Top Five Sports Illustrated Covers featuring our Alumni

In case you missed it, David Ortiz was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with members of the Boston Police Department after the Red Sox victory in the 2013 World Series.

That got me thinking about other figures with ties to Appleton Baseball to have appeared on the cover.

I could only find a couple of Timber Rattlers to have made it to the SI cover. You can only make out the nameplate of Adam Jones on this cover from October 1, 2012. Ortiz is on this cover from June 19, 2006 with a brick wall.

Bucky Dent is in the background of this one from 1980 and is trying to turn a double play with Lee Lacy sliding into him for this one from the 1978 World Series.

Earl Weaver, the Foxes manager in 1960 and 1961 is noted as "Baltimore's Resident Genius" on the cover of the June 18, 1979 issue.

Those are nice, but they aren't in the top five.

5. Goose Gossage shared the cover of the April 16, 1984 edition of SI with former Yankees teammate Graig Nettles. The pair had just moved to the west coast to join the San Diego Padres. Goose is seated on the bench in this photo. Nettles, who played in the Midwest League for the Wisconsin Rapids Twins, and Gossage are both showing off those hideous Padres jerseys in this photo. That's what puts it into the Top 5.

4. Cal Ripken, Sr. also shared a cover of SI. This was from the March 9, 1987 edition and featured the three Ripkens with the Orioles: Cal, Sr., Cal, Jr., and Billy, a baseball family portrait. I prefer that to what they actually called it: The Ripken Gang.

3. Harry Chappas played for the Appleton Foxes in 1976 and again in 1978. He was one of the most popular players on those teams. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that he was just 5'-7" tall. Chappas hit .302 in 1978 for a team that won 93 games during the regular season and the Midwest League Championship. Chappas debuted with the Chicago White Sox on September 7, 1978. On March 19, 1979, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and touted as The Littlest Rookie. He is also wearing a horrific, beautiful, unbelievable black and white White Sox jersey with the HUGE lapels. That moved it up from #5 to #3. CNNSI.com - remember that website? - caught up with Chappas on September 23, 1997.

2. Boog Powell was on three covers. He shared a cover with several players on the issue that previewed the 1971 World Series. Powell was also on the inside fold of a cover from 1969. The player on the cover was Frank Robinson and the heading was Thunder and Lightning in Baltimore. But, #2 on this list is a psychedelic trip of a cover from April 12, 1971. Unfortunately, the SI site does not have the cover at their website. But, if you go to this link and scroll down a bit, you will see Power Personified!

1. The top spot on this list also is not available on the Sports Illustrated site, but it is just too adorable to not have at the top of the list. The cover of the August 21, 1972 featured the caption Damn Yankees Again. The photo? Sparky Lyle…and Little Spark. Who's Little Spark? Just a Dalmatian puppy. 

The other covers never had a chance.