The Body Issue
![]() Best-selling of six alternative covers of ESPN The Magazine's original Body Issue in 2009 featuring Serena Williams | |
Frequency | Yearly |
---|---|
First issue | October 19, 2009 |
Final issue | September 6, 2019 |
Company | ESPN |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Website | ESPN The Magazine |
The Body Issue is an edition of ESPN The Magazine that features dozens of athletes in nude and semi-nude photographs, which is intended to rival the annual Swimsuit Issue from Sports Illustrated. The first issue debuted on October 19, 2009.[1]
The 2009 edition had six alternative covers featuring Serena Williams (tennis), Carl Edwards (NASCAR), Adrian Peterson (NFL), Dwight Howard (NBA), Gina Carano (mixed martial arts) and Sarah Reinertsen (triathlons).[2] The Serena Williams edition sold the most copies.[3] The 2009 issue was a financial success, achieving double the normal edition sales, greater sales than any bi-weekly issue in over two years and 35 percent more ad sales than comparable issues, which led to plans for extended marketing of the 2010 edition.[3]
The edition included the regular sports coverage. In the bodies section athletes were featured on and off the field. Even a picture during a knee surgery was included. The "Bodies We Want" section was a feature of the best bodies in the world of sports all posed nude but with strategic coverage of private parts.[4] Another section showed the damage done to the human body in athletics such as Laird Hamilton's cracked heel and Torry Holt's crooked middle finger.[5] One action photo captured six members of Major League Soccer's D.C. United simulating a free kick defensive wall while covering their genitalia.[6]
The 2019 issue was announced as also being the final print edition of the magazine.[7]
2009[]
Some of the 2009 covers were revealed on shows such Monday Night Football and Good Morning America. The 2009 edition included the following:[4]
- Baseball: Joba Chamberlain, Nelson Cruz, Iván Rodríguez
- Basketball: Dwight Howard, Cappie Pondexter
- Beach volleyball: Carol Hamilton, Greg Hunter, Noah Kaiser, Eddie Matz, Michele Rauter, Tim Struby[8]
- Boxing: Manny Pacquiao
- Figure skating: Johnny Weir
- Football: Casey Hampton, Torry Holt, Adrian Peterson
- Golf: Sandra Gal, Anna Grzebien, Christina Kim
- Gymnastics: Shawn Johnson
- Horse racing: Alex Solis
- Ice hockey: Zdeno Chára, Bill Guerin, Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, Sheldon Souray
- MMA: Gina Carano, Randy Couture
- Rock climbing: Steph Davis
- Rowing: Susan Francia
- Short-track speed skating: Allison Baver
- Skiing: Kristi Leskinen, Julia Mancuso
- Soccer: Natasha Kai, Bryan Namoff, Oguchi Onyewu, Chris Pontius (soccer), Clyde Simms
- Softball: Jessica Mendoza
- Stock car racing: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin
- Sumo wrestling: Byambajav Ulambayaryn
- Surfing: Claire Bevilacqua, Laird Hamilton
- Swimming: Ryan Lochte
- Table tennis: Biljana "Biba" Golić
- Tennis: James Blake, Serena Williams
- Track and field: Michelle Carter, Lolo Jones, Sarah Reinertsen
- Weightlifting: Cheryl Haworth
2010[]
The 2010 edition included the following:
- Alpine skiing: Julia Mancuso
- Archery: Erika Anschutz
- Basketball: Amar'e Stoudemire, Diana Taurasi
- Billiards: Jeanette Lee
- Bobsledding: Steven Holcomb
- Figure skating: Evan Lysacek
- Football: Patrick Willis
- Football/Mixed Martial Artist: Herschel Walker
- Golf: Camilo Villegas
- Javelin Thrower: Rachel Yurkovich
- Mixed Martial Arts: Cristiane Justino, Evangelista Santos
- Soccer: Tim Howard
- Surfer: Kelly Slater
- Swimmer: Jeff Farrell
- Track runner: Philipa Raschker
- United States women's national water polo team
