Sports Illustrated knows how to create additional hype when it comes to their Swimsuit Edition.

With an estimated 66 million readers awaiting the publication, S.I. stuck with tradition and did not release the cover until shortly before the mag was scheduled to hit the stands.

Their choice for the cover?

Bar Refaeli, the hot Israeli model and girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Swimsuit Edition began in February 1964. With the NFL season over in December and the NBA only having a handful of teams the publication decided to put a female on the cover and that decision has led to what is now known as the biggest magazine event of the year.

If you want to reminisce, visit SportsIllustrated.com and search their vault for every past swimsuit edition.

If you’re interested, you can flip through the entire magazine front to back. I located the first Swimsuit Edition I received in my mailbox back in 1973.

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