On This Date in Sports August 16, 1954: SI at 65
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The first issue of Sports Illustrated hits newsstands with a picture of Eddie Matthews of the Milwaukee Braves taking a swing against the New York Giants at County Stadium. It was the third magazine to carry the name Sports Illustrated with two previous monthly periodicals having that name. Sports Illustrated was a weekly magazine, with quality writing that competed with Sport Magazine, which was published once a month.
As postwar America felt a boom in spectator sports and the country became more mobile, new industries were emerging as people now had more free time and more money. Television was a big part of the new American boom, with sports enjoying the ride. Up until then, everyone got their sports news in their local newspapers and on the radio, there was no long-form periodical that covered breaking sports news. Sport Magazine a monthly periodical filled this gap somewhat, but without the ability to publish once a week, there was no way to get behind current sporting events on a national level.
Henry Luce a magazine publishing magnate who was behind the creation of Time Magazine and Fortune, studied extensively if he could fill this gap and started Sports Illustrated, looking to bring serious journalism to the world of spectator sports. At first, the magazine struggled as it looked to find its true voice, often focusing early issues on upscale activities to draw high-end advertisers. However, with eye-catching photos, the magazine managed to survive its early days, as its coverage of the Olympics in 1956 helped bring the events a whole new luster for fans back in the United States.
The first issue was available for purchase for a mere 25 cents. It featured a color picture of Eddie Matthews of the Milwaukee Braves taking a cut against the New York Giants at County Stadium with Wes Westrum behind the plate. There was no title just the picture and the name of the magazine, Sports Illustrated. The photo was from a game on June 9, 1954, and was used to illustrate its coverage of sports, as there was no story of the game or the Braves in the first issue, though fans buying it would find an Eddie Matthews Topps baseball card, as each magazine came with 27 cards.
Before Sports Illustrated hitting newsstands, two other magazines had the name, one a monthly magazine aimed at sport hunters from 1936-1938 and a monthly magazine that folded after six issues in 1949. Henry Luce paid $5,000 for the rights to the name. It would take a decade before SI made a profit, though it is quality writing became a must-read for all sports fans. The turning point came in 1964 when it produced its first Swimsuit issue.
Sports Illustrated would thrive much of the next four decades as it became popular for its stunning photograph, in-depth stories, and columnist, as well as their annual preview issues of the major sports like baseball, football and basketball. Its coverage of boxing, in particular, Muhammad Ali gave insights to the fights that let the reader almost feel like they were in the ring. While the Sportsman later called the Sportsperson of the Year became a prestigious honor. However, as with many other periodicals, Sports Illustrated has been hit hard by the digital age and is barely hanging on as it was scaled back to being a bi-weekly magazine in 2018 as Time-Warner sold off its magazine publishing to Meredith, with the future of the industry very much in the air, as Sports Illustrated turns 65.