From Hogan to McIlroy: The Most Memorable Masters Magazine Covers
Plus: Three behemoth SI's to watch on Goldin, a super rare SLAM, and more Ohtani madness.
Pardon the brief opener. I’ve been working on a project that is apparently long enough to warrant a separate post. The deep dive will be published Friday. To have it delivered straight to your mailbox, just enter your email below.
One Man’s Opinion: The Best Masters Covers
When I’m not dinking around on the world’s best website, I spend the early part of Masters week picking up green golf covers while waiting for the weather to warm up. This activity lends itself to the following set of gimmick-free power rankings:
Kingdom Spring 2013 Arnold Palmer
Kingdom is a hefty high-end quarterly aimed at the luxury golf market and built in part by Palmer himself. Some of the most iconic Arnie photos have been used for Kingdom’s covers.
Sports Illustrated April 17, 2017 Sergio Garcia (1st cover)
Sports Illustrated April 16, 2012 Bubba Watson (1st cover)
Sports Illustrated April 20, 2015 Jordan Spieth (1st cover)
From a low angle, Augusta loses some of its majesty, rendering this cover a weak imitation of the 2001 “Masterpiece” photo. It also doesn’t help that Spieth went from wunderkind to what-could-have-been in short order.
Golf World April 15, 1977 Tom Watson
I love the full scoreboard in the background, with a few hanging onto the supports to get a better view.
Sports Illustrated April 19, 2010 Phil Mickelson “Phil in Full”
Sports Illustrated April 19, 2004 Phil Mickelson “Masterstroke” (1st cover)
Prime Phil — for so long, the “best never to have won a major” — wouldn’t have turned any heads at the NFL combine. But SI had to use his jump for joy after Mickelson won his first major.
Sports Illustrated April 18, 2005 Tiger Woods
A great cover, sure, but with no green and no Augusta National identifiers, it doesn’t exactly scream “Masters”.
Sports Illustrated April 21, 1980 Seve Ballesteros (1st cover)
At 23 years, 4 days old, Seve’s “youngest champion” status lasted another 17 years.
Sports Illustrated April 17, 1978 Gary Player
Sports Illustrated April 20, 1992 Fred Couples
Sports Illustrated April 17, 1972 Jack Nicklaus, Willie Peterson
From 1959 until 1983 — when Augusta National changed its policy requiring players to use their caddies — Willie Peterson was alongside Jack Nicklaus for every step of 24 Masters tournaments, including five of Jack’s six wins. He’s in the foreground of this celebration shot, immortalized on the cover of Sports Illustrated while puffing a heater, a month before Dick Allen did the same in the White Sox dugout. Peterson was posthumously inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sports Illustrated April 22, 1996 Greg Norman
The Shark is lucky his all-time collapse didn’t happen in the social media era, where his six-stroke 54-hole blown lead would have been memed into Bolivian like the 2016 Warriors. This cover, with its simple headline and relatable body language, is immediately recognizable, unfortnately for Norman.
Sports Illustrated April 5, 1965 Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus
This tournament preview issue — the first to feature both Jack and Arnie — proved prescient: Nicklaus won the that year’s tournament by nine strokes, with Palmer and Gary Player tying for second. The Big Three finished in the top three.
GOLF Magazine March-April 2026 Rory McIlroy
We higlighted this cover in last week’s newsletter, so maybe some recency bias has seeped into this ranking. But it is a memorable photo of a man who suddenly feels the weight of the golfing world lifted from his shoulders.
TIME May 2, 1960 Arnold Palmer (1st cover)
Blasts of sand don’t often make for the best golf mag covers, but this photo is an exception. The 31-year-old Palmer needed birdies on 17 and 18 to secure his second major by one stroke over Ken Venturi.
Sports Illustrated April 4, 1955 Ben Hogan (1st cover)
This, too, is sneakily a preview issue. Thousands of
peoplefanspatrons line the 8th hole at Augusta National in 1954 — the year before this issue was published — all peering toward defending champion Ben Hogan during a playoff with eventual champion Sam Snead. Though this cover doesn’t feature a tournament champion, captures the beauty of the Masters like few others have.
Sports Illustrated April 21, 1997 Tiger Woods
21-year-old Eldrick had the world in the palm of his hand, strolling around Augusta National on Sunday, no thought given to the dozens of champion, veteran opponents suddenly playing for second and questioning their future in the sport.
