MAIN Recreation Sports Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

In the winter of 1964, Sports Illustrated magazine was in its usual sales slump. So the editorial staff at S.I. decided to try something new.

Babette Marche, a model in a racy (for the time) bikini was splashed across the cover for their new February issue and - surprise! - the edition was almost an instant sellout.

Soon, hot-blooded sports fans by the millions were waiting at mailboxes for delivery of the Sports llustrated Swimsuit Issue in an annual winter tradition.

Since then, Sports Illustrated is credited with almost single-handedly launching the Era of the Supermodel, giving rise to the careers of Tyra Banks, Christie Brinkley, Rachel Hunter, Elle Macpherson and Kathy Ireland (to name only a few) who have since graced the cover.

The 2006 landmark "topless" cover featured models Veronica Varekova, Elle Macpherson, Rebecca Romijn, Rachel Hunter, Daniela Pestova, Elsa Benitez, Carolyn Murphy and Yamila Diaz.

Inside, Heidi Klum was the featured photo spread and, (just to keep it fairly legit as a sports issue), tennis pro Maria Sharapova also appeared in the lower right hand corner over the sub-headline, "...As You've Never Seen Her".

Swimsuit Issue 2008

Although 2007 cover girl Beyonce may have been a hard act to follow, current 2008 covergirl supermodel Marisa Miller has an equally hot fan following from her many appearances in past Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and in Victoria's Secret catalogs.

Meanwhile, hottie Bar Rafaeli (a main squeeze of actor Leonardo Dicaprio) and sexy race car star Danica Patrick grace the inside pages. Also, stay tuned for upcoming airings of a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2008 edition on Saturday, February 16 at 11PM and on Friday, February 22 at 2AM on cable channel TNT.

Fortunately, fans no longer have to wait anxiously at their mailboxes for the hardcopy, and enjoy almost instantaneous access to the swimsuit issue online - including model profiles, behind the scenes photo shoots and video clips, along with an entire archive of favorite editions. Check them all out here ....

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue - The full multimedia extravaganza including the latest & greatest photos, video clips, screen savers, cell phone wallpapers and, of course, the full Marisa Miller spread ....

CNN Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition - A goldmine with model galleries, hot cover photos & video clips, plus check out other fully archived presentations of the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000 issues.

AskMen.com - Sports Illustrated Models - Their choice of the hottest babes in the 2006 issue with photos and related links to more on Elsa Benitez, Carolyn Murphy, and Daniela Pestova.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue - The complete history from Wikipedia, including a list of SI cover girls and related gallery of historic covers from 1964 to the present.

YouTube.com - Maria Sharapova Swimsuit - Promo video of the hot tennis star before, during, and after her famous photo shoot for the 2006 issue.

Random Swimsuit Pics - One guy's personal, high-quality collection from recent and past SI Swimsuit issues.

also see in Sports -> NFL Cheerleaders | Maria Sharopova

also in Pop Culture ->  Victoria's Secret