VOLUME 26, ISSUE 4 21
ALAN KARPICK
AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com
I
n many ways Rick Mount hasn't changed much in
50 years.
He still loves basketball and hunting. He is
physically fit enough to be able to shoot hundreds of
jumpers as daily exercise.
He doesn't seek publicity in 2016, and he didn't in
1966 when he became the first high school athlete in a
team sport to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
In today's world, it is hard to put into words what
it meant to be on the cover of a national magazine
in those days. The national sports magazine. In 2016
terms, a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated was akin
to having a "30 for 30" documentary in your name or
being featured for a week on "SportsCenter."
Mount, who has always been the thoughtful sort,
had his reasons for not wanting the attention back
in '66. He knew of jealousy on the team and worried
about its effect, but his high school basketball coach,
Jim Rosenstihl, didn't give him the option.
"He said, 'You're going to do it,' and the rest was
history," Mount said. "The beat writer (Frank Deford)
showed up and everywhere I went, four to five guys
followed me. At one point, I did have to tell him, 'If I
have to use the bathroom, you guys are not coming in
with me.'"
The town didn't know of the jealousy and really
didn't seem to care much.
COVER BOY COMES TO PURDUE
Golden anniversary of SI cover produces memories
Design Dan Annarino/Photo Tom Campbell
Rick Mount was the first high school athlete in a team sport
to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Fifty years
later, he wore the same warm-up to pose for our mock cover.