Harry James Dent (born 1953) is an American author and sportswriter.

Biography

Dent graduated from

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

and worked for several newspapers and sport magazines. He covered the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) as a sportswriter for 11 years in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1995, Dent wrote the book ''King of the Cowboys: The Life and Times of Jerry Jones'', about Cowboys owner

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman who has been the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) since February 1989. Early life Jones was born in Los Ange ...

. He wrote the 2000 book ''The Junction Boys: How Ten Days in Hell with Bear Bryant Forged a Championship Team'', a ''New York Times'' best-selling book about

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

Junction Boys The Junction Boys were the "survivors" of Texas A&M Aggies football coach Bear Bryant's 10-day summer camp in Junction, Texas, beginning September 1, 1954. The ordeal became the subject of a 2001 book by Jim Dent, ''The Junction Boys'',

. He wrote the 2008 book ''Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football'', and the 2014 book ''The Kids Got It Right: How the Texas All-Stars Kicked Down Racial Walls''. In 2001, Dent's book ''The Undefeated: The Oklahoma Sooners and the Greatest Winning Streak in College Football'', was published. The book is an account of the Oklahoma Sooners' 47-game winning streak from 1954 to 1957, which as of 2022 remains the longest winning streak in college football history. Upon release, the book was criticized by many former Oklahoma football players, who were incensed by his depiction of Oklahoma head coach

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

as a cheater and a philandering alcoholic. Dent's critics included quarterback Jimmy Harris and halfback Jakie Sandefer, who respectively described Dent's portrayal of Wilkinson as "a lot of fiction" and "a bunch of lies." Dent nonetheless defended his account, saying "Anybody who says my book is fiction is a first-class liar." In 2002, ESPN released '' The Junction Boys'', a made-for-television movie based on Dent's work. The 2021 film ''

12 Mighty Orphans ''12 Mighty Orphans'' is a 2021 American sports film which was directed by Ty Roberts from a screenplay by Roberts, Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer. It is based upon the non fiction book ''Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Migh ...

'', with

Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), ''My Dog Skip'' (2000), ''Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), ''Id ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

and

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

, was adapted from Dent's work. , Dent was writing his autobiography, entitled ''Last Call''. In 2003, Dent was sentenced to eight years in prison under a plea agreement with

Brazos County, Texas Brazos County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 233,849. The county seat is Bryan. Along with Brazoria County, the county is named for the Brazos River, which forms its western border. The ...

, prosecutors for violating his

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

probation. In 2015, Dent was sentenced to ten years in prison after jumping

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

following his 10th conviction for drunk driving. Dent's drunk driving incidents did not cause any accidents or injuries. While in prison, Dent contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Jim 1953 births Living people American sportswriters Place of birth missing (living people) Southern Methodist University alumni