off the entireSports Illustrated staff.[41] In March 2024, Authentic Brands Group licensed the publishing rights toMinute Media in a 10-year deal, jointly announcing that the print and digital editions would be revived by rehiring some of the editorial staff.[5] Minute converted the Fan Nation–branded team sites to "On SI".[42]
In 1956, Sports Illustrated began presenting annual awards to fashion or clothing designers who had excelled in the field of sportswear/activewear. The first ASDAs of 1956, presented toClaire McCardell with a separate Designer of the Year award toRudi Gernreich, were chosen following a vote of 200 American top retailers.[43] The following year, the voting pool had increased to 400 fashion industry experts, includingDorothy Shaver andStanley Marcus, whenSydney Wragge andBill Atkinson received the awards.[44] The Italian designerEmilio Pucci was the first non-American to receive the award in 1961.[45] The awards were presented up until at least 1963, whenMarc Bohan received the prize.[46] Other winners includeJeanne S. Campbell,Bonnie Cashin, andRose Marie Reid who formed the first all-women winning group in 1958.[47]
Maya Moore of theWNBA'sMinnesota Lynx was the inaugural winner of the award in 2017.[48]
Since 1954,Sports Illustrated has annually presented theSportsperson of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement."[49][50]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.[49][51] Both men and women have won the award, originally called "Sportsman of the Year" and renamed "Sportswoman of the Year" or "Sportswomen of the Year" when applicable; it is currently known as "Sportsperson of the Year."
The 2017 winners of the award areHouston Texans defensive endJ. J. Watt andHouston Astros second basemanJose Altuve.[52] Both athletes were recognized for their efforts in helping rebuild the city of Houston followingHurricane Harvey in addition to Altuve being a part of the Astros team that won the franchise's firstWorld Series in 2017.[53]
The 2018 winners are theGolden State Warriors as a team for winning their third NBA Title in four years.[54]
The 2021 winner isTom Brady for his Super Bowl 55 win.[55]
The 2023 winner isDeion Sanders for his coaching of the football team at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder.[56]
In 1999,Sports Illustrated namedMuhammad Ali the Sportsman of the Century at theSports Illustrated's 20th Century Sports Awards inNew York City'sMadison Square Garden.[57]
In 2015, the magazine renamed its Sportsman Legacy Award to theSports Illustrated'sMuhammad Ali Legacy Award. The annual award was originally created in 2008 and honors former "sports figures who embody the ideals of sportsmanship, leadership and philanthropy as vehicles for changing the world." Ali first appeared on the magazine's cover in 1963 and went on to be featured on numerous covers during his storied career. His widow, Lonnie Ali, is consulted when choosing a recipient.[58] In 2017, football quarterbackColin Kaepernick was honored with the Award, which was presented byBeyoncé.[59] In 2018,WWE professional wrestlerJohn Cena was honored with the award.[60]
For a 2002 list of the top 200Division I sports colleges in the U.S., see footnote.[62]
The following list contains the athletes with most covers.[72]
The magazine's cover is the basis of asports myth known as theSports Illustrated Cover Jinx.
