JewishSportsCollectibles

Sports Illustrated Cover Jews

Updated April 4, 2013

Jewish sports collectors who want to build a library of Sports Illustrated issues with MOTs on the cover have more than two dozen items on their shelves.

Below is a (hopefully!) complete list of Jews on SI covers. Please note, this list includes athletes like David Beckham and Pete Sampras, who have Jewish heritage but may not themselves be practicing Jews. 

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Baseball  

 

Ron Blomberg
July 2, 1973

Ryan Braun
August 29, 2011
March 31, 2008

Sandy Koufax
March 4, 1963
April 13, 1964
December 20, 1965
May 15, 1967
July 12, 1999
October 9, 2006

Al Rosen
April 18, 1955

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Basketball


Art Heyman
October 28, 1963

Ernie Grunfeld
February 9, 1976

Jon Scheyer
April 12, 2010

Jamila Wideman
March 17, 1997

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Football

Lyle Alzado
July 8, 1991

Jay Fiedler
October 1, 2001

Robert Kraft
February 6, 2012

Art Modell
December 4, 1995 

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Hockey

Matthieu Schneider
June 14, 1993

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Soccer

David Beckham
July 16, 2007

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Tennis

Boris Becker
September 18, 1989

Pete Sampras

July 11, 1994
July 14, 1997
September 17, 1990

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Olympic Sports

Sarah Hughes
March 4, 2002

Aly Raisman
July 23, 2012

Mark Spitz
July 22, 1968
September 4, 1972

Suzy Weiner (with Mark Spitz)
May 14, 1973

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Other

Charles Goren (bridge) 
Oct. 14, 1957
May 23, 1960

Bob and Bus Mosbacher (sailing)
May 18, 1959

Toots Shor (restaurateur)
July 27, 1959

Howard Cosell (sportscaster)
August 8, 1983

Bar Refeali (swimsuit model)
February 11, 2009

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Did I miss any Jewish SI cover figures ? Disagree with any of the listings? Let JewishSportsCollectibles.com know by commenting below.

Visit Sports Illustrated's Classic Cover Collection if you're interested in buying photo reproductions of any of the above Sports Illustrated covers. eBay and Amazon.com are a good source for purchasing hard copies of SI back issues.

Ryan Braun Latest MOT To Make SI Cover

Jewish Major Leaguer Ryan Braun is the latest MOT to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The Milwaukee Brewers star joins teammate Prince Fielder on the front page of the August 29 magazine.

This marks the second time the Brewers "Hebrew Hammer" has been on an SI cover. He was also featured on the magazine's March 31, 2008 issue.

Braun's cover means Jewish sports collectors who want to build a library of Sports Illustrated issues with MOTs on the cover can now have more than two dozen items on their shelves.

JewishSportsCollectibles.com featured a previous list of SI cover boys and girls when Duke hoops hero and MOT Jon Scheyer was featured on the front page of the vaunted magazine's April 10, 2010 issue.

I accidentally omitted several cover stars from that original list (thanks to the helpful reader who commented and corrected my mistake). Below then, is a (hopefully!) complete list of Jews on SI covers. Please note, this list includes athletes like David Beckham and Pete Sampras, who have Jewish heritage but may not themselves be practicing Jews.

 

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Baseball  

 Ron Blomberg
July 2, 1973

Ryan Braun
August 29, 2011
March 31, 2008

Sandy Koufax
March 4, 1963
April 13, 1964
December 20, 1965
May 15, 1967
July 12, 1999
October 9, 2006

Al Rosen
April 18, 1955

Basketball


Art Heyman
October 28, 1963

Ernie Grunfeld
February 9, 1976

Jon Scheyer
April 12, 2010

Jamila Wideman
March 17, 1997

 

 

Football

Lyle Alzado
July 8, 1991

Jay Fiedler
October 1, 2001

Art Modell
December 4, 1995 

 

 

 

 

