The 25 Most Badass Sports Illustrated Covers of All Time

Image via Complex Original

Issue date: 9/27/1954
Athlete(s) featured: Calvin Jones

Fresh off an All-American season with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Cal Jones covered Sports Illustrated's 7th issue, becoming the first of a few things in SI cover history: the first college athlete, football player, and African American to cover the magazine. You don't get to be first without being a badass in your sport.

Source

Issue date: 5/15/1989
Athlete(s) featured: Michael Jordan

MJ wouldn't win his first championship for another two years, but this cover most definitely helped put teams, and the world, on alert. Jordan not only looked indefensible on the cover with two Cavs defending him, he's off-balance, fading left, and shooting with one arm, but you know he sunk the shot. The focus, athleticism, and basketball talent on display here is #veryrare and #verybadass.

Source 

Issue date: 8/25/2008
Athlete(s) featured: Michael Phelps

We're sure that your first instinct when you see this photo is to scream out, "8 CHAINZ!!" Please, resist the impulse, though. Let's give a bit more respect to the most badass Olympian of all time: Michael Phelps. Few things are more impressive than being the most decorated Olympic athlete ever, and during the summer of 2008, Phelps went on an absolute tear to claim that distinction, racking up eight gold medals in individual and team competitions.

This is an event that has been around for decades upon decades, but the name most synonymous with gold and greatness will always be Michael Phelps. Suddenly, your back-to-back fantasy football league trophies are starting to look a lot less impressive, aren't they? Stoner Athletes FTW!

Source

Issue date: 7/17/1989
Athlete(s) featured: George Foreman

Many of us might be more familiar with George Foreman because of his patented, best-selling grills, but earlier generations mostly knew Big George as one thing: a surly-ass dude, who you did not want to mess with. Making his comeback in 1987 after 10 years away from the ring, Foreman is pictured here giving his meanest mug, a face that many of his fans in the '70s knew all too well.

In those days, Foreman was nearly the complete opposite of his approachable, fan-friendly rival, Muhammad Ali, but—despite what this cover may suggest—during his return in the 1980s, his relationship with the media and the public improved by a considerable degree. It's nice to see that he's still got that badass edge in him here, though. Just goes to show that old habits die hard.

Source

Issue date: 6/22/1970
Athlete(s) featured: Tony Conigliaro

On Aug. 18, 1967, Boston Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro stepped up to the plate against California Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton, and ended up taking a shot to the head so hard that it bordered on fatal. Seen here with the nasty, resulting shiner, Conigliaro entered a fight for his life after the injury, being rushed to hospital almost as soon as he hit the ground.

In this issue, Conigliaro gives a first-hand account of what went down on that fateful day, while detailing the strength and perserverance it took for him to rise up again and win the AL Comeback Player of the Year award in 1969. If you've got a black eye that big, then you better have a badass story to tell about it. Conigliaro's epic saga certainly qualifies.

Source

Issue date: 8/23/1971
Athlete(s) featured: Steve McQueen

If there was going to be a non-professional athlete on this list, it had to be Steve McQueen. A former marine and actor by trade, the "King of Cool" was also an avid motorsport enthusiast, collecting and racing expensive cars and bikes. He became accomplished enough of an off-road motorcycle racer to earn an induction into the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1978 (we didn't know such a thing existed, either, but we fully plan on covering next year's induction ceremony). No word on if McQueen competed in all of his races with this Indiana Jones die-hard look and a shirtless physique.

Source

Issue date: 7/4/1988
Athlete(s) featured: Mike Tyson, Michael Spinks

Ninety-one seconds. That was all the time that Mike Tyson—all of 21 years old at the time—needed to let his heavyweight challenger, Michael Spinks, know exactly who was boss. After the fight had been delayed by Spinks' manager, Butch Lewis—who claimed that Tyson was trying to use loaded gloves—Iron Mike came into the ring like a rabid dog, ready to tear into who or whatever was in front of him.

If you watch the fight here you can see how clearly outmatched Spinks was. Honestly, you can't help but feel a little bad for the guy, too. He looks completely terrified. Anyone who can strike that much fear into the heart of their opponent is a badass in our book.

Source

Issue date: 4/29/1985
Athlete(s) featured: Hulk Hogan

It isn't easy to make a hot pink background like this look badass, but if there's anyone who can do it, then it's Hulk Hogan. Not going to lie, he's looking a little crazy in this one, his hands all poised and ready like that. The dude is about to wring someone's neck, and he doesn't appear to care who it belongs to either. Hogan is an OG of pro wrestling—a sport more based in performance than skill—and here we get a glimpse of the inner-showman who made him such a mesmerizing presence on the mat.

Source

Issue date: 11/20/1989
Athlete(s) featured: Rumeal Robinson

Before Michigan had the Fab Five, Coach Steve Fisher had Rumeal Robinson. With only one eye fully open, Robinson is doing his best Darth Vader death grip impersonation—you can almost feel his hand coming off the page and latching onto your throat. Not only that, but he's got his basketball cocked to bludgeon you with. Not a pleasant sight for us, or the Big Ten in 1989.

