Chris Ballard

Chris Ballard is the author of four books and a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, where he specializes in narrative features. He's also written for the New York Times Magazine, among other publications, and his work has been anthologized in The Best American Magazine Writing and The Best American Sports Writing series. For the last two years, he's taught a class at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Ballard joined SPORTS ILLUSTRATED in September 2000. He has covered the NBA and MLB, written two dozen cover stories, penned the back page "Point After" column and reported on everything from pigeon racing to Jake Plummer's post-football life to the Vancouver riots. He was one of five 2012 finalists for a National Magazine Award in profile writing and was the 2011 winner of The Joanie Award for a story about Cal Berkeley coxswain Jill Costello, who died of lung cancer after her senior year. Five of his stories have been optioned for feature films, including "One Shot." Before joining SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Ballard was an intern at the Courier-Post in Camden, NJ and attended Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. A native Californian, Ballard graduated from Pomona College, where he played basketball and was a mediocre high jumper. He lives in Berkeley with his wife, his two daughters, and two dogs. He thinks every restaurant should serve at least one quality IPA.