My First Appearance In Sports Illustrated

Truth.  My first appearance in Sports Illustrated, I was in the February 13, 1984 edition.

Newsstand price $1.95.

Big white headline on the front cover: HERE COMES THE SUN.

Sub-title: Paula Porizkova Is In The Pink In Aruba.

Yeah, that’s right – the wildly popular swimsuit issue.

That’s how I roll.

Dear Editor:

Your article examining the intense competition among athletic footwear manufacturers stated,

“If Playboy suddenly started putting sneakers on its Playmates, the execs would look at the feet first.”

Please be assured that any Nike executives examining such footwear would undoubtedly be female.

We haven’t yet lost all sense of perspective.

(signed)

Jack Welch

Director of Public Relations

Nike, Inc.

Beaverton, Ore.

Epilogue.  The young redhead, turns out, is a former foot model.  Little, pale white, high-arch, the type of toes you could see buried deep in your bedroom’s plush carpeting. Rug merchants were her biggest clients.  I heard about this long after we married.

Had to tell her the truth.  Still don’t care much about the feet.

Truth.

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