Cover of the May 5, 2003 Sports Illustrated issue owned by Robert Johnson: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A mounted cover of the May 5, 2003 Sports Illustrated issue featuring the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.” Printed at the top fourth the magazine's cover is the masthead printed in large gold text outlined in white and shadowed in black that reads [SPORTS / ILLUSTRATED]. The cover is primarily red and features twenty-eight, small color photographs of sports athletes, coaches, and managers, printed with their names and rankings. All of the subjects are shown in close-up, depicted from the shoulders up. They are arranged in rows surrounding a gold, rectangular graphic with the main cover story printed in large red and white text that reads [101 / MOST/ INFLUENTIAL / MINORITIES/ IN SPORTS]. The gold graphic has thin black and white rectangular frames. Featured from left to right in the top row is: Tiger Woods, Ichiro Suzuki, Kobe Bryant, Kim Ng, Robert Johnson, Yao Ming, Felipe Alou, and Serena Williams. The second row features: Oscar de la Hoya, Se Ri Pak, Omar Minaya, and Michael Wilbon. The third row features: Jarome Iginla, Arturo Moreno, Tyrone Willingham, and Tubby Smith. The forth row features: Pamela Wheeler, Herman Edwards, Jimmie Lee Solomon; and Johnny Cochran. The bottom row features: Doug Williams, Joe Louis Barrow, Joe Dumars, Michael Vick, Anita Defrantz, Ozzie Newsome, Dan Guerrero, and LeBron James. In the top right corner is a gray banner with white text that reads [YOU DON’T / KNOW JACK… / Nicklaus, that is / BY RICK REILLY] and features a small color image of Jack Nicklaus’s back with his golf bag slung over his proper left shoulder. Printed in the bottom left corner is orange and white text that reads [May 5, 2003 www.si.com AOL Keyword: Sports Illustrated]. The magazine cover is mounted inside a black, beveled, plastic frame inside a cream color framing mat. Printed on the back of the cover is a blue advertisement for the General Motors Truck Company.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: May 5, 2003
• Published by: Sports Illustrated, American, founded 1954
• Subject of: Robert L. Johnson, American, born 1946
• Subject of: Tiger Woods, American, born 1975
• Subject of: Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese, born 1973
• Subject of: Kim Ng, American, born 1968
• Subject of: Yao Ming, Chinese, born 1980
• Subject of: Felipe Alou, Dominican, born 1935
• Subject of: Serena Jameka Williams, American, born 1981
• Type: magazines (periodicals)
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product) with plastic and cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 10 1/2 × 8 1/16 in. (26.6 × 20.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (sheet): 14 × 11 × 3/16 in. (35.6 × 28 × 0.4 cm)
• Place collected: Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Athletes
• Topic: Baseball
• Topic: Basketball
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Boxing
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Football
• Object number: 2020.16.3.3.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Robert L. Johnson, Founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and First African American Majority Owner of a National Basketball Association Team, The Charlotte Bobcats
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Sports Illustrated Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.