Sports Illustrated featured the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in its Feb. 6, 1956 issue. Less than 15 months after its founding, FCA hit the pages of one of the hottest new sports publications in print.
While it would be a stretch to say FCA and Sports Illustrated grew up together, it wouldn’t be far fetched to say they played in the same neighborhood. Sports Illustrated’s inaugural issue hit the stands August 16, 1954, less than three months before FCA was incorporated. Both FCA and Sports Illustrated wanted to tell the stories of the most famous athletes of the day — Sports Illustrated to sell magazines, FCA to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It was only a matter of time before one reported on the other. In that early February issue in 1956, Sports Illustrated told of the FCA city-wide event held in Denver, where well-known professional athletes were sent to various schools, luncheons and even Sunday School classes to speak about their relationship with Christ. The piece also told of FCA’s beginnings and founder Don McClanen’s God-given dream that would become the foundation of FCA.
It’s a fun look back at FCA’s beginnings, and it’s available in Sports Illustrated’s archives. Check out the article here.
– FCA.org –
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