THE MAG.COM PRESENTS:
ALL WORLD POWER RANKINGS

Getty Images

"December 1998 was a very good month, and not just because of Clinton's impeachment."

WHEN IT COMES TO ATHLETE APPEARANCES IN PLAYBOY OR PLAYGIRL, KATARINA WITT REMAINS NO. 1

Earlier today, we ran an interview with August 2008 Playboy cover girl Ashley Harkleroad; she'll become the latest in a long line of athletes and celebrities to pose for the mag or Playgirl. [Ed's note: Most unreal cover decision ever—Hef put Shannen Doherty on there TWICE! TWICE! OK, we're blind.] Here now, a ranking of the best athlete appearances in the two magazines. Bonus: while researching this, we got fired four times.

TOP 5
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	1 (9)	KATARINA WITT	Did the December '98 cover, thus the first major athlete to do so. Still the best. Here's a link to a safe-for-work version of the cover. If it doesn't make you want to (a) open the magazine and (b) learn what exactly a triple axle is, you're not human.
	2 (821)	BURT REYNOLDS	Not an athlete, you say? You're wrong! He played halfback for FSU. He also appeared in Playgirl back in December 1974 in a famous Christmas spread. The sheer fact that Burt Friggin' Reynolds was in a nudie mag before Reagan was even elected President gets him high on this list.
	3 (16)	GABRIELLE REECE	Appeared on the Playboy cover in January 2001. She's essentially a super-human athlete, so checking out the pictorial is really like going to a museum and gazing upon a Rembrandt. Wow, that was a rationalization. Bonus: we're friends with her husband.
	4 (291)	AMANDA BEARD	First reason it's cool: she won two silver medals at Atlanta '96 when she was fourteen years old. Second reason it's cool: she got hot as she got older ("The Nicole Eggert Situation"), culminating with a highly anticipated July 2007 cover appearance. She's headed back to Beijing, so you can appreciate her greatness this August as well.
	5 (285)	SABLE AND TORRIE WILSON	Granted, wrestling's not a sport (it's "choreographed chaos"). Still, at their peak, Sable and Torrie Wilson were just incredibly hot and probably the two most famous "WWE Divas" of all-time (OK, maybe Stacy Keibler). They shared the March '04 cover.

HONORABLE MENTION
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	11 (38)	JIM BROWN	Yea. Greatest athlete maybe ever appeared tastefully semi-nude in Playgirl back in the day. Go ahead, try and laugh at him for it.
	33 (198)	KIANA TOM	She's a bodybuilder and fitness model. Check out a safe for work pic here. Graced the May 2002 cover. We're tired of euphemisms, so we'll say it: she's hot.

RISING AND FALLING
MOVEMENT		WHAT
		AMY ACUFF (High jumper will be in Beijing in 2008)
		CHYNA (Who greenlighted this? Honestly? It's like Medusa!)

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine