Chris Ballard (born December 13, 1973) is an American

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

and a senior writer at

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

. Ballard has written books on a variety of sport subjects, including ''Hoops Nation'', which was named one of

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

’s Top Ten Sports Books of 1998, and ''The art of a beautiful game: the thinking fan’s tour of the NBA''.

Career

Ballard joined ''Sports Illustrated'' in September 2000 after working as a sports journalist at the

Courier-Post The ''Courier-Post'' is a morning daily newspaper that serves South Jersey in the Delaware Valley. It is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and serves most of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The paper has 30,313 daily paid subscri ...

in Camden,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. His 2012 book, ''One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season'' chronicles the story of the baseball team, the Macon Ironmen in

Macon, Illinois Macon is a city in Macon County, Illinois, United States whose population was 1,177 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies south of Decatur. History The city was named after Nathani ...

during its improbable run to the 1971 Illinois state baseball championship tournament. In the October 22, 2012 edition of Sports Illustrated, Ballard wrote a feature article that once again focused on a small town high school baseball team and in particular, the coach, David Warrenfeltz. The story described events that affected the

Williamsport, Maryland Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,137 as of 2010. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. William ...

team in early 2012 when the team’s star pitcher and his girlfriend were killed in an automobile accident. Despite the loss, the team rallied around its coach and proceeded to win the Maryland state high school championship. The 25-year-old Warrenfeltz was also a close friend and

Williamsport High School Williamsport High School is a public high school in Williamsport, Washington County, Maryland, United States. Baseball team The school's baseball team, and its coach David Warrenfeltz, were the subject of a 2012 ''Sports Illustrated'' ar ...

teammate of former

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

pitcher Nick Adenhart who was killed in an auto accident in 2009. Ballard has also written feature articles for ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Ballard graduated from

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

and currently resides in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

with his wife and children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Chris American sportswriters Living people Pomona College alumni 1973 births