Displayed is the first issue of Sports Illustrated, dated August 16, 1954, with Eddie Mathews on the cover and 27 Topps cards in the centerfold. Sports Illustrated was created by Time Inc., located in New York City. The cover photo was taken at Milwaukee's County Stadium on June 9, 1954, in a game between the New York Giants and the Milwaukee Braves, won 5-0 by the Giants, with Mathews going 1-for-2, with a pair of walks. Mathews played 17 seasons in the Major Leagues, mainly as a third baseman. He is the only player to have played for the Braves in all three of the team's home cities: Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta. He also played for the Houston Astros and the Detroit Tigers. Mathews was a 2-time World Champion and bashed 512 career home runs. The cover photo is by Mark Kauffman. Also, in the cover photo are Giants catcher Wes Westrum and home plate umpire Augie Donatelli. 

The magazine's cover reads, "FIRST ISSUE/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/August 16, 1954/25 Cents." The magazine measures approx. 8.1x11.2". A 2017 Sports Illustrated Vault story, by Ted Keith, noted a few points of interest about this first issue of Sports Illustrated: There was not a story about Mathews or the Braves in the issue. Feature stories included a piece about British miler Roger Bannister and a story about the mid-1950s being "The Golden Age of Sport." This magazine also has 27 Topps 1954 baseball cards as a centerfold. Among these are cards of Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Larry Doby, Duke Snider, and Gil Hodges, plus star New York Giants pitcher Johnny Antonelli, who beat Warren Spahn in the game depicted on the cover.

This offering (Sports Illustrated #v1 #1) has been encapsulated and has a CGC UNIVERSAL GRADE "(9.0 - WHITE pages)" and a CGC seal.

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