Source

Issue date: 8/10/1987
Athlete(s) featured: Mike Tyson, Tony Tucker

"King Mike," indeed. When Mike Tyson first exploded onto the scene in 1985, boxing fans knew right away that their newest heavyweight star had been born. Tyson was an absolutely pulverizing fighter, and the type of puncher who could make his opponent hit the canvas at a moment's notice. Here, we see the ferocity that earned Tyson so many of his accolades. The bloodthirsty look in his eyes, his savage, hellbent expression, and the visibly stunned Tony Tucker all come together to say one thing too: badass. Unless, y'know, you have a problem with that or something. Would you maybe like to take it up with Mike?

Source

Issue date: 3/25/1996
Athlete(s) featured: Darvin Ham

Flex on 'em, Darvin. Texas Tech basketball hasn't had too many noteworthy moments to speak of in the history of their program, but Darvin Ham earned the team at least a few fans when he led his Red Raider squad to the Sweet Sixteen in 1996. Shattering the backboard on this dunk, Ham was always known for his ability to straight punish a rim throughout his collegiate and professional career, throwing down with authority on the regular. With the glass raining down around him, Ham looks to be more god than man in this photo. 

Source

Issue date: 5/22/1995
Athlete(s) featured: Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal

Yeah, that's 6'6" Michael Jordan blocking 7'1" Shaquille O'Neal, no big deal. NO THAT'S JORDAN BLOCKING SHAQ ARE YOU CRAZY? Shaq who was nine years younger than Jordan when this photo was taken, looks totally helpless and surprised to see his shit returned. Anytime you block Shaq, that's badass in our book. Only Jordan could make Shaq look impossibly small in a photo.

Source

Issue date: 10/13/1975
Athlete(s) featured: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier

Out of any singular boxing match, the one that will always best be known by its name is undoubtedly the "Thrilla in Manila." Staged in the Phillipines, the bout not only pitted two of boxing's all-time great fighters against one another, but it also set itself up as a war of personalities. Frazier, the brooding, angrier old-schooler versus the outspoken, charismatic, and clever Ali.

Their clash is expertly staged in this shot as Ali attempts to lay a right hook into the ducking Frazier, with the two fighters shining in the spotlight, going to war with just a pair of bright red boxing gloves each. It would end up being exactly the "Epic Battle" that this cover proclaimed it to be, as the two ended up going for 14 brutal rounds in nearly 120 degree weather before Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, finally put a stop to the action. "It's all over," he told the defeated Frazier at the time. "No one will forget what you did here today." And no one did.

Source

Issue date: 11/7/2005
Athlete(s) featured: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady

For the past decade, the nearly annual Manning-Brady showdown has been one of the highlights of the NFL season. They're No. 1 and No. 1A when ranking the 21st century's best quarterbacks, and you'd be hard pressed to make a definitive case for either at that top spot. This cover pits the two legends against each other in a Dodge City style (brought out by "The Duel" headline and the cowboy stars underneath the text), each staring the other down for league supremacy. It's Wild West badassery on the cover of Sports Illustrated. If you're a football fan and you don't get chills looking at this cover, you might want to take your jacket off.

Source

Issue date: 6/8/1987
Athlete(s) featured: Larry Bird

Larry Legend letting it all out after beating the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals to reach his fifth NBA Final—does it get any better for Celtics fans? (Actually not. 1987—a season that would eventually be lost to Magic's Showtime Lakers—would be their last Finals appearance until 2008.) Larry Bird was at the height of his powers for this cover, coming off of averaging 29.9 ppg in the regular season, and a Game 7 against the Pistons that saw him score 37 points and play all 48 minutes in a narrow 117-114 victory. Game 7 and this cover showed off Bird's heroism and his "Celtic Pride." You don't just play like he did without passion for the sport and your team.

Source

Issue date: 4/15/1996
Athlete(s) featured: Christy Martin

Christy Martin, the country's prominent female boxer and a woman who was a trailblazer in her sport, doesn't look scary, or mean here. Her posture and expression makes her look self-assured, composed, and confident in her ability to punch out any chump, whether it's a man or a woman. And yet she doesn't look like a boxer. That's the most dangerous part about this cover—she doesn't look any different from your sister or your mom. Against all preconceived notions of female athletics, she's letting you know: "Don't fuck with Christy Martin or the girl next door, because we can punch back too."

Source

Issue date: 3/3/1980
Athlete(s) featured: U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team

No headline was necessary for this cover. The pictures speak for themselves. We all know the story, or at least have seen the Disney movie. The elation and uncontrolled joy of these huge hockey players—the greatest sporting event of the Cold War Era, and arguably of all time—captured and presented to Sports Illustrated readers. It's a great combination of the image and the moment, and it's badass.

