Sports fan Mark Humphries discusses the Greatest SI Baseball Covers in this second article of a three-part series.

In sports magazine collecting, the cover is king. In the June issue of the CGC newsletter, Mark presented the first 10 of his picks for the 20 Greatest Sports Illustrated Baseball Covers. In the second of a three-part series he continues this subjective rating of the most appealing and collectible SI baseball covers.

11. Juan Marichal 8/9/65 “Latin Conquest of the Big Leagues” Marichal’s famous high leg-kick dominates this cover, as it should — his windup was this great pitcher’s most distinctive element while at his dominant peak in ’65. Marichal won 22 games, 10 of them by shutout, and his ERA was 2.13. The cover headline reported a trend that would continue all the way to present day. This is a striking magazine very tough to find in nice shape.

12. Willie Mays 4/11/55 Mays’s first cover was only the second baseball cover in the magazine’s history (the first featured Mathews on the first-ever issue). It ushers in the new baseball season with three representatives of the New York Giants, World Series champions of 1954: Leo Durocher, his wife Laraine Day and Mays. Surprisingly, ’54 was the last time the Giants won the Series — despite playing with Mays, McCovey, Cepeda, Marichal, Clark and Bonds over the next 50+ years. This cover captures the youthful exuberance of 23-year-old Mays, the reigning MVP and batting champ who had, for good measure, made the most famous catch in World Series history. A solo cover would have been even better, but this is a top-notch collectible.

13. Duke Snider 6/27/55 “The Sluggers in Full Color” After the Mays cover, SI rattled off four classic baseball covers in April (Alan Rosen), May (Herb Score), June (Snider) and August (Williams). The Snider cover is maybe the most attractive of the four, as Duke stands in wait with his left-handed power stroke, the “B” for Brooklyn visible on his cap. This was Duke’s only SI cover, and the first of only five SI covers featuring the Brooklyn Dodgers. What makes this cover even more significant is the fact that 1955 was the year — the only year — that Brooklyn won the World Series.

14. Warren Spahn 6/25/56 “A Look at the Lefthanders: Warren Spahn, Best of Them All” Spahn, in mid-windup, looks like some exotic bird preparing to take flight in this dazzling cover. This would be a top-10 entry if Spahn’s popularity matched his stats (363 wins, best among left-handed pitchers of all time). The blue sky soft-focus background and the fact that this was Spahn’s only SI cover add to the appeal.

15. Sandy Koufax 3/4/63 “Spring Training: Sandy Koufax Tests That Index Finger” This is the only solo SI photo cover on which the popular Koufax appeared during his playing days; he was also featured on two arty covers that by today’s standards look quite dated. While most collectors would prefer an action photo of Sandy’s windup or follow-through, this is nevertheless a decent portrait and his first cover. The index finger turned out to be fine, by the way: Koufax won the Pitching Triple Crown, the MVP and Cy Young Awards, led the Dodgers to a four-game sweep of the Yankees and was named World Series MVP.

16. Mickey Mantle 8/21/95 George Silk’s 1951 photo of the rookie Mantle shows how powerful a magazine cover can be when free of excess verbiage. Mantle’s death from alcohol-related liver failure was a depressing and drawn-out affair, but this cover allows us to remember Mickey as the young man of unlimited potential, whom Joe DiMaggio called “the greatest prospect I can remember.”

17. Carl Yastrzemski 8/21/67 “Red Sox Slugger” This cover, the first for “Yaz,” celebrates the last Triple Crown winner. Few could have guessed in 1967 that no one would lead either league in batting, homers and RBI for the next 40+ seasons. After all, hadn’t Frank Robinson done the same thing just the season before? The shot of Carl finishing his swing would rank among SI’s greatest batting covers on aesthetics alone, but the significance of the Triple Crown for a popular Hall of Famer make this one of the all-time best SI baseball covers and a must for Red Sox fans.

18. Ichiro Suzuki 5/28/01 “Red Hot” Ichiro will be the first Asian player in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  His record (an unprecedented nine consecutive seasons of 200+ hits, nine Gold Gloves), distinctive style of play and bi-continental appeal make him unique in baseball history, and he has a strong collector following.  This cover from his first American season is a characteristic action shot with Ichiro about to dash down the first-base line after lining another single or dropping a bunt. The white background on this cover is easily color-scuffed, so pristine examples are especially desirable.

19. Ripken 9/11/95 “Iron Man” It’s a tough choice between this and Cal’s “Sportsman of the Year” cover, but this one stands out for its heroic artwork. Ripken was poised to break Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130 consecutive games played when this issue hit the stands, and his marvelous streak is often credited for “saving baseball” following the miserable strike year of 1994. Definitely frame-worthy for those who remember the long-lost glory days of the Baltimore Orioles.

20. Reggie Jackson 5/2/77 “Can Reggie Jackson Find Love and Happiness in New York?” The short answer to the question was “Yes,” as Mr. October led the Yankees to their first World Series title since 1962. He did it in legendary fashion, with three home runs in the clinching Game Six of the Series. The classic cover photo by Neil Leifer shows Jackson’s legs twisted like a pretzel underneath him as he completes another mighty swing. Is Reggie smiling at the camera after belting another homer? Or is he grimacing after another strikeout, one of a major-league record 2,597 whiffs?

In the August issue of the CGC newsletter, Mark will present the Four Sports Illustrated Baseball Issues to Watch for the Future.

Mark Humphries has been readingSports Illustrated since 1977, when a neighbor began giving second-hand copies to the sports-obsessed 10-year old. When the 1978 Swimsuit Issue arrived, the content was first screened by his mother. Mark survived the trauma of viewing Cheryl Tiegs in her famous fishnet suit and later became a subscriber and collector of SI. In 2002, following the lead of CGC in comics, he created and marketed the first capsule for graded magazines. Today, Mark's mother, Joan, manages an eBay store ("cgcmags") that offers the largest selection ofSports Illustratednewsstand copies (including many CGC-graded pieces). Mark is the former vice president, corporate development, of Collectors Universe Inc. He holds a BA in history and an MS in industrial engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA in finance from Wharton. Mark welcomes your comments and criticisms of his list at sportsnewsstand@yahoo.com. Click here to view Joan’s Mint Magazines.

This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in this piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.