Playboy's Pigskin Preview is an annual college football section that has run in the September (1957-84, 1993) or October (1985-1992, 1994-Present) issue each fall since 1957. The name "Pigskin Preview" predates Playboy and was brought to the magazine along with the section's first author, Francis Wallace. Wallace, a longtime writer for the New York Post and New York Daily News, is probably best remembered for coining the term "Fighting Irish" in referring to the Notre Dame football team. Wallace had written a similar preview called "Pigskin Preview" for the Saturday Evening Post in the 1930's and 40's and for Colliers in the 1950's. Wallace authored the Playboy Pigskin Preview section in only that first year, 1957, and it was actually referred to as his 18th annual "Pigskin Preview" prediction. (Click on Collier's cover to the right to view the 1956 All-American team.) Although the term "Pigskin Preview" continued to be used for the annual college football preview by the Saturday Evening Post, it quickly became synonymous with Playboy.

Wallace was succeeded by Anson Mount. Despite its name, the section under Mount was as much a prediction as a preview. Looking back at his work, it is uncanny how many of his predictions about the upcoming season came to pass over the years. Meteoric talents like Barry Sanders, who put together an amazing Heisman season in 1988, were inevitably pictured among the elite stars in the annual preseason photo shoot. Mount knew talent and knew the individuals and programs who were sleepers and on the rise each year. The annual preview and All-American team photo became a part of college football and Americana in the 20th Century.

In 1987, Gary Cole took over for Mount, who passed away that year. As only the third author of the Pigskin Preview in 53 years, Cole has continued to maintain the article's integrity and accurate prognostication. In 2008, Cole picked the all time All-American team for the magazine's first 50 years.

The Playboy All-American Teams

(Click on the magazine cover below to view the team from that season)

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

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