Source

Issue date: 4/29/1991
Athlete(s) featured: Evander Holyfield, George Foreman

In the days when boxing was still revered and considered sacred, nothing in the sport was held in higher regard than the combatants of its heavyweight class division. Here, we see exactly why. This photo presents the classic struggle of old versus new between the two physically imposing pugilists, with the younger, stronger Evander Holyfield laying a left hook into the face of the seasoned veteran, George Foreman.

Everything about this picture explains why boxing was so cherished by sports fans back then: the showtime lighting, the sweat bursting off of Foreman's face, the pure display of overwhelming force. This isn't just two guys stepping into the ring to trade punches; it's a battle of the titans. Badass, as well? We think so.

Source

Issue date: 7/8/2013
Athlete(s) featured: Dennis Rodman

Is this cover badass or just ridiculous? Depends on how you already view Dennis Rodman. We don't know what a finely upholstered throne/chair and a giant bird have to do with Dennis Rodman, but did you notice how fucking big that bird is?! My God. That thing could eat a dog. We don't want that bird anywhere near our arm or our eyes. We like our ten fingers and our eyesight. On this cover, Dennis Rodman the badass is on display, not Dennis Rodman the fool.

Source

Issue date: 7/17/2000
Athlete(s) featured: Jason Giambi

Jason Giambi: Death metal drummer or baseball player? That's the visual dilemma we're faced with here. In the middle of Giambi's 'roided out 2000 AL MVP season (the sub-headline should've read "How Steroids Have Changed The Game"), he grabbed his Louisville Slugger, stared stoically at the photographer's crotch, let his sweaty black locks down, and showed off the ink on his pythons. He looks about as badass as a baseball player can get here.

Source

Issue date: 11/23/1987
Athlete(s) featured: Dexter Manley

Dexter Manley's face isn't just menacing here—it's fucking terrifying. The helmet makes him look like a gladiator, his eyes are as yellow as the helmet cage (jaundice?), and the bared teeth doesn't make him look human—he looks like an apex predator. This is the kind of human/sub-human creature/football player who will take your life and eat your young. NFC East quarterbacks must've been SHOOK after this cover landed in their mail. Like, "Oh my God, this is the man who's paid to grind me into the ground." Redskins quarterback Doug Williams must've felt fortunate to have Manley on his team. Now please, hide the children.

Source

Issue date: 4/18/2005
Athlete(s) featured: Tiger Woods

Red can be associated with a number of different things: passion, fire, anger, fury; but with Tiger Woods, we can only think of one word: Sundays. Because when it's the last day of any major tournament, and Tiger brings out that red Nike polo, then you know that he's officially on the hunt. Pictured here after capturing his fourth Masters title in 2005—the same tournament that gave us this unforgettable shot—we see one of golf's most iconic figures doing what he's known for best: winning. Woods is many things here like triumphant, elated, unstoppable but, most of all, badass.

Source

Issue date: 9/20/1999
Athlete(s) featured: Serena Williams

In the late '90s, Venus and Serena Williams set the tennis world on fire when they—two, African-American young women coming straight outta Compton—started to dominate a sport that was few and far between in terms of black role models. In this photo, Serena shows everyone exactly what they were going up against: A tough, hard-hitting pit bull of a tennis player who wasn't about to be denied a title.

This picture came on the heels of her first Grand Slam title at the 1999 U.S. Open, when she was just 17 years old. Even at that age, though, Serena let it be known that she wasn't about to be intimidated. "I fear no one. I only fear God," she said, after defeating the more-experienced Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals. That isn't the quote of your average, American teenage girl. That's a statement from a cold-blooded killer.

Source

Issue date: 5/3/2004
Athlete(s) featured: Pat Tillman

The perfect cover to remember the life of Pat Tillman. We all know he was a warrior on the battlefield, but the idealized image of football players as Spartans and the playing field as a real battlefield is brought to life here. Tillman looks like a powerful and triumphant gladiator on this cover—you could subtitute his helmet for a shield and his mouthguard for a spear and it'd look right. It's the defining image of a football player who gave up millions of dollars to become a soldier. Salute to an American hero and a badass.

Source

Issue date: 4/23/2001
Athlete(s) featured: Allen Iverson

Few individuals in sports epitomized the word, "polarizing" moreso than Allen Iverson during his reign atop the NBA in the late '90s and early 2000s. A.I. was an athlete who was constantly at odds with the older generation of basketball fans; those who prized more wholesome, commercially appealing superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird. A guy like Iverson? Tatted up, and rocking chains? "Wholesome" wasn't exactly the first word that came to their minds. Thug? Yes. Selfish? Well, even we can agree with that.

But where some chose to find trash, we saw treasure. Iverson represented the convergence of hip-hop and hoops culture more than any other player before or after him and, despite the fact that his ill-fated rap album never saw the light of day, he was the foremost figure on everyone's mind when you brought up the topic of ballers and bling. The Answer changed the game both on and off-the-court, in ways that made him both completely loved and absolutely reviled but, most of all, 100 percent badass.

Source