Chris Ballard

Chris Ballard, a Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated for 20 years, is the author of five books, including The Art of a Beautiful Game and One Shot at Forever, which won an Alex Award. Ballard has also written for The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic, among other publications, and is the winner of the Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting. He has taught narrative writing and other courses at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and eight of his stories have appeared in The Best American Sports Writing.

At Sports Illustrated, Ballard covered the NBA and MLB, wrote 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 winner of The Joanie Award for a story about Cal Berkeley coxswain Jill Costello, who died of lung cancer after her senior year. Eight of his stories have been optioned for feature films, along with One Shot at Forever, which is currently in development.

Before joining SI, Ballard worked as a bartender, wrote for the Courier-Post in Camden, NJ, and attended Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. A native Californian, he graduated from Pomona College, where he played basketball and was a mediocre high jumper. He now lives in Berkeley and occasionally convinces friends and family to join him for winter swims in the Bay.