Sports Illustrated April 22, 2019 Tiger Woods
In light of recent events, it’s probably unwise to gush about Tiger’s incredible comeback from injury, capped by this improbable Masters win in 2019. But we were all rooting for him that day, the old man for whom golf was no longer easy, a player who’d been written off by even his most fervent fanatics — present company included.
Sports Illustrated April 16, 2001 Tiger Woods
The headline describes the photo itself. Champion of the previous three majors, all eyes were on Tiger heading into the 2001 Masters. Needing only a par to finish ahead of his primary nemesis at the time, David Duval, Tiger birdied 18. All four tophies on his mantle.
Notable Sales
$3,782 CGC 8.5 SPORT Aug. 1949 Jackie Robinson 1st cover (Goldin)
$3,660 PSA 8.5 Weekly Baseball Mar. 26, 2012 Shohei Ohtani cover *Top Pop* (Goldin)
Baseball’s best player (maybe ever) has a chance to secure an unprecedented fifth MVP award this season. People want pieces of his early history, first covers or not.
$1,526 Sports Illustrated 1955 lot of 50 newsstand issues, including Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Ben Hogan 1st covers (eBay)
A fair price for a spectacular collection. At least a half-dozen are notable first covers we may soon see in slabs.
$1,342 CGC 9.4 Sports Illustrated Mar. 6, 1972 Bill Walton 1st cover *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$1,129 CGC 8.5 Sports Illustrated Feb. 8, 1965 Jerry West 1st cover (Goldin)
$359 SLAM #9 January 1996 Hakeem Olajuwon variant (eBay)
One of several hard-to-find early SLAM variants, this “Dream” cover is rumored to have only released in Australia and the UK, with its Bigfoot-esque Damon Stoudamire counterpart limited to Canadian markets. I’m planning a deep dive on the rarity of these covers in an upcoming post.
Another copy of this issue, sold by the same seller and in much better condition, sold for about $500 in January.
$350 PSA 8.5 Weekly Baseball Nov. 12, 2012 Shohei Ohtani (eBay Best Offer)
This sale price (confirmed via 130point) is almost half that of a $628 PSA 7.5 sale on Goldin just two weeks ago. Using PSA’s pop report entries as our guide, we can guess this issue is at least Shohei’s sixth appearance on the cover of Weekly Baseball.
$334 Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 1960 1st edition (eBay)
If this is headed for a grading service, it could be the top pop. There’s just one CGC 4.5 and one PSA 6.0. But I’ve already imagined the buyer as a Buddy Garrity type who picked up a copy only so show everyone his name in the one of the 574 Texas schoolboy rosters.
$275 CGC 5.5 Sports Illustrated Mar. 4, 1968 Pete Maravich 1st cover (Goldin)
$203 PSA 3.5 Hochi High School Mar. 15, 2012 Shohei Ohtani 1st Cover (eBay)
$195 CGC 9.6 Beckett Basketball Monthly Feb. 1996 Michael Jordan (Goldin)
Auctions Ending This Week
eBay
Ends Fri. 4/10 at 11:48am ET: Sports Illustrated Oct. 30, 1961 Wilt Chamberlain 1st cover (Torn and taped back cover)
Ends Sat. 4/11 at 10:12pm ET: PSA 7.0 Sports Illustrated March 9, 1998 Allen Iverson 1st Cover
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 9:25pm ET: CGC 9.0 TIME Jan. 27, 1986 Walter Peyton and William “Refrigerator” Perry 1st covers
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 9:30pm ET: CGC 9.8 SLAM #254 Feb.-Mar. 2024 Gold Metal Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo 1st covers
Miles, now with TCU, is projected to be a top pick in next weekend’s WNBA draft. Hidalgo isn’t expected to last much longer in the 2027 edition.
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 9:45pm ET: PSA 4.5 SPORT August 1949 Jackie Robinson 1st cover
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 9:55pm ET: CGC 8.0 Sports Illustrated Sep. 20, 1999 Serena Williams 1st cover
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 9:57pm ET: CGC 9.0 Sports Illustrated Mar. 4, 1996 Dennis Rodman “Best Rebounder Ever?”
I always loved the purple titling on this cover, presumably a nod to one of Dennis’ many hair color combos while on the Bulls.
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 9:58pm ET: CGC 8.0 Sports Illustrated Oct. 21, 1991 Kirby Puckett 1st featured cover
Goldin
Eighty-three graded magazines are available in Goldin’s Weekly Auction ending Thursday, April 9 at 10pm ET, with another dozen closing Saturday as part of the March Elite auction. So many are worth highlighting that I’ve been forced to organize them into different categories, starting with the big dogs:
Top-Tier Vintage
Ends Sat. 4/11: CGC 9.0 Sports Illustrated Jun. 10, 1963 Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) 1st cover
A CGC 9.2 sold for $13,200 way back in August 2022 at Heritage. A CGC 8.5 went for $4,636 in November of last year.
