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Jeff Pearlman | |
|---|---|
 Pearlman in 2023 | |
| Born | 1972 (age 52-53) Mahopac, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1996–present |
| Spouse | Catherine Pearlman |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | |
| jeffpearlman | |
Jeff Pearlman (born 1972) is an American sportswriter. He has written nine books that have appeared onThe New York Times Best Seller list: four about football, three on baseball and two about basketball. He authored the 1999John Rocker interview inSports Illustrated.[1]
Pearlman was born and raised inMahopac, New York. He got his start in journalism in 1989, when he interned at a weekly newspaper inCross River, titledThe Patent Trader. After graduating from theUniversity of Delaware, he was hired as a food and fashion writer byThe Tennessean inNashville. In 1996, Pearlman was hired bySports Illustrated, where he spent nearly seven years as a baseball writer.
In 2002, Pearlman leftSports Illustrated and spent the next two years atNewsday, but left to focus on writing books. He also keeps a personal online blog, where he posts a weekly Q&A series, The Quaz, with athletes, politicians, actors, singers and many random people. He has also used the site to write about such intimate issues as seeing a rival book get publicity inSports Illustrated, where he worked,[2] or finding blood in his feces after using the toilet.[3]
He was a frequent contributor toESPN.com's Page 2, then as a columnist for SI.com. No stranger to controversy, Pearlman used his own website as a forum to call out the Christian missionary goals of Tim Tebow's father as "pretty evil." In the fall of 2007, Pearlman wrote several controversial articles on Page 2 regarding the lack of a rivalry between theUniversity of Delaware's andDelaware State University's football teams. UD and DSU finally played a football game on November 23, 2007, at part of theNCAA Division I FCS playoffs. Delaware won the game with a score of 44–7.
Pearlman was advisor to the student newspaper atManhattanville College from 2011 to 2012, but his contract was not renewed because, according to Pearlman, the college was more concerned about "image control" than about producing "a quality student newspaper."[4][5]
Pearlman is the author ofThe Bad Guys Won, a biography of the1986 New York Mets subtitled, "A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo-chasing and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, The Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform--and Maybe the Best." In 2004, the book spent eight weeks onThe New York Times Best Seller list.[6]
Pearlman followed that up with his 2006 publication ofLove Me, Hate Me, anunauthorized biography ofBarry Bonds for which the author said he interviewed 524 subjects. Pearlman said that becauseLove Me, Hate Me was released three weeks afterGame of Shadows, it quickly faded. His third book,Boys Will Be Boys, on the 1990sDallas Cowboys dynasty, spent 10 weeks on theNew York Times bestseller's list.[7]
Pearlman's fourth book, a biography ofRoger Clemens titledThe Rocket That Fell to Earth, was released by HarperCollins on March 24, 2009. The book is a detailed account of Clemens' life on and off the baseball field.[8] Pearlman next wroteSweetness, a 2011 biography ofWalter Payton, the Chicago Bears running back.[9]
In March 2014, Pearlman releasedShowtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, a biography of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. It became his fourthNew York Times best seller. The book was adapted into theHBO docudrama seriesWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which was released in 2022.[10]
His seventh book, a biography ofBrett Favre titledGunslinger, was released in October 2016 and spent considerable time on theNew York Times bestseller's list. InGunslinger, Pearlman chronicles Favre's life, from his early years in Kiln, Mississippi and playing quarterback for the high school team coached by his father, through his years at the University of Southern Mississippi and his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. In addition to reporting on Favre's football career, Pearlman also addresses Favre's life off the field, including his marriage and family life as well as his problems with alcohol and pain medication. Pearlman did not interview Favre for the book but he did interview some of Favre's family members and many teammates and coaches.[11]
Pearlman wroteFootball for a Buck, released in 2018, about theUnited States Football League.[12] It spent several months on theNew York Times Best Seller list.
In 2020, Pearlman releasedThree-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty, about the 2000s Los Angeles Lakers.[13] In 2022, Pearlman releasedThe Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson, a biography ofBo Jackson.[14]
Pearlman and his wife, Catherine, have two children: a daughter and a son.[15]
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