Mark Kriegel | |
|---|---|
| Education | Swarthmore College Columbia University |
| Occupation(s) | American author Journalist Television commentator |
Mark Kriegel is an American author, journalist, and television commentator. He has been an analyst and essayist for ESPN's boxing programming since 2017 and in 2022 was the recipient of the Boxing Writers Association of America's Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism[1] and is regarded as "perhaps the finest boxing writer in America."[2]
He is the son of author and essayistLeonard Kriegel.[3][circular reference] He grew up inNew York City, and attended Stuyvesant High School,Swarthmore College, and theColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[4]
Kriegel is the author of critically acclaimedNew York Times bestsellers,Namath: A Biography, about Hall of Fame quarterbackJoe Namath, andPistol: the Life of Pete Maravich.[5][6] His 2012 book,The Good Son: The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini – about a boxer's relationship with his father, and a man who died at his hands in the ring – was made into a documentary by the same name.
Kriegel's work often focuses on conflicts between fathers and sons in sports – especially boxing. A front-page column he wrote for theNew York Post, detailing the relationship between boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, Mafia figure Sammy (“the Bull”) Gravano, and Gravano's son, became the basis for his novel,Bless Me, Father, which drew praise from the writer Richard Price, and the Los Angeles Times (which called it “mesmerizing.”)[7][8][9]
He worked as a general assignment reporter atThe Miami Herald andThe New York Daily News. In 1990, his piece for theDaily News Sunday Magazine, “The People’s Court” – an examination of basketball culture in New York – was a finalist for thePulitzer Prize in the Feature Writing category.[10]
The following year, he became a sports columnist at theNew York Post. From 1994 to 2001, he was a columnist at theDaily News. He has also been a national columnist at FOXSports.com, and a contributing writer forEsquire. HisEsquire profile of boxer Oscar De Hoya – “The Great (Almost) White Hope” was anthologized inAt the Fights: American Writers on Boxing andThe Book of Boxing, edited by W.C. Heinz.[11]
Kriegel has been called "the best writer on sports that we have" by Charles Pierce ofEsquire.[12]
In 2011–12, Kriegel hosted a sports-themed interview show,Barfly, forFOX Sports Net.[13] In June, 2012, he joined theNFL Network as an analyst on the launch of its morning show,NFL AM. He contributed essay pieces for the network'sTotal Access show and Sunday features forGame Day Morning. Kriegel also wrote the Emmy-winningAll Access series for Showtime. HisAll Access: Chávez, about the turbulent relationship between the great Mexican boxer,Julio César Chávez, and his son, Julio Jr., explores the same father-son themes Kriegel focused on as a biographer.[14]
He has been part of Emmy-winning teams for theNFL Network (2013 for “Outstanding New Approaches”) and Showtime (2015 for “Outstanding Sports Documentary Series”) forAll Access.[15]
In January, 2016, Showtime launched a digital series, “The Reveal with Mark Kriegel,”[16] featuring deep dive, often emotional interviews with boxers and other sports personalities."
In 2017, he wrote and co-produced a feature-length documentary aboutPrison Fight “Prison Fighters: 5 Rounds to Freedom,” the story of a controversial government program that allows inmates to fight for their freedom in Muay Thai matches. The program, as Kriegel told the New York Post: “Can violent men redeem themselves through violent acts?”[17]
In 2022, Kriegel narrated a tribute package forShad Gaspard's posthumous induction into theWWE Hall of Fame as the class of 2022'sWarrior Award recipient[18][19][20]
He's been a part of three Emmy-winning teams for the NFL Network and Showtime.[21]
Kriegel lives inSanta Monica, California, with his daughter, Holiday.
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