Ends Sat. 4/11: CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated Oct. 25, 1965 Bill Russell 1st cover *Top Pop*
The previous record for this issue, as far as I can tell, is $1,769 for a CGC 8.5 realized last fall on Heritage. That number is well in the rear view now.
Ends Sat. 4/11: CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated Nov. 28, 1977 Larry Bird 1st cover
This is the highest-graded newsstand first cover of Larry Legend to come to auction in years — maybe ever.
CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated Apr. 5, 1965 Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer *Top Pop*
CGC 8.0 Sports Illustrated Apr. 1, 1968 Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
Michael Jordan
PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated Nov. 17, 1986 “One-Man Gang” (Subscription)
CGC 9.0 Sports Illustrated Dec. 28, 1987 “Pictures ’87”
PSA 9.8 Sports Illustrated Mar. 27, 1995 “I’m Back” *Top Pop*
Ends Sat. 4/11: PSA 8.0 Sports Illustrated Nov. 28, 1983 1st cover
Shohei Ohtani
CGC 8.0 Weekly Baseball Feb. 8, 2012
Where’s Shohei? It shouldn’t take too long to find him — just look for the hoss among adolescents.
CGC 8.0 Weekly Baseball Sep. 24, 2012
PSA 9.0 sold for $4,819 last month on Goldin
Ends Sat. 4/11: CGC 9.6 Hochi High School Nov. 11, 2012 *Top Pop*
CGC 7.0 sold for $2,440 in November; PSA 9.0 sold for $6,710 in February (both on Goldin)
Ends Thu. 4/16: PSA 9.2 Hochi High School March 15, 2012 1st cover *Top Pop*
PSA 9.0 sold for $16,470 last month on Goldin
’80s and ’90s Superstars
CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated Nov. 19, 1986 David Robinson 1st cover *Top Pop*
PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated Jan. 30, 1989 Jerry Rice 1st cover
CGC 9.4 Sports Illustrated Sep. 10, 1990 Barry Sanders 1st cover
Imperfections really stand out on this thick issue with a deep black background. Of the 64 total graded by CGC and PSA, there are still no 9.8s.
CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated Jul. 29, 1991 Cal Ripken Jr. 1st solo cover *Top Pop*
PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated May 4, 1992 Barry Bonds 1st cover *Top Pop*
CGC 9.8 Sports Illustrated July 5, 1993 Mike Piazza 1st cover *Top Pop*
CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated Aug. 26, 1996 Peyton Manning 1st cover
PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated July 7, 1997 Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield *Top Pop*
CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated Mar. 9, 1998 Allen Iverson 1st cover *Top Pop*
SI may not have captured Iverson the person the way SLAM did more than a dozen times, but AI the player is well-represented with a behind-the-head dish on this underappreciated first cover from the late ’90s.
The Golf Auction
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 10:00pm ET: Golf World Aug. 7, 1992 Tiger Woods 1st cover (Subscription)
A copy of this issue with fewer spine ticks sold in January for $135 via eBay Best Offer.
Ends Sun. 4/12 at 10:30pm ET: CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated Aug. 28, 2000 w/ 2001 Upper Deck PSA 10 Tiger Woods (Framed Display)
Release Radar: Rory McIlroy on the cover of PSA Magazine
With a thrilling, near-choke win at Augusta National last year, Rory McIlroy secured the final piece of the career grand slam — one that eluded him for more than a decade.
He hasn’t won a tournament since, and has admitted he’s “achieved everything” he’s wanted in golf. Will Rory slip into complacency, content with his hall of fame career? Or will his relief from shedding the monkey off his back power a second spurt of major dominance? That’s what I’ll be watching as he approaches his 20th year of pro golf.
Anyway, this is just another banger golf cover from PSA Magazine. It’s available only to members of their Collector’s Club (or eBay users in about a week).
Release Radar: ‘The Masters: Collector’s Edition’ by Pitch
The UK-based Pitch delivers their latest themed “collector’s edition” magazine just in time for the Masters. That’s Gary Player on the cover, crouching as low in the ’70s as he probably still can today.
The quality continues inside, with considered photography and articles worth reading. These don’t seem like slapdash money grabs, but I’ve ordered one for myself, just to make sure.
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