Eight (more) strange covers from Toronto Life’s first 50 years

For our first 50th-anniversary cover round-up, click here.

May 1973

What Kind of Girl is a Sunshine Girl?

Our where-are-they-now feature on the Toronto Sun’s most popular page revealed where the paper found its models (on campuses and in lines at Massey Hall), what happened after the shoot (job offers and a lot of creepy phone calls), and what the Girls thought of Women’s Lib (“I really think they should have a Sunshine Boy.”)

May 1974

Swinging in Toronto

Author Erna Paris was a pioneer of that timeless journalistic tradition: awkwardly attending a swingers’ party only to discover it’s a not-so-steamy smattering of middle-aged wallflowers. She writes, “They’re about as ‘liberated’ as high school bobbysoxers in 1952.”

November 1974

Plants as Pets

We have a few questions about the whole plants-as-pets concept—to start, since when do people play cello to their pets?

January 1978

The Ascension of St. Lawrence

Toronto Life opted for a...shall we say...literal take on “The ascension of St. Lawrence,” a feature about the buzzy vibrancy of the area around the Gooderham Building.

July 1985

Jays Win Series!

Wait, what was that publication date again? July 1985. Yes, in the dog days of the ‘85 season, seven years before the Blue Jays won their first World Series, we predicted the boys would be champions and asked a slew of local journalists—Christie Blatchford, Paul Godfrey, Don Obe—to predict how that year’s supposedly victorious post-season run would unfold. The Jays ultimately fell to Kansas City in the ALCS, but not before we ranked the Blue Jays’ best butts.

April 1995

Where to Dine Out

If this pint-sized, insect-averse gourmand is still somewhere around these parts, we’re betting he was first in line to try the cricket tacos at this year’s CNE.

January 1998

Where to Get Good Stuff Cheap

The 1998 edition of our recurring bargain-hunting package was—and still is—Toronto Life’s best-selling cover. The lesson: simpler is better, and never underestimate the power of $2 cocktails.

March 1999

Dalton Who?

Four years before McGuinty took the top job at Queen’s Park, we profiled the “dragon slayer—the man who will attempt to topple Mike Harris.” It was probably the first and last time someone described Premier Dad as a dragon slayer.