Derek and Hannah aren't just a celebrity couple. They're that rare couple that's both been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Obviously, a woman on the cover is rare in its own right. So that makes the odds of two SI cover subjects coupling up even more rare. But that doesn't mean the Jeter-Davis pairing is the only one where they've both been on the cover, either together or separately.
First, a look at those couples where, surprisingly, one made the cut and the other didn't. The most notable of which is Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick. That's the most unique of them all because she's been on the cover, but he never has...even though he was the athlete (and his 2003 US Open victory is still the most recent Grand Slam title by an American man). FloJo and Al Joyner is another pairing where she's been on the cover and he hasn't. It's obvious why FloJo was featured multiple times in 1988. Her husband, Al, was the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump, but he never earned a cover story. His sister, of course, is Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and she's been on the cover plenty of times (again for obvious reasons).
Honorable mention also goes to Rebecca Lobo and Steve Rushin. They had regional covers when UConn won its first National Championship in 1995, so I don't know if Lobo was on the cover or not, but she was the star of that team, so she deserves to be. Rushin, meanwhile, has been an SI writer for years. He took over the back page for a while after Rick Reilly left and is one of my favorite writers in the magazine.
Now for those where they've both been on the cover. It's possible that there's more (I have no idea about some of the cover subjects from SI's early years), but these are the ones where I know the two athletes either are or were together at some point.
There's no order to these rankings. It's basically just the order that I either thought of them or realized they were both on the cover in.
- Kate Upton and Justin Verlander: She's a two-time swimsuit cover girl, and she was even on the cover of a non-swimsuit issue along with her "brothers" B.J. (I refuse to call him Melvin) and Justin. I wasn't sure if Verlander ever had been, but sure enough, the Tigers pitcher has been on the cover once. Although, interestingly, it wasn't during the three years he was dominating the American League.
- Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods: Yes, they broke up. But they're still one of the most successful pairings on this list. I think Tiger's among the all-time Top 10 (maybe even Top 5) for cover appearances, and Lindsey's right up there among women.
- Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi: The King and Queen of sports couples. A combined 33 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals between the two tennis champions, who've been married since 2001 and have two kids.
- Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra: During this year's Women's World Cup, we kept hearing about the '99ers. Mia Hamm was the face of that squad 16 years ago. The entire team was SI's Sportswomen of the Year in 1999 (and I wouldn't be surprised if this year's squad gets the same honor). No-mah was only on the cover once...during his 1997 Rookie of the Year season.
- Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors: Back in the 1970s, they were tennis' "It" couple. They were engaged when they both won Wimbledon in 1974. That engagement ended and they both married other people, but they've remained friends. If they'd stayed together, they'd trump Andre and Steffi as tennis' greatest couple. As it is, ranking No. 2 in that category ain't too bad.
- Ray Knight and Nancy Lopez: I had to go back and make sure they had both been on the cover, and, sure enough, they have. Knight was on after his heroics in the 1986 World Series. His wife was on while she was dominating the LPGA Tour during the late 70s.
Like I said, there might be more. But I think you've gotta agree that this list is pretty impressive as-is.
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