Charles Santore, Ronald Reagan/Inauguration/Super Bowl, 1985

This cover features President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration, which took place in a private ceremony on the same day as Super Bowl XIX on Sunday, January 20, 1985. As seen in the video at right, President Reagan performed the coin flip for the Super Bowl from the White House, launching the game from the Oval Office. Santore focuses attention on President Reagan’s hands, one placed on the Bible and the other raised, a symbol for the tradition of taking the oath of office. As inaugurations have not historically been held on Sundays, a public ceremony took place at the US Capitol the next day, Monday, January 21.

That year’s Super Bowl was between the Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers, who played at Stanford Stadium on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. The 49ers defeated the Dolphins by a score of 38–16 to win their second Super Bowl. Santore shows Mark Duper #25, the wide receiver for the Dolphins trying to block Derrick Harmon #85, the running back for the 49ers.