46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER
BY TIM PEELER
I
n late October 1972, twin brothers
Dave and Don Buckey went to their
NC State dorm room before football
practice, as they typically did.
In the daily mail were large manila
envelopes addressed to each of them.
When they opened them up, they got
the surprise of their lives:
Staring back at them were their own
smiling faces on the cover of Sports
Illustrated.
They had known they would be in-
cluded in the magazine's story about
the beginning of freshman eligibility in
college athletics.
They had talked to legendary SI writer
Dan Jenkins earlier that fall.
Their understanding, however, was
that the picture taken of them on the
football practice fields inside the Paul
Derr Track on NC State's main cam-
pus before the beginning of the season
would be on the inside of the magazine,
with other players like Notre Dame's
Steve Niehaus, Southern Methodist's
PACK PAST
Twin Brothers Dave And Don Buckey Helped Usher
In The Freshman Era At NC State
Dave (top) and Don Buckey were back on campus in April to watch NC State's spring game, and
also to recreate their famous cover photo from the Oct. 30, 1972, edition of Sports Illustrated.
They remain the only Wolfpack football players ever to appear on SI's cover.
PHOTO BY TIM PEELER
