Plenty of people know about Auburn’s first fling with Sports Illustrated. The magazine, in a close internal vote, pegged Auburn as the favorites to win the 1964 national championship, and put a Frank Mullins painting of Jimmy Sidle — the first quarterback to lead the nation in rushing — on the cover of a college football preview issue celebrating The Year of The Running Back just to prove how serious it was.
It was off the charts publicity. The buzz on campus could cut through wood. Magazine racks in Auburn sold out the first day.