Watch while I pull a story out of my hat
How best-selling author Jeff Pearlman keeps wowing his readers

By Rich Trombetta
​March 26, 2022
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If someone asked you 20 years ago to tell the story about what it was like to be the first person to walk on the moon, the obvious person to talk to would have been Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who, on July 20, 1969 famously said, “That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.”

For New York Times best-selling author and prominent sports writer, Jeff Pearlman, Armstrong might not be the first, or second, or even the third person he would need to talk to; in fact he might not need to speak to him at all. Instead Pearlman might want to talk to the NASA staff person who spoke with Armstrong as he buckled him into the rocket or the chef who was in charge of preparing the former naval aviator’s breakfast the day of the launch.

“For me, you actually get fresher, better stories from people who haven't been asked,” Pearlman said. “You also get more accurate stories, because the more someone tells a story, the more they're just remembering the story they've told. And so I just think you actually wind up with better and more original material by talking to people who are participants, but haven't been asked a million times.”

This is the approach Pearlman has taken with his past books such as “Sweetness” about former Chicago Bear, Walter Payton and “Gunslinger” about Green Bay Packer Brett Favre. According to the books’ publishers, Pearlman interviewed over 700 people for “Sweetness” and 500 for “Gunslinger.” Despite being so well researched to provide the reader with something that is entertaining, informative and accurate, some Payton fans demonstrated their hate for the content and Pearlman by burning copies of the book.  

"Showtime" and the Lakers

In 2014 Pearlman wrote “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.” The book, which was the inspiration for HBO’s current hit program, “Winning Time,” shares a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most famous basketball teams of all time. While Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Pat Riley are all in the book’s title, none made themselves available for interviews. Pearlman asked all three but the answer from each was essentially “no thanks.”

“My philosophy has always been that the main figures aren't the most important figures,” Pearlman said. “Magic, Riley and Kareem, they've been asked about that time period 8,000 times and they've told the story 8,000 times. As a journalist you want to be able to get new stuff.”

One of the first things Pearlman does is to go on eBay and purchase all of the media guides from teams and leagues that are somehow connected to the story. For “Showtime” Pearlman again spoke to hundreds of sources, some of which are recognizable to fans of that era of basketball, and some are obscure and unknown to the average person. 

The result is a “Glenn-Gary” list of leads of people who, as Pearlman described, were “participants,” not just observers. The treasure trove of names might include senior executives (the Lakers’ Jerry West for example), players (Bob McAdoo, Kurt Rambis and Michael Cooper), or, even better, the type of person Pearlman salivates over - the assistant-to-the-assistant-to-the-volunteer-intern -  i.e., someone who may have never been asked to share his or her thoughts, “But, since you called, I would be more than happy to chat…”

The magic act

This is where Pearlman, like a journalistic magician, pulls out story gem after story gem, all without the assistance of the stars the audience thought he would need to work with to perform his trick of condensing 12 years of information into 300 pages, propelling him up the best-seller list with HBO optioning the rights. The faces and names on the cover of “Showtime” are merely an illusion with, as Pearlman notes, the real story coming from those who have often been forgotten, have taken a backseat in readers’ memories or were invisible to those in the spotlight at the time.

And it is not to say that this approach is not without risk. Asking an astronaut’s brother what the space mission was like is a step removed from talking to the astronaut him/herself. Pearlman works hard to navigate the calculus of determining fact from fiction, often talking with sources not only for information, but about the personalities and reputations of other individuals he has spoken with.

“You always ask other people about people,” Pearlman said. “Let's say I interview [former Laker] Wes Matthews as an example. I'll ask other Lakers about Matthews, sort of looking for someone to say, “you can't trust that guy” or “he's crazy” or “he's been lying for years.” You cross track as much as you can. If a good majority of it matches up, you're more inclined to believe them.”

Despite all of the cross checking, talking to sources and extensive research, Pearlman does acknowledge a flaw in the process of writing a biography: the author is relying on someone’s memory of an event that may have taken place years ago. 

“If someone tells you a story about the time they got their first dog and they tell you the dog's name is Fluffy, well, you have to put faith in someone that the dog's name was actually Fluffy and they were four years old and their dad gave it them and they started crying,” Pearlman said. 

While no one has a crystal ball - not even the Houdini-like Pearlman - it does appear that “Winning Time” on HBO is well positioned for a long run on the network. And, just like a good magician, Pearlman is one step ahead of the audience, having already written and published “Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty.” 
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Maybe Pearlman is the one who should have had the nickname “Magic.”