Dan’s Papers Cover Artist Dick Stone on Famous 'Jock' Cover

Dick Stone is a well of stories. With a long history in advertising and fine art, there is a lifetime of interesting tales from this talented artist. This week’s cover was originally the cover of a famous issue of Jock Magazine, and the story behind its creation is just as fascinating as its creator.

What is the story behind this famous cover from Jock Magazine?
I got a call from Helmut Krone, the iconic art director. He said, “I need a photo for a cover of Jock Magazine. A recreation of marines raising the U.S. flag on Okinawa—but instead of the marines, it would be the New York Mets raising a flag that read ‘New York Mets, 1969 Champions.’” Great idea! So we got a panel truck of photo equipment, two assistants and a great deal of excitement and raced off to Shea Stadium. At Shea, we were met by a front office guy with his hand up saying, ‘you can’t come in!’ ‘Why not?’ I asked. The players, being superstitious, said they wouldn’t do it, that they hadn’t won yet.

So back to the NYC studio with Mets uniforms but not Mets! What now? So out into the neighborhood we went, scoring up as much construction site dirt we could steal, hauled it to the studio, built a pitcher’s mound, hired some models who looked like players, dirted them up and shot the cover!

How did your “commercial” work inform your fine art projects and vise versa?
In my commercial work I was known for my lighting techniques. Film needs light in order to expose the image. You need a lot of it, and you need to know how to push it. My fine art projects and my art schooling are all based on use of light and use of color.

This is an iconic cover. Talk about its legacy and how it changed your career and life.
Frankly, it didn’t really affect my career. At the time, I was a busy photographer and continued to be. Helmut Krone and I worked together a lot in those days. I was definitely busy. I’m happy to say Jock gave me a few more covers to shoot. The advertising business was really gaining steam with creativity and I was just lucky to be able to be one part of this great time in commercial advertising.

Copies of this famous Jock Magazine cover can be ordered. Contact Julie Stone for more information at alohajules@mac.com.

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