Athletes Are People, Too: The 53 Covers Of People Magazine That Featured Sportsfolk

SI Staff | Jun 11, 2013

Athletes Are People, Too: The 53 Covers Of People Magazine That Featured Sportsfolk

Gabby Douglas (Aug. 20, 2012): The first woman of color to become the Olympic individual all-around champion became a crossover star after last year’s London Games.

Mickey Mantle (Aug. 28, 1995): A classic photo of the Mick graced the cover shortly after his 1995 death.

Greg Louganis (Mar. 6, 1995): The four-time Olympic gold medalist opened up about his experience with AIDS.

O.J. Simpson (Sept. 26, 1994): Simpson's trial remained a topic of intense public interest throughout the next two years.

O.J. Simpson (July 4, 1994): ... as America struggled to put together the pieces of what happened that night in L.A.

O.J. Simpson (June 27, 1994): The accused football star appeared on People for two straight weeks around the time of his arrest ...

Princess Diana (June 13, 1994): Hey, she wasn’t an athlete, but who can argue with her impeccable sense of style?

Jennifer Capriati (May 30, 1994): Nothing makes for a more salacious headline than a fallen hero.

Tonya Harding (Feb. 14, 1994): … and then Harding ahead of the Lillehammer Olympics.

Nancy Kerrigan (Jan. 24, 1994): One of the more bizarre Olympics stories of all time landed cover appearances for Kerrigan …

Arthur Ashe (Feb. 22, 1993): The tennis great and advocate for HIV and AIDS awareness appeared on the cover posthumously.

John McEnroe (Dec. 14, 1992): The tennis champ's highly public split with Tatum O'Neal made the cover in the early '90s.

Ekaterina Gordeeva (Mar. 25, 1996): The Olympic pairs figure skater continued with a singles career after the untimely death of her husband and partner.

Kerri Strug (Aug. 19, 1996): The pint-sized Olympic gymnast headlined a cover feting America’s Olympic heroes.

Tiger Woods (Dec. 14, 2009): Tiger’s Thanksgivingus mirabilis was a no-brainer for the cover.

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf (Nov. 9, 2009): Agassi first revealed details of his magnificent autobiography in a People cover story.

Dale Earnhardt (Feb. 10, 2003): … then again two years later.

Dale Earnhardt (Mar. 5, 2001): The racing legend appeared on the cover after his untimely passing in a Daytona 500 crash …

U.S. women’s soccer team (July 26, 1999): The team’s dramatic win in the Women’s World Cup also earned them Sportswomen of the Year honors.

Andre Agassi (Apr. 26, 1999): The tennis star’s personal life appeared on the cover weeks before he locked down a career Grand Slam in Paris.

U.S. figure skaters (Feb. 23, 1998): Michelle Kwan, Nicole Bobek and Tara Lipinski (who eventually won gold) landed the cover during the Nagano Olympics.

Scott Hamilton (Sept. 8, 1997): The Olympic gold medalist had a much-publicized battle with testicular cancer.

Tiger Woods (June 16, 1997): The subhed may evoke snickers in retrospect, but Tiger was a bona fide global superstar after becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Masters.

Andre Agassi (May 5, 1997): Agassi's wedding to Brooke Shields landed the front -- but it wouldn't be their only cover together.

Olympic skaters (Dec. 16, 1996): The drama with Olympic athletes is often just as juicy off the ice.

Magic Johnson (Oct. 19, 1992): The former NBA star spoke out about his wild past and experience with AIDS.

Mike Tyson (Feb. 24, 1992): The former heavyweight champ’s final People cover appearance came just after his rape conviction.

Chris Evert (Nov. 25, 1991): The tennis legend remains the only athlete to land a People cover in three different decades.

O.J. Simpson (Oct. 17, 1977): Near the end of his career (and shortly before an appearance on Saturday Night Live), the multi-talented running back landed the cover.

Tom Seaver (July 25, 1977): The pitcher and his wife landed the cover of People (and Sports Illustrated) shortly after his trade to the Reds.

Bruce Jenner (Apr. 11, 1977): Long before he became a Kardashian patriarch, Jenner was best known as an Olympic hero for winning the decathlon in Montreal.

Björn Borg (Mar. 3, 1977): The stylish Swede had just turned 21 when People took notice.

Chris Evert (Feb. 16, 1976): Later that year, Evert would become the second woman to be named Sportsman of the Year.

Howard Cosell (Sept. 29, 1975): The Monday Night Football broadcaster was branching out into variety fare.

Muhammad Ali (July 7, 1975): The 33-year-old heavyweight champ appeared on the cover ahead of his rubber match with Joe Frazier.

Jimmy Connors (May 5, 1975): The tennis champ was 22 when his image makeover got the cover treatment.

Chris Evert and Billie Jean King (Feb. 3, 1975): Fresh off Evert’s breakthrough 1974 season, the torch was passed in women’s tennis.

Joe Namath (Sept. 16, 1974): The first of Broadway Joe’s two People cover appearances.

Larry Csonka (July 22, 1974): The fullback’s fame was at an all-time high with the Dolphins coming off back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

Joe Namath (Sept. 25, 1978): Namath managed the cover of a sports-heavy issue (note the article on Pam Shriver) despite the death of Who drummer Keith Moon.

Paul Newman (June 25, 1979): The actor’s racing career culminated in 1979 when his team won a Can-Am Team Championship.

Tai Babilonia (Apr. 17, 1989): The five-time U.S. national champion pairs skater told all for a cover story nearly a decade after her last Olympics. (And, hey, Fred Savage!)

Mike Tyson (Sept. 26, 1988): The Tyson-Givens drama commanded public attention throughout 1988.

Mike Tyson (June 27, 1988): The date of this issue — June 27, 1988 — is widely acknowledged as the stratospheric peak of Tyson’s career: when he obliterated Michael Spinks in just 91 seconds.

Robert Redford (May 28, 1984): The movie star appeared as Roy Hobbs near the release of The Natural.

Mr. T (May 30, 1983): Clubber Lang and kittens, natch.

Sylvester Stallone (June 21, 1982): George Plimpton penned the cover story on Stallone pegged to the release of Rocky III.

Richard Simmons (Nov. 2, 1981): The fitness guru got limber on a 1981 cover.

Billie Jean King (May 25, 1981): The tennis star and her then-husband spoke out in a cover story.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Sept. 8, 1980): "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"

Chris Evert (Feb. 4, 1980): The retirement turned out to be a false start — but it was certainly cover-worthy at the time.

Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire (July 23, 1979): Rocky II, one of the three highest-crossing flicks of 1979, landed Rocky and Adrian on the front.

Mark Spitz (July 8, 1974): The nine-time Olympic gold medalist also joined his wife on the cover of Sports Illustrated.