1 ... 2 ... 3 ... Jinx!

Some USC fans may be uneasy after seeing three Trojans on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. The SI cover jinx has been widely acknowledged in the sporting world ever since Eddie Mathews appeared on the magazine's inaugural cover in 1954, then went on to break his hand. Some superstitious fans believe it's a sign of bad things to come, and the editors over at SI haven't done much to dispel the myth.

In reality, the jinx doesn't hold a lot of water -- especially for the Trojans.

It's understandable that something might go wrong for a team or athlete that has recently been on the cover, since Sports Illustrated's job is to present news about teams in the spotlight. Often, they're headed into a big showdown where odds are good that something will go wrong. SI has increased the possibility this week, with five different regional covers. One of those teams or players is bound to disappoint.

Of course, a lot of teams and players have experienced major success instead. Six of USC's seven Heisman trophy winners made the cover before winning their hardware. Several times, the Trojans have won a championship shortly after appearing. Not counting special championship editions (Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush) and SI On Campus (Matt Leinart. Twice.), here's a breakdown of all the USC covers currently available from SI.com. There were only two incidents of bad luck after these 25 covers.

8-21-06: John David Booty, Ryan Kalil and Sam Baker are on one of six regional covers. USC wins the Pac 10 and Rose Bowl and is #4 in the country in a rebuilding reloading year.

8-15-05: Reggie Bush features on the cover. He goes on to win the Heisman trophy.

1-10-05: Matt Leinart is on the cover after USC repeats as National Champions. Shortly after, he announces he's so happy that he wants to stay in college for another year.

12-13-04: Reggie Bush is shown doing a somersault. USC then obliterates Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship game.

8-16-04: Matt Leinart is one of five top college players on the cover. He goes on to win the Heisman Trophy.

1-?-04: After USC wins the AP national championship, Matt Leinart gets his first of many SI covers, though only in California. LSU gets their own cover in Louisiana, and Pete Rose is featured in the rest of the country.

4-28-03: After winning the Heisman, Carson Palmer graces the cover of the NFL draft preview. He gets picked first overall, and that gig in Cincinnati seems to be working for him.

8-28-95: Keyshawn Johnson doesn't lead USC back to #1, but he does eventually snare 12 passes for 216 yards and a score in the Trojan's Rose Bowl victory over Northwestern.

9-3-90: The ever colorful Todd Marinovich won't totally burn out until he reaches the pros, but appears on the cover and is benched just a few games into the season. At least he gives fans some pretty memorable moments.

11-28-88: In the most cursed SI-USC incident, Rodney Peete had led the Trojans to a perfect 10-0 record before making the cover, then USC falls to Notre Dame the day after Christmas and loses to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

11-20-85: In USC's most recent non-football cover, Cheryl Miller poses as the nation's top basketball player. While she doesn't lead the Trojans to a third straight national championship, she is again named the best in the nation.

10-5-81: Marcus Allen gets the cover, wins the Heisman Trophy.

9-10-79: Charles White wrestles with Billy Simms for the Heisman Trophy on the cover. White wins.

10-2-78: With Charles White on the cover, USC wins the National Championship.

12-9-74, 10-1-73, 11-5-73: Anthony Davis appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated three times. In 1973 his cover shows USC losing to Notre Dame, but he still leads the Trojans to a Pac 10 Championship. In 1974 he leads the Trojans to a National Championship. He's also runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

9-29-69: Jimmy Jones graces the cover while leading USC to a 10-0-1 record and winning the Rose Bowl.

10-14-68: OJ Simpson is pictured dashing by Miami. USC wins the Pac 10 and OJ wins the Heisman Trophy.

11-20-67: With both USC and UCLA featured, USC wins the cross-town showdown and takes home the National Championship.

10-2-67: It's just a diagram of a play, but USC football is still on the cover and wins the National Championship.

2-20-67: Posing in his USC track duds, Bob Seagren goes on to win Olympic gold in the pole vault in 1968.

3-19-62: The story is really about UCLA basketball, but USC is well represented with the shot.

8-14-61: Trojan swimmer Murray Rose already had several Olympic medals before this cover, and serves as the Olympic flag bearer in the 2000 Sydney games.

11-26-56: USC's first cover is, appropriately, football. The cover trumps up the USC-UCLA game, which the Trojans win as part of an 8-2 season.

Magazine cover courtesy of Sports Illustrated. 

Comments

[SD Hoosier]

Wrong. The first cover with a Trojan was March 21, 1955 Parry O�Brien (track and field). Check the USC website next time.

[Adam Rose]

Good catch! Looks like Parry is the first Trojan on the cover of SI, though it doesn't make any reference to the school. It's not linked to USC in their database, either, but it's available by searching for his name ( http://dynamic.si.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/1955/0321.html ). He also made a cover in 1959 ( http://dynamic.si.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/1959/0831.html ), again without reference to USC. Do you have a link to the claim on the USC site?

[SD Hoosier]

Sure, here you go.

http://usctrojans.cstv.com/trads/usc-sicover.html

Thanks! Fight On!

[Paul]

Anthony Davis wins the Heisman in 1974? thats news! that would give us 8 right? =)

[Adam Rose]

Anthony Davis was supposed to read "runner up." Sorry, Paul, no rewriting the history books! :-)

[PKnWoobear]

you forgot to mention the "best of 2005" issue with leinart and bush on the cover and then we lose the national championship to texas/vince young in the rose bowl.

[Jan]

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