Dan Rafael (; born August 25, 1970) is an American sportswriter known for his coverage of boxing and baseball.

Early life and education

Rafael was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. He attended

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

, where he wrote for the school paper. He started as sports writer, and worked his way to managing editor. He also served an internship at the local newspaper, the '' Press & Sun-Bulletin''.

Career

Baseball

Rafael later took a part-time job at ''

The Saratogian ''The Saratogian'' is a broadsheet-style daily newspaper published in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. The paper has been published daily since 1855, first as ''The Daily Saratogian'', and then as ''The Saratogian'' beginning in 1910. ...

'', a community newspaper published at

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

. When a full-time job opened at the newspaper, he took it, then moved to a reporting position at the ''Press & Sun-Bulletin'', covering college sports and local auto-racing. He later was assigned to cover the

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. Rafael began his course in August 1998. He worked covering major-league baseball. When baseball season ended, the newspaper's principal boxing reporter (Jon Saraceno) was moving up, so Rafael was asked to cover boxing. Rafael's temporary duty at ''USA Today'' ended in December 1998, and he returned to Binghamton.

Boxing

In January 2000, he was asked to return to ''USA Today'' on a permanent basis, as a boxing writer.

ESPN Boxing

In September 2004,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

began pursuing Rafael, desiring to strengthen its boxing coverage. He began with

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

in March 2005. He writes in-depth coverage pieces, and his specialty is his weekly compilation of rankings. In January 2016, ESPN announced Rafael had been signed to a new multi-year agreement.

World Boxing News

Rafael joined World Boxing News in May 2021 following discussions with WBN Editor Phil Jay. Rafael left WBN in early 2022, following financial issues at the outlet. He joined Big Fight Weekend, a boxing podcast, in April 2022.

Awards and recognition

* In 2013 Rafael was awarded the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism from the

Boxing Writers Association of America The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers ...

. * Dead Spin's Iron Mike Gallego recognized Dan Rafael as "The Most Important Journalist in Boxing".Gallego, Mike. ''How ESPN's Dan Rafael Became The Most Important Journalist in Boxing (A Cautionary Tale)''
DeadSpin.com (August 12, 2012)

References

External links

Official BlogTwitter PageFacebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafael, Dan Boxing writers Living people ESPN people American male journalists 1970 births Writers from Albany, New York Binghamton University alumni