1950s

Click on any cover to view large
8•16•1954		Eddie Mathews is SI's first cover subject. One week to the day after the cover date he becomes the first victim of the Jinx, suffering a hand injury that forces him to miss seven games.		1•31•1955		The week that an issue featuring her was on the stands, skier Jill Kinmont struck a tree during a practice run and was paralyzed from the neck down.
3•7•1955		Badminton star and FBI agent Joe Alston was to have been moved to an undercover post, but publicity from his cover appearance leads the Feds to keep him in investigations ... for the rest of his career.		10•03•1955		Doak Walker and his Lions are 0-5 after making the cover.
9•3•1956		Lew Hoad is featured on the preview of Forest Hills, where he's going for the Grand Slam. Ken Rosewall beats him in the final.		10•29•1956		Paul Hornung and Notre Dame lose 40-0 to Oklahoma the Saturday after gracing the cover, then fall to Navy and Pitt as well. The Irish finish the season 2-8.
5•26•1958		SI's 1958 Indy 500 preview featured Pat O'Connor, who was killed in a 15-car pileup during the first lap.

Photographs by: Mark Kauffman, Hy Peskin, Mark Kauffman, Hy Peskin, Mark Kauffman, John G. Zimmerman, Hy Peskin