America in Black and White: Photographs by John G. Zimmerman

When John G. Zimmerman joined the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1956, he helped revolutionize sports photography. He placed cameras inside hockey nets and above basketball hoops for the first time and lit entire arenas with strobe lights, creating many iconic images in the process. America in Black and White is a new photo book devoted to Zimmerman’s early work; it includes not only images of sport but also the arts, politics and the Jim Crow South. Here is a gallery of sports shots from the book, now available on Amazon.

SI Staff | May 9, 2017

America in Black and White: Photographs by John G. Zimmerman /

America in Black and White: Photographs by John G. Zimmerman

Mickey Mantle

New York Yankee Mickey Mantle at bat, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, 1956.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics' Bill Russell (#6) at Madison Square Garden in New York, 1967.

John G. Zimmerman

John G. Zimmerman covers the World Series (Brooklyn Dodgers vs New York Yankees), at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York in October 1956.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain behind the scenes at Madison Square Garden in New York, 1967.

Carmen Basilio vs. Sugar Ray Robinson

Carmen Basilio vs Sugar Ray Robinson at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, 1957.

Floyd Patterson vs. Ingemar Johansson

Heavyweight boxing bout between Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson (lower left approaching ring) at the Polo Grounds in New York, 1960.

University of Kentucky Cheerleaders

Kentucky cheerleaders, NCAA Championships, Louisville, Kentucky, 1958.

Casey Stengel

Casey Stengel, manager of the New York Yankees is interviewed after winning game 7 and series vs. Milwaukee Braves in Milwaukee, 1958.

Antti Viskari

Finland Antti Viskari (4) is crowned with victory wreath as he crosses finish line and wins the 60th Boston Marathon in Boston, April 19, 1956.

Abebe Bikila

Abebe Bikila wins the Olympic marathon under the Arch of Constantine, in Rome, Italy in 1960.

Wilson, North Carolina

Shoeshine contest in Wilson, North Carolina, 1952.

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe with his father after winning the U.S. Open Men's Tennis Championship on September 9, 1968 in Forest Hills, New York.

Gil McDougald and Mickey Mantle

Gil McDougald and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees during spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida, 1957.

Floyd Patterson

Boxer Floyd Patterson at Ehsan's training camp in Summit, New Jersey, 1959.

Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

View from above of fans in stands fighting over a baseball during Brooklyn Dodgers vs Pittsburgh Pirates game at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn, NY, April 21, 1957.

Bill Russell and Red Auerbach

Boston Celtics' player-coach Bill Russell and team manager Red Auerbach, Boston, 1967

Chuck Bednarik

Philadelphia Eagles LB/C Chuck Bednarik (60) exults after hitting New York Giants Frank Gifford, who lays motionless beneath him at Yankee Stadium in New York, NY on November 20th, 1960.