Dan Shaughnessy (born July 20, 1953) is an American sports writer. He has covered the Boston Red Sox for '' The Boston Globe'' since 1981. In 2016, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

. Shaughnessy is often referred to by his nickname "Shank," given by the 1980s

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

team for the often unflattering and critical nature of his articles.

Career

Shaughnessy was born in Groton, Massachusetts. After graduating from Groton High School, Shaughnessy subsequently attended the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

, graduating in 1975. He began his career as a beat reporter covering the Baltimore Orioles for the '' Baltimore Evening Sun'' in 1977 and 1978. He then was the national baseball writer for '' The Washington Star'' from 1979 until the newspaper folded in 1981. He has been a sports writer for '' The Boston Globe'' since September, 1981. During that time, he has served as the beat writer for the

and the Boston Red Sox, as well as a sports columnist for the Globe. Shaughnessy has authored or contributed to several sports-related books, including on the fierce Yankees–Red Sox rivalry. His book, ''

The Curse of the Bambino The Curse of the Bambino was a superstitious Sports-related curses, sports curse in Major League Baseball (MLB) derived from the List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts#Longest World Series championship droughts through hist ...

'', details the travails of the Boston Red Sox and their search for a World Series championship after selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. He subsequently wrote ''Reversing the Curse'' after the Red Sox won the

2004 World Series The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...

. He is a contributor to '' ESPN The Magazine'', and a regular guest on a Sunday night sports show, ''Sports Xtra''. Shaughnessy discusses sports and current events on radio shows airing on WTKK; on ESPN's ''Rome Is Burning''; and on NESN's ''SportsPlus'' and ''Globe 10.0''. On July 9, 2008, he made his debut as a guest host on the ESPN show ''Pardon the Interruption''. He has a weekend radio show on WBZ-FM alongside Adam Jones. Considered by some Red Sox fans and players as being overly negative and critical, he earned the pejorative nickname "Curly-Haired Boyfriend" from former Red Sox player Carl Everett. In an October 2005 column Shaugnnessy revealed information detailing negotiations between then-Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino. Shaughnessy and other ''Globe'' writers were accused by writers at the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' of routinely reporting information leaked from the Red Sox front office (the Red Sox were 17.75 percent owned by The New York Times Company, the Globe's parent company). Then–''

'' columnist Tony Massarotti accused Red Sox management of smearing Epstein and suggested the ''Globe''s coverage of the negotiations may be conflicted because of the Times ownership in the team. In the weeks leading up to Epstein's decision, Red Sox owner John Henry said the leaks "had to stop". In 2013, Shaughnessy and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona released ''Francona'', a biography focusing on Francona's years as manager of the Red Sox. The book immediately became a best-seller. On December 8, 2015, Shaughnessy was named the 2016 recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, presented annually by the Baseball Writers' Association of America "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". He was presented with the award during induction weekend at the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

in July 2016.

Personal life

He is married to Marilou Wit, with whom he has three children, Sarah, Kate, and Sam. He is the uncle of tennis player Meghann Shaughnessy.

Bibliography

* * ''Reversing the Curse''; (hardcover), (paperback) * ''The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino''; * ''The Curse of the Bambino''; * ''Fenway, Expanded and Updated: A Biography in Words and Pictures'', with

Stan Grossfeld Stan Grossfeld (born December 20, 1951) is an associate editor at ''The Boston Globe'' who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for photojournalism. He was born in New York City and graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Professi ...

; (hardcover), (paperback) * ''Spring Training: Baseball's Early Season''; * ''At Fenway: Dispatches from Red Sox Nation''; * ''Seeing Red: The Red Auerbach Story''; (hardcover), (paperback) * ''Ever Green the Boston Celtics: A History in the Words of Their Players, Coaches, Fans and Foes, from 1946 to the Present''; * ''One Strike Away: The Story of the 1986 Red Sox''; *

References

External links

Article on Shaughnessy

Dan Shaughnessy's Current Columns: ''The Boston Globe''

Dan Shaughnessy Bio:WTKK
*
On NECN to discuss the controversy over Theo Epstein

Dan Shaughnessy
Author/Illustrator Bio,

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Financial Dist ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaughnessy, Dan 1953 births Living people College of the Holy Cross alumni BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipients People from Groton, Massachusetts Sports in Boston The Boston Globe people Writers from Massachusetts Sportswriters from Massachusetts