8-16-1954

[953 nut 52,195]

                                    8-16-1954

Sports Illustrated hits the news stands for the first time

 

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media franchise owned by Time Inc. Its self-titled magazine has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million people each week, including over 18 million men.^[3] It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice. Its swimsuit issue, which has been published since 1964, is now an annual publishing event that generates its own television shows, videos and calendars.

There were two magazines named Sports Illustrated before the current magazine began on August 16, 1954.^[4] In 1936, Stuart Scheftel created Sports Illustrated with a target market for the sportsman. He published the magazine from 1936–1938 on a monthly basis. The magazine was a life magazine size and focused on golf, tennis, and skiing with articles on the major sports. He then sold the name to Dell Publications, which released Sports Illustrated in 1949 and this version lasted 6 issues before closing. Dell's version focused on major sports (baseball, basketball, boxing) and competed on magazine racks against Sport and other monthly sports magazines. During the 1940s these magazines were monthly and they did not cover the current events because of the production schedules. There was no large-base general weekly sports magazine with a national following on actual active events. It was then that Time patriarch Henry 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, including Life magazine's Ernest Havemann, tried to kill the idea, but Luce, who was not a sports fan, decided the time was right

[Ed Kennell 36,063]

Thanks for rekindling all the old memories Dick.

 

If you don't mind, I'll add my  SI story.

In the 1980s my two sons and I were deeply involved in the Boy Scouts.

  Mark was completing his Eagle rank, Mike held the life rank and I was the troop treasurer  and headed up our main fund raiser, a monthly newspaper collection and sale of 15-20 ton of paper  to a local paper manufacturer. 

May be relatives of yours  Dick.   I sold the paper to the Schmidt and Ault Paper Co. in York, Pa.

Anyway, one day I received a call from a York doctor that had seen my paper drive ad and wanted to know if I would take his old magazines.  I told him I was sorry, but we could not use any colored or glossy paper.  But then I asked him what he had and he said he had every issue of Sports Illustrated that he had bought for his waiting room.  I explained to him my son Mark was an avid sports fan and baseball card collector and would be grateful for the magazines.

Today, Mark has that collection and has continued the collection to date of every SI magazine along with approx. 50K cards and other baseball memorabilia ..mainly from his heroes of the Phillies....Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt.      Another relative of yours Dick ?

And now you know....The rest of the story.

 

[953 nut 52,195]

3 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

Another relative of yours Dick ?

Unfortunately not, none of my relatives achieved great fame, wealth or social stature.     Had  a somewhat parallel experience with a BSA news paper drive in the early '70s. I was furnishing transportation for my brothers troop and received a box full of school annuals dating back to the early 1900s, a local museum was delighted to have them.