Magic Johnson 1st Pro Cover CGC 5.0 March 1980 Sport Magazine Newsstand

February 1980 Sport magazine newsstand issue of Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson with a great cover photo of Magic. This is Magic Johnson's first ever appearance on the cover of Sport magazine, equivalent to his "Rookie" Sport Magazine. Graded CGC 6.0, As is often the case, there is some light wear on the CGC Slab.

Sport magazine can sometime be overshadowed by Sports Illustrated but should not be. Firstly, Sport pre-dates SI by eight years - the first issue published September of 1946 (Joe Dimaggio cover). Sports Illustrated's first issue was published on August 16, 1954. Sport was monthly - SI was weekly. 

It might be that over the years SI was more in the forefront of sports enthusiast's minds because they received and read the publication more often. And although publication of Sport magazine ceased after the August 2000 issue, for 54 years the magazine was a monthly staple for in depth articles of the greatest sports figures of all-time, most of whom graced the cover. 

In addition, some superstar athletes of the 1940's and 1950's were on the cover of Sport but never appeared on the cover of SI during their playing days, such as Joe Dimaggio, Jackie Robinson, and George Mikan.

CGC graded Sports magazines have become more and more desirable and valuable in the last several years. In the comic book hobby, every valuable, desirable comic book sold is graded. And certainly also the case with sports cards.

Vintage Sport magazine newsstand issues that never had a subscription label are truly scarce. And if a person occasionally bought an issue at the newsstand, they probably threw them out after reading the issue, or a few weeks later. But if a person was a subscriber, they most likely tended to save and collect their issues (that all had labels) - the subscriber was probably more of a pack rat or collector. That could be why there are so many Subscription "label" issues of vintage Sport magazines.  

A CGC graded Larry Bird Sport magazine to add to one's Bird, Celtics or CGC collection.15.00 shipping in the USA.