- Volleyball: Kim Glass
- Wheelchair tennis: Esther Vergeer
2011[]
The 2011 edition included the following:
- Baseball: José Reyes
- Basketball: Blake Griffin, Sylvia Fowles
- Bowling: Kelly Kulick
- Boxing: Sergio Martínez
- Football: Steven Jackson
- Golf: Belen Mozo
- Gymnastics: Alicia Sacramone
- Ice hockey: Julie Chu, Ryan Kesler
- Indy Car Driver: Hélio Castroneves
- Mixed Martial Arts: Jon "Bones" Jones
- NHRA: John Force
- Para-athletics: Jeremy Campbell
- Roller derby: Suzy Hotrod
- Runner: Ryan Hall
- Skater: Apolo Ohno
- Snowboarding: Gretchen Bleiler, Louie Vito
- Soccer: Hope Solo[9]
- Surfing: Stephanie Gilmore
- Tennis: Vera Zvonareva
- Track and field: Natasha Hastings
2012[]
The 2012 issue featured the following athletes:[10]
- Baseball: José Bautista
- Basketball: Candace Parker, Tyson Chandler
- Decathlete: Ashton Eaton
- Fencer: Tim Morehouse
- Football: Maurice Jones-Drew, Rob Gronkowski
- Golf: Suzann Pettersen
- Gymnast: Danell Leyva
- Ice Hockey: Brad Richards
- Jockey: Mike Smith
- Mixed martial arts: Ronda Rousey
- Rowing: Oksana Masters
- Sailor: Anna Tunnicliffe
- Soccer: Carlos Bocanegra, Abby Wambach
- Surfer: Maya Gabeira
- Tennis: Daniela Hantuchová
- Track and field: Carmelita Jeter, Walter Dix
- Volleyball: 2012 U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team (Destinee Hooker, Megan Hodge, Alisha Glass, Stacy Sykora)
2013[]
The 2013 issue featured the following athletes:
- Boxing: Marlen Esparza
- Golf: Carly Booth, Gary Player
- MLB: Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Harvey
- MMA: Miesha Tate
- Motocross: Tarah Gieger
- NBA: John Wall, Kenneth Faried
- NFL: Colin Kaepernick, Vernon Davis
- NHL hockey: Joffrey Lupul
- NHRA drag racing: Courtney Force
- Rock Climbing: Chris Sharma, Daila Ojeda
- Snowboarding: Elena Hight
- Soccer: Sydney Leroux
- Tennis: Agnieszka Radwańska, John Isner
- Volleyball: Kerri Walsh Jennings
- WNBA: Swin Cash
2014[]
The 2014 issue featured the following athletes [1]:
- Basketball: Serge Ibaka, Angel McCoughtry
- BMX bike motocross: Nigel Sylvester
- Bobsledding: Aja Evans
- Boxing: Bernard Hopkins, Danyelle Wolf
- Cliff Diving: Ginger Huber
- Hockey: Hilary Knight
- MLB: Prince Fielder
- Motocross : Travis Pastrana
- NFL: Marshawn Lynch, Larry Fitzgerald
- Skateboarding: Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins
- Snowboarding: Jamie Anderson, Amy Purdy
- Soccer: Omar Gonzalez, Megan Rapinoe
- Surfing: Coco Ho
- Swimming: Michael Phelps
- Tennis: Venus Williams, Tomáš Berdych
- Yachting: Jimmy Spithill
2015[]
The 2015 issue featured the following athletes [2]:
- Archery: Khatuna Lorig
- Baseball: Bryce Harper
- Basketball: Brittney Griner, DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Love
- Field Hockey: Paige Selenski
- Football: Anthony Castonzo, Jack Mewhort, Odell Beckham Jr., Todd Herremans
- Golf: Sadena Parks
- Gymnastics: Aly Raisman
- Hammer Throw: Amanda Bingson
- Heptathlon: Chantae McMillan
- Hockey: Tyler Seguin
- Rugby: Todd Clever
- Skateboarding: Leticia Bufoni
- Soccer: Ali Krieger, Jermaine Jones
- Surfing: Laird Hamilton
- Swimming: Natalie Coughlin
- Tennis: Stan Wawrinka
- Volleyball: Gabrielle Reece
- Wakeboarding: Dallas Friday
2016[]
The 2016 issue featured the following athletes [3]:[11]
- Baseball: Jake Arrieta
- Basketball: Dwyane Wade, Elena Delle Donne
- Beach Volleyball (Olympics): April Ross
- Boxing (Olympics): Claressa Shields
- Diving: Greg Louganis
- Duathlon: Chris Mosier
- Fencing (Olympics): Nzingha Prescod
- Football: Antonio Brown, Von Miller, Vince Wilfork
- Motocross: Ryan Dungey
- Paratriathlete: Allysa Seely
- Soccer: Christen Press
- Steeplechase: Emma Coburn
- Surfing: Courtney Conlogue
- Swimming: Nathan Adrian
