Sports Illustrated - Cover History

Cover History

The following list contains the athletes with most covers.

The magazine's cover is the basis of a sports myth known as the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx. To find the number of times an athlete has appeared on the cover go to:


Most covers by athlete, 1954-2011

Athlete Number of covers
Michael Jordan 57
Muhammad Ali 38
Tiger Woods 24
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22
Magic Johnson 23
Tom Brady 19
Kobe Bryant 17

Most covers by team, 1954-May 2008

Team Number of covers
New York Yankees 71
Los Angeles Lakers 67
Dallas Cowboys 48
Boston Red Sox 46
Chicago Bulls 45
Boston Celtics 44
Los Angeles Dodgers 40
Cincinnati Reds 37
San Francisco 49ers 33

Most covers by sport, 1954-2009

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
Hockey 100
Track and Field 99
Tennis 78

Celebrities on the cover, 1954-2010

Celebrity Year Special notes
Ed Sullivan 1959 On cover as golfer
Gary Cooper 1959 Scuba diving
Bob Hope 1963 Owner of Cleveland Indians
Shirley MacLaine 1964 Promoting the film John Goldfarb, Please Come Home
Steve McQueen 1971 Riding a motorcycle
Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson 1977 Promoting the film Semi-Tough
Big Bird 1977 On the cover with Mark Fidrych
Arnold Schwarzenegger 1987 Caption on cover was Hot Stuff
Ice Cube 1999 On cover with Shaquille O'Neal
Chris Rock 2000 Wearing Los Angeles Dodgers hat
Stephen Colbert 2009 Caption: Stephen Colbert and his Nation save the Olympics
Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale 2010 Promoting the film The Fighter
Brad Pitt 2011 Promoting the film Moneyball

Fathers and sons who have been featured on the cover

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 his son Matt
Drew Brees his son Baylen
Boomer Esiason his son Gunnar
Chuck Liddell his son Cade

Presidents who have been featured on the cover

President SI cover date Special notes
John F. Kennedy December 26, 1960 First Lady Jackie 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 President Richard Nixon announced he would resign from the Presidency.
Ronald Reagan November 26, 1984 On cover with Georgetown Hoyas basketball coach John Thompson and Patrick Ewing
Ronald Reagan February 16, 1987 On cover with America's Cup champion Dennis Conner
Bill Clinton March 21, 1994 On cover about the Arkansas college basketball team

Tribute covers (In Memoriam)

Athlete SI cover date Special notes
Len Bias June 30, 1986 Died of a cocaine overdose just after being drafted by the Boston Celtics
Arthur Ashe February 15, 1993 Tennis great and former US Open champion who died from AIDS
Reggie Lewis August 9, 1993 Celtics player who died due to a heart defect
Mickey Mantle August 21, 1995 Died after years of battling alcoholism
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 a Columbus Blue Jackets game
Ted Williams July 15, 2002 Boston Red Sox 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 who was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.
Ed Thomas July 6, 2009 Parkersburg, Iowa high school football coach that 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 who died of natural causes at 99 years of age.
Junior Seau May 2, 2012 NFL Football one of the greatest linebackers, suicide at 43 years of age

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