Sports Illustrated is a sports magazine owned by Time Warner. It was launched 
on August 16, 1954 (above), and  has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read
by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first
magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award
for General Excellence twice. Its swimsuit issue, which has been published
since 1964, is now an annual publishing event. Two other magazines named
Sports Illustrated were started in the 1930s and 1940s, but they both quickly
failed.

Michael Jordan has had the most covers by an athlete from
1954 to 2011 at a total of 60.

(ABC News)-Bubba Smith, the former NFL defensive end and "Police Academy"
actor, was found dead in his Los Angeles home Wednesday at the age of 66.

Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner, said he didn’t know
the cause or circumstances surrounding Smith’s death, but that it appeared to
be of natural causes.

On July 26, 1948, famed New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth attended the premier
of the film The Babe Ruth Story, a biopic about his own life, William Bendix (below)
portrayed Ruth. Shortly thereafter, Ruth returned to the hospital for the final time. He
was barely able to speak. His condition gradually became worse, and in his last days, scores of reporters and photographers hovered around the hospital. On August 16,
Babe Ruth died at the age of 53 due to pneumonia.

William Bendix

An ailing Babe Ruth Addressing the Crowd at Yankee Stadium on
Babe Ruth Day.

Babe Ruth made his major league debut when he appeared as a starting pitcher 
in four games for the Red Sox in 1914. In 1936, “the Bambino” became one of 
five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the  
greatest sports heroes in America.

 Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is a actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director
and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his macho action roles. Two of
the notable characters he has portrayed include boxer Rocky Balboa in the
Rocky series (1976,1979,1982,1985,1990 and 2006) and the title role as
soldier John Rambo in the Rambo franchise films (1982,1985,1988,2008).

The film Rocky was inducted into the National Film Registry as well as having
its film props placed in the Smithsonian Museum.  Philadelphia has a statue of
his Rocky character placed permanently near the museum, on the right side
before the steps. It was announced on December 7, 2010 that Stallone was
voted into boxing’s Hall of Fame.

 
Stallone as Rocky Balboa

 
Sylvester Stallone in character as Rambo

Rocky Balboa statue