- UFC: Conor McGregor
- Wrestling: Adeline Gray
2017[]
The 2017 issue featured the following athletes [4]:[12]
- Baseball: Javier Baez
- Basketball: Isaiah Thomas, Nneka Ogwumike
- Figure skating: Ashley Wagner
- Football: Julian Edelman, Ezekiel Elliott, Zach Ertz
- Hockey: Brent Burns, Joe Thornton
- MMA Fighting: Michelle Waterson
- Rugby: Malakai Fekitoa
- Skiing: Gus Kenworthy
- Snowboarding: Kirstie Ennis
- Soccer: Julie Ertz
- Softball: AJ Andrews
- Tennis: Caroline Wozniacki
- Track and field: Novlene Williams-Mills
- US Women's National Ice Hockey Team (Brianna Decker, Kacey Bellamy, Meghan Duggan, Jocelyne Lamoureux, Monique Lamoureux, Alex Rigsby)
2018[]
The 2018 issue featured the following athletes [5]:
- Baseball : Dallas Keuchel, Yasiel Puig
- Basketball: Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Karl-Anthony Towns
- Figure Skating: Adam Rippon
- Football: Saquon Barkley, Jerry Rice
- Golf: Greg Norman
- Professional wrestling: Charlotte Flair
- Skiing: Jessie Diggins
- Soccer: Crystal Dunn, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Megan Rapinoe
- Softball: Lauren Chamberlain
- Sprinting: Tori Bowie
2019[]
The 2019 issue released on September 4, 2019 and was the final printed issue of the ESPN Magazine. It featured the following athletes [6]:
- Baseball: Christian Yelich
- Basketball: Chris Paul, Liz Cambage, Nancy Lieberman
- Crossfit: Katrín Davíðsdóttir
- Football: Myles Garrett, Michael Thomas, the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line (Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Issac Seumalo, Halapoulivaati Vaitai)
- Golf: Brooks Koepka
- Gymnastics: Katelyn Ohashi
- Hockey: Evander Kane
- Racing: James Hinchcliffe
- Rock Climber: Alex Honnold
- Soccer: Kelley O'Hara
- Surfer: Lakey Peterson
- Track & Field: Scout Bassett
- UFC: Amanda Nunes
Notes[]
- ^ Thomson, Katherine (2009-10-06). "ESPN's 'Body Issue' Of Naked Athletes (PHOTOS): Serena Williams, Dwight Howard, Adrian Peterson, More Pose Nude (PICTURES)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ La Monica, Mark (2009-10-09). "ESPN 'The Body Issue' magazine covers". Newsday. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ a b Rovell, Darren (2009-11-30). "ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue: A Financial Success". CNBC. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ a b McCarthy, Michael (2009-09-30). "First look: In ESPN's magazine, showing skin is no issue". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ Clifford, Stephanie (2009-10-12). "Special Issues a Bright Spot for Magazines". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ Steinberg, Dan (2009-10-08). "United's Nude Awakening". The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ Morris, Chris (2019-04-30). "ESPN Is Shutting Down Its Magazine". Fortune.com. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
- ^ Matz, Eddie. "No shirts, no shorts ... lots of service!". ESPN. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ^ "Galleries / The Body Issue / October 17, 2011 Hope Solo". ESPN the Magazine. 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
- ^ "ESPN The Magazine Body Issue – ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ^ Chiari, Mike (June 21, 2016). "ESPN Body Issue 2016: Release Date and List of Athletes Revealed". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Ezekiel Elliott, Julian Edelman among 23 athletes featured in Body Issue". ESPN. June 25, 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
External links[]
- Annual magazine issues
- ESPN
- Magazines established in 2009
- Nude photography
- Magazines disestablished in 2019
- Defunct magazines published in the United States