Sports photographer Hy Peskin dies

los angeles (ap) | Hy Peskin, Sports Illustrated's first staff photographer whose work graced 40 of the magazine's covers, has died. He was 89.

Peskin died June 2 in Israel of kidney disease, his family confirmed last week. "For my money, he's the best that ever lived," said Neil Leifer, a former colleague at Sports Illustrated.

"He never followed the pack," said Steve Fine, the magazine's photography director. "He was always looking for a different angle, a different point of view, a different lens to show sporting events in still photography in a way you'd never seen it before."