When Sports Illustrated
first arrived in August 1954, its focus was fringe pursuits like yachting, bowling and dogs—yet it struck a nerve. America was in a postwar economic boom and at the dawn of the TV age. "Sports was suddenly so much more visible, so much more important," says veteran sportswriter Frank Deford in his introduction. This book shows how SI
has continued to foster sports' visibility, offering an engaging celebration of the last 50 years of American sports (and of SI
's own history), flush with fabulous photos: a toothless Jack Lambert; Muhammad Ali's wrinkled masseur, Luis Sarria; the Pittsburgh Pirates' Dave Parker enjoying a smoke after winning the 1979 World Series. What puts this book a notch above the average coffee-table book are the thoughtful sportswriting excerpts pulled from the magazine's archives. In one piece, up-and-comer Howard Cosell chastises the wimps and pretty boys who populate his profession. Another profiles former Chicago White Sox president and huckster Bill Veeck, who once sent a midget up to the plate to pinch-hit as a publicity stunt. Further chapters feature SI
paintings—many of them caricatures, like the one of disenchanted fans pelting a bug-eyed Bud Selig with baseballs—and thumbnails of all 2,585 SI
covers. (Nov.)
