The Other Side of the Dirt

Jill Kinmont Boothe, originator of the SI cover jinx, has died at the age of 75. A sure bet to represent the United States at the 1956 Winter Olympics, Kinmont was the cover girl, skis on her shoulder with a snowy mountain backdrop, on the Jan. 31, 1955 issue of Sports Illustrated. Days later, she was paralyzed from the next down in a skiing accident. So maybe next time your team loses a game or your quarterback throws an interception after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, maybe you should dial it down a little. Her struggle to recover in a country 40 years before the ADA when the only ramps were on roller derby track was documented in the 1975 movie “The Other Side of the Mountain,” and 1978’s Part II.