Jim Palmer had many accomplishments in baseball: Three Cy Young Awards, Three World Series Championships, and the most wins by any pitcher during the 1970's. His election into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1990 was well-deserved.

But to many gay men of a certain age, the name Jim Palmer also conjures up different memories. In the late 70's and early 80's, Jim Palmer was a national spokesman/model for Jockey Briefs, appearing in print and television ads for the underwear giant.

Little did Jim know the floodgates he would be opening, as other athletes followed suit during the 80's, including gymnastics Olympian Bart Conner ...

The NY Islanders ...

And ... Pete Rose!

Today is Jim Palmers' 69th birthday, so let's pay tribute by taking a closer look at the cultural movement that he helped to start.

We have to begin by acknowledging the heir apparent to Jim Palmer's legacy, soccer star David Beckham, who has turned the movement into an art form.

Over the last decade, the movement has grown by an exponential factor, as athletes from all over the world, from every sport imaginable, have stripped down to the almost bare essentials. Enjoy this sample study, and let's please do everything we can to keep the movement alive!

Spanish soccer player Alberto de la Bella

British rugby God Ben Cohen

American Football player Cam Newton

Australian swimmer Christian Sprenger

Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo

Italian soccer player Dani Osvaldo

New Zealand Rugby player Dan Carter

Australian rugby player David Williams

Belgian pole vaulter Denis Goossens

Ivorian Soccer player Didier Drogba

American basketball player Dwight Howard

Australian swimmer Eamon Sullivan

American football player Earl Bennett

Spanish tennis player Fernando Verdasco

Swedish soccer player Fredrik Ljungberg

Japanese soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata

Italian soccer players

Filipino rugby player Jake Robrigadao

British rugby player James Haskell

Australian swimmer James Magnussen

Spanish soccer player Javi Martinez

Australian rugby player John Williams

American soccer player Lance Parker

Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi

Italian swimmer Luca Dotto

Argentine soccer player Lucas Giovini

German soccer player Lukas Podolski

Australian diver Matthew Mitcham

Filipino rugby player Ned Plarizan

English-Filipino soccer player Neil Etheridge

Brazilian soccer player Neymar

Australian rugby player Nick Youngquest

Brazilian soccer player Oscar Emboaba

Australian tennis player Pat Rafter

Filipino Rugby player Patrice Ortiz

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal

American football player Rob Gronkowski

Australian rugby player Sandor Earl

Scottish rugby player Thom Evans

We hope you enjoyed this small sample. Who is your favorite athlete/underwear model?