2012 Lucie Awards Honoree, John Biever

John Biever was born in 1951 in Port Washington, Wi. He started photography working with his father, Vernon, who was the long time Green Bay Packer sideline photographer. John started shooting football in 1965 with him

and recalls being at the NFL Championship game in Green Bay that year; Cleveland Browns, NFL legend Jim Brown’s last game. He vividly remembers shooting the 1967 NFL Championship game in Green Bay, the infamous ‘Ice Bowl’, played in -15 degree temperatures. A picture he took at that game, of Packer QB Bart Starr scoring the winning touchdown with less than 30 seconds to play, has been called one of the iconic photographs of NFL history. He was 16 at the time.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1973, he worked 13 years at the Milwaukee Journal & Sentinel, before leaving to freelance in 1986. He became a Sports Illustrated contract photographer in 1988, and a staff photographer in 1998. During his time at SI, he has been privileged

to cover major sporting events, such as the 23 Masters Golf Tournaments, and 10 Olympics, including this year’s Games in London. He has been credited with 129 SI Covers, which ranks in the top five all time number.

He is one of four photographers to have photographed all 46 Super Bowl games, including the last 24, for Sports Illustrated (the other 3 photographers include, Walter Iooss, Tony Tomsic and Mickey Palmer).

He is a 2-time winner of the NFL ‘Photographer of the Year’ plaque, awarded by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

John resides in Shorewood, Wi., a Milwaukee suburb.