Flashy Photos

At SPORTS ILLUSTRATED pictures and words have gone hand in mitt
since Eddie Mathews's swing-for-the-fences cover shot drew
readers to our first issue nearly 46 years ago. "We're the
bait," says Jim Colton, SI's picture editor. "We have to hook
readers and bring them into the story. The best way to do that
is to hit them over the head with great visuals." The judges of
four recent photographic competitions certainly were struck by
our images. SI won a lucky 13 awards at the Pictures of the Year
(POY) competition for U.S. newspapers and magazines and took
home 16 more from the Alfred Eisenstaedt Awards for Magazine
Photography. Among our most celebrated shots were an eye-popping
image of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet breaking the sound barrier
(SI, Aug. 9, 1999), which took a first place at POY and in the
World Press Photo contest, and an eye-gouging image of a Welsh
rugby player (SI, Oct. 11, 1999), which earned top prizes at the
Eisenstaedts and the National Headliner Awards. If a good
picture is indeed worth 1,000 words, these photos speak volumes.

Bill Colson, Managing Editor

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY SIMON BRUTYThird Place, Pictorial, POY: Backstroker B.J. Bedford at U.S. Open in San Antonio

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY ENSIGN JOHN GAY/U.S. NAVYFirst Place, Science and Technology, World Press Photo and POY contests: F/A-18 Hornet breaking sound barrier over Pacific

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT BECKSecond Place, Sports, National Headliner Awards: Brandi Chastain in World Cup

B/W PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY WALTER IOOSS JR. Second Place, Portrait, POY: Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY STUART MACFARLANE/COLORSPORTFirst Place, Sports, Alfred Eisenstaedt and National Headliner awards: Three Stooges moment at Rugby World Cup