Mailbag Monday, 1976–'78: Renew! Cancel! Renew! Cancel!

Rebecca Shore | Nov 2, 2014

Yvette and Yvonne Sylvander in Bali

Kourken Pakchanian/SI

THE BICENTENNIAL year brought lots of stars, stripes and hideous commemorative collectibles, but it also brought lots and lots of letters—the good, the bad, and the fugly. Here's what filled the SI Swimsuit mailbag from the years 1976, '77 and '78.

1976

THERE ARE TWO SIDES...

Sir:

Kindly cancel our subscription.

SISTER MARY FRANCES
Trumbull Catholic Regional School
Trumbull, Conn.

TO EVERY STORY

Sirs:

I do not wish to cancel my subscription.

R.J. HAIDINGER
Rutherford, N.J.

YOU ARE A GENTLEMAN...

Sir:

As an elementary school principal, I would like to say I do not believe Cheryl Tiegs represents a threat to the morals of American youth. I am a transplanted Buckeye in this land of the maize and blue, and somehow she even makes Ohio State's Rose Bowl defeat seem inconsequential.

MICHAEL WALLS
Romeo, Mich.

AND A SCHOLAR

Sir:

Do you people have any conception at all of what pictures like those of Yvette and Yvonne Sylvander do to male college students stuck studying in January in Lewiston, Maine? I mean, do you?

MARK O'CONNELL
Lewiston, Maine

HE GETS IT

Sirs:

Sun, sand, surf, swimsuits and sirens are all well and good, but yours is, after all, a sports magazine and I feel you have failed to answer some vital questions:

Yvette is beautiful, but can she go to her left?
Yvonne is super, but can she hit major league pitching?
Cheryl is lovely, but can she audible the blitz?
Christie is a doll, but can she consistently sink seven-footers?

Who cares?

Thanks. I needed that issue.

JIM MILLER
East Lansing, Mich.

ROGER THAT

Sirs:

Damn the irate subscribers; full speed ahead.

TOM SQUITIERI
Burrell, Pa.

• Last week's Mailbag Monday, 1973–'75

1977

ANYONE KNOW WHETHER CHUCK NEEDS ANOTHER RENEWAL?

Sir:

Kindly extend my subscription through the year 2000. I needed that.

CHUCK GERARDI
Littleton, Colo.

WHUTCHU SAYIN' ABOUT LENA'S SWIMMING SKILLS?

Sir:

Your Maui cover girl sure is zowie, but what place do she and her cohorts have in a sports magazine? She surely wasn't put there because of her extraordinary swimming ability. Pictures of this type detract greatly from the quality of SI.

ANTHONY PROCOPIO
University Park, Pa.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIKEY

Sir:

Your Jan. 24 issue came as a tremendous shock. When I bought my son Mike a birthday subscription, I had no inkling that your magazine should be kept in a brown paper bag, to be unseen by innocent eyes. If you really think these photographs represent a sport, you are in the wrong business.

MRS. R. A. SULLIVAN
Providence, R.I.

SO WE TAKE IT YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN OUR 1982 AND '83 COVERS?

Sir:

Cancel my subscription at once. Imagine, only one picture of Cheryl Tiegs.

RICHARD FONG
Oakland, Calif.

• Mailbag Monday, 1970–'72: Taking the 'illustrated' thing too far

1978

Maria João in Brazil
Walter Iooss Jr./SI

Sir:

Allow us to be among the first to vote for Sportswoman of the Year
1978: intrepid Cheryl Tiegs. Amen! And awoman!

BILL LAPPIN
JOHN McGILVRAY
DANIEL KNIGHT
Brookline, Mass.

AND SHOULD YOU PICK DIVORCE...WHO KEEPS THE ISSUE?

Sir:

My wife is not only threatening divorce, but to cancel my SI
subscription.

GARY WEST
Tampa

WHAT'S THAT ABOUT A VERY GOOD SPORTS MAGAZINE?

Sir:

I was disgusted. No decent person would be caught wearing a few of
the suits you pictured. I can't understand why a very good sports
magazine feels it has to compete with trashy magazines and to stoop
to their level.

KATHY JONES
Chicago Heights. Ill.

IS THIS THE GUY FROM THAT EPISODE OF SEINFELD? MAYBE

Sir:

Your First Amendment right to publish? Certainly. Illustrated? I'll
say! Sports? Sure couldn't find any. A sports magazine with girlie
spreads in our home? No, thank you. Cancel.

JAMES A. BUCKLEY
Omaha, Neb.

Mailbag Monday, 1964-'66: Duke freshmen and spiny lobsters

Published Nov 2, 2014

REBECCA SHORE