In an effort to try and seem cool and professional, I’m required by law to write this biography in the third person—as if someone has been hired by Jeff Pearlman to write a bio of Jeff Pearlman.
Eh, that’s not really my style.
So, to be clear. It’s me! Jeff Pearlman! I’m the New York Times best-selling author of seven books. My latest release, “Gunslinger: The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre,” is now available in paperback. I am a former Sports Illustrated senior writer, a former ESPN.com columnist and a former staff writer for Newsday and The (Nashville) Tennessean. I write a weekly column for The Athletic, and contribute to a whole bunch of places, ranging from Bleacher Report to the Wall Street Journal to Sports Illustrated to CNN.com. I also co-host the Sports Parent podcast with my wife, and Two Writers Slinging Yang as a solo artist. I’m a habitual blogger, an addicted Tweeter and a guy who knows how lucky and fortunate he is to make his career as a writer/author/Tom Cruise lookalike. There are plenty of people in this world who hate their jobs; hate starting the day; hate what they do and dream of retirement.
That’s not me. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I do what I love.
If you e-mail me, I will always write back—unless you insult my mother or refer to me as Larry. I’m a former (awful) cross country and track runner at the University of Delaware, I’m a lover of all things Hall and Oates, I have ridiculously thin skin and my wife is only 5-feet tall. We have two children, and a dog, Norma, named after a grandmother.
Of late, I’ve taken to wearing my T-shirts inside out. Which helps explain why, in the above photograph, my T-shirt is inside out.
Some quick facts:
Born and raised: The mean streets of Mahopac, N.Y.
College: University of Delaware.
Wife: The stupendous Catherine Pearlman.
Kids: Casey, Emmett, Enrique, Mel, John, John II, Steve, Edward, Bobby, Malik, Yoba.
Highest moment (not included cliched stuff like wedding, arrival of kids): Being hired by Sports Illustrated after, 15 years earlier, guaranteeing my mom I’d one day work for Sports Illustrated (true story).
Lowest moment: Sitting in my NYC apartment in 1999 and being told my Grandma Marta was dead.
Five favorite musical artists: Hall and Oates. Tupac. A Tribe Called Quest. Blind Melon. MC White Owl.
Five favorite athletes: Ken Griffey, Sr., Garry Templeton, J.R. Richard, Wesley Walker, Ken O’Brien.
Greatest Athletic Achievement: Walking on to the University of Delaware track and cross country teams.
Lowest Athletic Non-Achievement: Placing last in the mile at the East Coast Conference indoor track and field championships, 1991.
Favorite writing spot: Anywhere with hot drinks, wood tables, outlets and some mojo.
Favorite word: Serendipity.
The things I love the most …: My family, writing, playing hoops.
The things I hate the most …: iPhones, loud iPhone talkers, loud iPhone talkers in coffee shops.