Harry James Dent (born 1953) is an American author and sportswriter.

Biography

Dent graduated from

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

and worked for several newspapers and sport magazines. He covered the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) as a sportswriter for 11 years in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1995, Dent wrote the book ''King of the Cowboys: The Life and Times of Jerry Jones'', about Cowboys owner

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. (born October 13, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman who is the owner, president, and General manager (American football), general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought t ...

. He wrote the 2000 book ''The Junction Boys: How Ten Days in Hell with Bear Bryant Forged a Championship Team'', a ''New York Times'' best-selling book about

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

Junction Boys The Junction Boys were the "survivors" of Texas A&M Aggies football coach Bear Bryant's brutal 10-day summer camp in Junction, Texas, beginning September 1, 1954. The ordeal became the subject of a 2001 book by Jim Dent (author), Jim Dent, ''The ...

. He wrote the 2008 book ''Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football'', and the 2014 book ''The Kids Got It Right: How the Texas All-Stars Kicked Down Racial Walls''. In 2001, Dent's book ''The Undefeated: The Oklahoma Sooners and the Greatest Winning Streak in College Football'', was published. The book is an account of the Oklahoma Sooners' 47-game winning streak from 1954 to 1957, which as of 2022 remains the longest winning streak in college football history. Upon release, the book was criticized by many former Oklahoma football players, who were incensed by his depiction of Oklahoma head coach Bud Wilkinson as a cheater and a philandering alcoholic. Dent's critics included quarterback Jimmy Harris and halfback Jakie Sandefer, who respectively described Dent's portrayal of Wilkinson as "a lot of fiction" and "a bunch of lies." Dent nonetheless defended his account, saying "Anybody who says my book is fiction is a first-class liar." In 2002, ESPN released '' The Junction Boys'', a made-for-television movie based on Dent's work. The 2021 film '' 12 Mighty Orphans'', with Luke Wilson,

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

and

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...

, was adapted from Dent's work. , Dent was writing his autobiography, entitled ''Last Call''. In 2003, Dent was sentenced to eight years in prison under a plea agreement with Brazos County, Texas, prosecutors for violating his

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

probation. In 2015, Dent was sentenced to ten years in prison after jumping

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

following his 10th conviction for drunk driving. Dent's drunk driving incidents did not cause any accidents or injuries. While in prison, Dent contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Jim 1953 births Living people American sportswriters Place of birth missing (living people) Southern Methodist University alumni