| Athlete | Sport | Number of covers |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | Basketball | 50 |
| Muhammad Ali | Boxing | 40 |
| LeBron James | Basketball | 25 |
| Tiger Woods | Golf | 24 |
| Magic Johnson | Basketball | 23 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Basketball | 22 |
| Tom Brady | Football | 20 |
| Team | Sport | Number of covers |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | Basketball | 67 |
| New York Yankees | Baseball | 65 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Baseball | 49 |
| Dallas Cowboys | Football | 48 |
| Boston Red Sox | Baseball | 46 |
| Chicago Bulls | Basketball | 45 |
| Boston Celtics | Basketball | 44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Baseball | 40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | Baseball | 37 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Football | 33 |
| Sport | Number of covers |
|---|---|
| Baseball-MLB | 628 |
| Pro Football-NFL | 550 |
| Pro Basketball-NBA | 325 |
| College Football | 202 |
| College Basketball | 181 |
| Golf | 155 |
| Boxing | 134 |
| Ice hockey | 100 |
| Track and Field | 99 |
| Tennis | 78 |
| Celebrity | Year | Special notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Cooper | 1959 | Scuba diving |
| Bob Hope | 1963 | Owner ofCleveland Indians |
| Shirley MacLaine | 1964 | Promoting the filmJohn Goldfarb, Please Come Home! |
| Steve McQueen | 1971 | Riding a motorcycle |
| Burt Reynolds andKris Kristofferson | 1977 | Promoting the filmSemi-Tough |
| Big Bird | 1977 | On the cover withMark Fidrych |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | 1987 | Caption on cover was Softies |
| Chris Rock | 2000 | WearingLos Angeles Dodgers hat |
| Stephen Colbert | 2009 | Caption: Stephen Colbert and his Nation save the Olympics |
| Mark Wahlberg andChristian Bale | 2010 | Promoting the filmThe Fighter |
| Brad Pitt | 2011 | Promoting the filmMoneyball |
| Father | Son(s) |
|---|---|
| Archie Manning | Peyton &Eli Manning |
| Calvin Hill | Grant Hill |
| Bobby Hull | Brett Hull |
| Bill Walton | Luke Walton |
| Jack Nicklaus | Gary Nicklaus |
| Phil Simms | Chris Simms |
| Dale Earnhardt | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| Cal Ripken Sr. | Cal Ripken Jr. &Billy Ripken |
| Mark McGwire | Matt McGwire |
| Drew Brees | Baylen Brees |
| Boomer Esiason | Gunnar Esiason |
| Chuck Liddell | Cade Liddell |
| President | SI cover date | Special notes |
|---|---|---|
| John F. Kennedy | December 26, 1960 | First LadyJackie Kennedy also on cover and Kennedy was President-Elect at the time of the cover. |
| Gerald Ford | July 8, 1974 | Cover came one month before PresidentRichard Nixon announced he would resign from the Presidency. |
| Ronald Reagan | November 26, 1984 | On cover withGeorgetown Hoyas basketball coachJohn Thompson andPatrick Ewing |
| Ronald Reagan | February 16, 1987 | On cover withAmerica's Cup championDennis Conner |
| Bill Clinton | March 21, 1994 | On cover about theArkansas college basketball team |
| Athlete | SI cover date | Special notes |
|---|---|---|
| Len Bias | June 30, 1986 | Died of a cocaine overdose just after beingdrafted by theBoston Celtics |
| Arthur Ashe | February 15, 1993 | Tennis great and former US Open champion who died fromAIDS after a blood transfusion |
| Reggie Lewis | August 9, 1993 | Celtics player who died due to a heart defect |
| Mickey Mantle | August 21, 1995 | Died after years of battlingalcoholism |
| Walter Payton | November 8, 1999 | Died from rare liver disorder |
| Dale Earnhardt | February 26, 2001 | Died in a crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. |
| Brittanie Cecil | April 1, 2002 | Fan killed as the result of being struck with a puck to the head while in the crowd at aColumbus Blue Jackets game |
| Ted Williams | July 15, 2002 | Boston Red Sox great who died of cardiac arrest |
| Johnny Unitas | September 23, 2002 | Baltimore Colts great who died from heart attack |
| Pat Tillman | May 3, 2004 | Arizona Cardinals player turned U.S. soldier who was killed in a friendly fire incident inAfghanistan. |
| Ed Thomas | July 6, 2009 | Parkersburg, Iowa, high school football coach who was gunned down by one of his former players on the morning of June 24, 2009. |
| John Wooden | June 14, 2010 | UCLA basketball coaching legend |
| Junior Seau | May 2, 2012 | Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker who committed suicide at 43 |
| Chuck Noll | June 23, 2014 | Four-timeSuper Bowl-winning coach of thePittsburgh Steelers |
| Arnold Palmer | October 3, 2016 | Seven-timegolf major championship winner |
| Kobe Bryant | February 2, 2020 | Five-timeNBA champion with theLos Angeles Lakers who died in ahelicopter crash |
On 28 March 1990 the magazine credited the contributors of its covers up to that date.[73] and the 10 November 2003 issue of the magazine lists 379 contributing photographers and agencies including the following:[74]
Sports Illustrated has helped launched a number of related publishing ventures, including:
| Subsidiaries |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brands |
| ||||
| Major shareholders | |||||
| Key people |
| ||||
