Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
February 14, 1966 is one of the most historically significant dates in the entire Rick Mount archive, and a Sports Illustrated cover on this specific date documents one of the most extraordinary recruiting stories in American high school basketball history at its precise peak moment. Rick Mount of Lebanon, Indiana was, in February 1966, the most heavily recruited high school basketball player in the country — a seventeen-year-old whose scoring ability and shooting range had generated national attention of a kind that was genuinely unusual in the pre-ESPN, pre-internet era. Mount was capable of scoring fifty or more points in a single high school game with a consistency that few players at any level had demonstrated, and Lebanon, Indiana — a small town whose basketball culture was as serious as any in the country — had become a destination for college coaches and recruiters from across the nation. A Sports Illustrated cover story on a high school player in 1966 was itself an extraordinary editorial statement: the magazine covered the professional and college game with regularity, but putting a high school player on the cover reflected a genuine recognition that what Mount was doing transcended the usual boundaries of prep sports coverage. For collectors building a serious archive through original Sports Illustrated issues, this February 14, 1966 number is one of the most historically specific and personally resonant high school basketball documents in the magazine's history.
The broader historical context of February 1966 in American basketball adds dimensions worth noting. The sport was in the middle of one of its most consequential decades — the NBA was expanding its audience, the college game was generating the recruitment battles that would define the following era, and the high school game was producing the talent pipeline whose individual stories were beginning to attract national media attention. Mount's eventual college career at Purdue (1967-1970) — where he averaged over 33 points per game as a senior — and his ABA career with the Indiana Pacers would confirm the promise that this Sports Illustrated cover recognized, making the 1966 cover story a primary document of that pre-college moment when the arc of a significant career was just beginning to be visible. Indiana basketball culture in particular gave this story its specific resonance — a state whose high school game had produced Oscar Robertson and dozens of other significant players, and whose small-town gym culture was unlike anything else in American sports. For collectors exploring original magazines from 1966, this Sports Illustrated issue documents American high school basketball at a specific and historically charged moment in the sport's development.
Valentine's Day as the publication date adds an incidental calendrical note — a February 14 cover story on the most romantically pursued high school basketball player in the country is the kind of coincidence that makes specific issues memorable to the historically attentive collector.
About the Publication
Sports Illustrated was founded by Time Inc. in 1954 and had established itself by 1966 as the most authoritative and editorially ambitious sports publication in the United States, addressing a readership of serious sports enthusiasts who expected both the visual quality of its photography and the substantive journalism of its feature writing. Its cover selections were among the most significant editorial choices in American sports media, and the decision to place a high school player on the cover in February 1966 reflected both Mount's extraordinary individual ability and the magazine's willingness to cover sports stories wherever genuine significance was found, regardless of competitive level.
Key Highlights Inside
- Rick Mount of Lebanon, Indiana cover story: A primary document of one of the most heavily recruited high school basketball players in American history at the precise moment of his national emergence, published in the magazine that represented the gold standard of American sports journalism — an editorial choice that reflected the genuine recognition that what Mount was doing transcended normal prep sports coverage.
- February 14, 1966 Indiana basketball culture context: Published during the most intensive recruiting period for a high school player who would go on to average over 33 points per game as a Purdue senior and play in the ABA — documenting the pre-college moment of a career whose significance was already undeniable.
- Address label and condition factors noted: The listing confirms an address label, cover detachment, water damage, wear, and marks — all condition factors worth carefully assessing through the provided photographs before evaluating the issue's suitability for any specific collection purpose.
Note: Specific article titles, bylines, and additional interior content beyond the Rick Mount cover story have not been independently confirmed beyond what appears in the listing. The highlights above reflect only what is verifiable from the cover subject, publication title, date, and condition notes provided.
Condition & Rarity
The listing describes this issue as in acceptable condition, with an address label on the front, the cover detached from the interior, water damage, general wear, some marks, and a plastic protective covering applied — with photographs provided for detailed assessment of all condition factors. In collector-grade terms, acceptable is the lowest functional grade in the standard scale, indicating significant condition issues that materially affect the magazine's presentation and structural integrity. The detached cover is the most consequential single condition note — cover detachment means the primary display element is separated from the interior pages, which affects both display utility and the issue's structural completeness. The water damage should be assessed through the photographs to determine its extent and impact on the interior editorial content. The address label causes additional surface damage to the front cover. At the acceptable grade described, this is a reading and research copy appropriate for collectors who prioritize the content of the Rick Mount cover story and the historical documentation over presentation quality.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
A Sports Illustrated cover story on Rick Mount from February 14, 1966 is one of the most historically specific and personally resonant high school basketball documents in the magazine's history — and finding a higher-grade copy of this specific issue requires genuine patience. If this issue is no longer available or if a better-condition copy is preferred, the extensive original Sports Illustrated collection at OriginalMagazines.com is one of the most comprehensive archives of the magazine accessible to collectors, spanning many decades of its history. For those drawn to the basketball culture and sports landscape of the mid-1960s, the 1966 magazine collection rewards careful exploration.