A Letter From The Publisher: Oct. 28, 1966

TIME went to press last week only a few hours after the undefeated Notre Dame football team met undefeated Oklahoma—and trounced it 38-0. With Quarterback Terry Hanratty and End Jim Seymour on our cover, it seems a good time to debunk the TIME “cover jinx.” If an athlete dares to show his face on TIME’S cover, so the old legend goes, he is doomed.

The record shows otherwise, TIME ran a cover story on Cassius Clay when he was a glory-hungry Louisville boy without a pro title to his name (March 22, 1963). Eleven months later, he took the heavyweight championship from Sonny Listen, and has easily defended the crown six times since then. Or take Racing Driver Jim Clark. The week after the July 9, 1965 cover was written, Clark won his fourth Grand Prix of the season, ended up World Champion of 1965.

And what about Golfer Jack Nicklaus? Since his June 29, 1962 cover, which marked his victory in the U.S. Open, he has become one of the alltime big money winners in professional golf. “I was more than flattered to be on the cover,” says Nicklaus. “It’s silly to worry about a jinx.”

The Cleveland Browns beat Dallas 24-17 the week we came out with Fullback Jimmy Brown on the cover (Nov. 26, 1965). More than that, the Browns won the following two Sundays and captured the Eastern Conference title. Brown himself was named National Football League Player of the Year. When TIME put Coach Vince Lombardi on the cover (Dec. 21, 1962), his Green Bay Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams 20-17. Green Bay also won the N.F.L. championship that year. How unlucky can you get?

Then the alarmists cite the example of the San Francisco Giants’ Juan Marichal, who had a bit of bad luck after appearing on our cover (June 10). But he finished the season as one of the two best pitchers in the league. What about Hank Bauer? His Baltimore Orioles seemed to have the pennant locked up, until the Sept. 11, 1964 cover, after which they lost half their games. Jinxed by TIME? “I don’t believe in that stuff,” growls Bauer. He was named Manager of the Year in 1964, and his team proved unjinxable earlier this month when it walked off with the series.

The list goes on: Rafer Johnson won the decathlon in the Rome Olympics right after his cover (Aug. 29, 1960); Shotputter Parry O’Brien (Dec. 3, 1956) captured the Olympic Gold Medal in Melbourne that month; and Oscar Robertson (Feb. 17, 1961) is still among basketball’s top scorers.

After Notre Dame’s victory last week—despite an injury to Jim Seymour’s ankle—Teammate Hanratty observed: “I don’t believe in jinxes. I think what happens is going to happen, regardless.”