Hockey

Matthieu Schneider
June 14, 1993

Soccer

David Beckham
July 16, 2007

Tennis

Boris Becker
September 18, 1989

Pete Sampras

July 11, 1994
July 14, 1997
September 17, 1990

Olympic Sports

Sarah Hughes
March 4, 2002

Mark Spitz
July 22, 1968
September 4, 1972

Suzy Weiner (with Mark Spitz)
May 14, 1973

Other

Charles Goren (bridge)
Oct. 14, 1957
May 23, 1960

Bob and Bus Mosbacher (sailing)
May 18, 1959

Toots Shor (restaurateur)
July 27, 1959

Howard Cosell (sportscaster)
August 8, 1983

Bar Refeali (swimsuit model)
February 11, 2009
 

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Did I miss any Jewish SI cover figures in this go 'round? Disagree with any of the listings? Let me know by commenting below.

Visit Sports Illustrated's Classic Cover Collection if you're interested in buying photo reproductions of any of the above Sports Illustrated covers. eBay is a good source for purchasing hard copies of SI back issues.

College Hoops Star Latest Jew To Grace SI Cover

Please forgive the tardiness of this post. I'm not a hoops fan, college or pro, so I was unaware of the Jewish player on the Duke Blue Devils NCAA national championship team. Thanks to sportswriter and blogger Ron Kaplan for cluing me in on this one.

In an entry on Kaplan's Korner on Jews & Sports, Kaplan showcased the Sports Illustrated cover featuring Dukie and MOT Jon Scheyer.

Scheyer capped his collegiate career by cutting down the net at March Madness. While he may not have the making of an NBA star, Kaplan reports Scheyer might attempt to play in Israel.

In addition to his SI Cover, Scheyer is, apparently, featured on a Duke basketball schedule.

I'm not one for collecting SIs. That said, a Jewish sports junkie looking to build an SI collection has a surprising number -- 25 by my count -- of magazines to collect (cover reprints can be purchased from SI.com).

Again, props to Ron Kaplan and Bob Wechsler, author of Day by Day in Jewish Sports History.

In an posting inspired by the 2009 SI swim suit issue (featuring cover model and Israeli Bar Refaeli), Kaplan and Wechsler compiled a list of MOTs who have graced the front page of the venerable sports mag throughout its history.

I offer a summary, and gallery, here ...

Basketball

Shreyer,
April 12, 2010

College basketball player Jamila Wideman,
March 17, 1997

NBA rookie Art Heyman,
Oct. 28, 1963 (with Jerry Lucas)

College hoops star Ernie Grunfeld,
Feb. 9, 1976 (with Bernard King)

Baseball

Brewers phenom Ryan Braun,
March 31, 2008

"Designated Hebrew" Ron Blomberg,
July 2, 1973 (with Bobby Murcer)

MOT and member of the Tribe Al Rosen,
April 18, 1955

And, 6-time cover star Sandy Koufax,
March 4, 1963, April 13, 1964, Dec. 20, 1965, May 15, 1967, July 12, 1999, and Oct. 9, 2006

   
  

Football

Miami Dolphins QB Jay Fiedler,
Oct. 1, 2001

Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns & Baltimore Ravens
Dec. 4, 1995

Olympic Sports

Olympic skater Sarah Hughes,
March 4, 2002

Suzy Weiner (with fiancee Mark Spitz),
May 14, 1973

Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz
July 22, 1968 and and Sept. 4, 1972

 

Other

Yachtsmen Bob and Bus Mosbacher,
May 18, 1959

Charles Goren, bridgemaster,
Oct. 14, 1957 and May 23, 1960

 

Restaurateur and bon vivant Toots Shor,
July 27, 1959

 

Sportscaster Howard Cosell,
Aug. 8, 1983

And, easily, the prettiest Jewish SI cover subject, Bar Refeali,

Are any Jewish athletes missing from the above list of SI covers? Do you have SIs in your collection? If so, why? Do you have any signed by the cover subjects? Would you consider adding this subset to your collection?