Following a season in which he won the AL Triple Crown and his first MVP, 24-year-old Mickey Mantle was the subject of a feature profile written by his teammate (and roommate) Billy Martin:
“When Mantle hits them, so help me, they look like golf balls disappearing over the horizon.”
Driving with a plaster cast on his left wrist after falling off his bicycle, a young Lewis Hamilton won both Formula A finals in the French round of the 2000 Karting European Championship.
The close battle between teammates Hamilton and Nico Rosberg was a sign of things to come. Both would go on to fight for Formula 1 drivers' championships driving for Mercedes from 2014 through 2016. Lewis took the first two titles, while Rosberg captured his lone championship in 2016 before retiring from the sport.
Have a look inside SLAM's second-ever issue, with feature articles on Shawn Kemp, Dennis Rodman, Jalen Rose, and recognition for high schoolers (and future teammates) Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett.
Tiger Woods on the cover of the October 1994 issue of Golf Journal, a USGA publication. Tiger won the first of his three U.S. Amateur titles that August, and at the time, was the first 18-year-old to win the tournament. Since then, three younger players — Mason Howell (2025), Danny Lee (2008), and Byeong-Hun Ahn (2009) — have captured the men’s title.
George Brett on the cover of Sports Illustrated 34 years ago today. The story was about Brett’s pursuit of 3,000 hits, a milestone he achieved with his fourth hit against the Angels on September 30, a few days before this issue hit newsstands.
Brett retired after the next season at age 40, finishing his Hall of Fame career with 3,154 hits, 317 home runs, and a .305 average.