Sal Paolantonio is a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-based bureau reporter for ESPN. Since joining ESPN in 1995, Paolantonio has become a staple in their NFL coverage, as he contributes to shows such as ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

Sunday NFL Countdown ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' (officially ''Sunday NFL Countdown presented by Snickers'') is an American pregame television program that covers the NFL action for that week. The show airs on ESPN in the United States and TSN in Canada from 10 a.m. to ...

'' (from a game site) and ''

Monday Night Countdown ''ESPN Monday Night Countdown'' (officially ''Monday Night Countdown presented by Subway'') is an American pregame television program that is broadcast on ESPN, preceding ''Monday Night Football''. When it debuted in 1993 as ''NFL Prime Monday'' ...

'' (from the ''

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'' site). In 2004, he added studio work to his duties, replacing

Suzy Kolber Suzy Kolber (; born ) is an American football sideline reporter, co- producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, and rejoined ...

as the host of ''

NFL Matchup ''NFL Matchup'' is a National Football League (NFL) preview show that airs every week during the regular season and playoffs. At various times, the official name was based on the current sponsor in the format '' ponsor NameNFL Matchup''. Since 201 ...

'', an X's and O's football show; joining him are

Louis Riddick Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

and

Greg Cosell Greg Cosell is an NFL analyst and a senior producer at NFL Films. He is the nephew of late broadcaster Howard Cosell. Cosell is highly regarded by NFL insiders for his football knowledge. Born in Queens, New York, Cosell attended Amherst Colle ...

. His best known work for ESPN was his coverage of the

Terrell Owens Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), nicknamed T.O., is an American football wide receiver for the Knights of Degen of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. Regar ...

saga with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Paolantonio has also been an adjunct professor at

St. Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

in Philadelphia since 2001.

Early life

A native of

Stewart Manor, New York Stewart Manor is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 1,896 at the 2010 census. History Stewart Manor had been called Sunrise Gardens between 1925 and 1927, after ...

, Paolantonio attended

Sewanhaka High School Sewanhaka High School is a six-year public high school located in Floral Park, New York. It is part of the Sewanhaka Central High School District. Sewanhaka High School was established in 1929. Its name translates to "Island of Shells" in English ...

. He graduated from the

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He also attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, where he received a master's degree in journalism in 1978. Paolantonio served as a Surface Warfare officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1979 to 1983 where he was awarded the United Nations Medal in 1983. He served aboard and the .

Career

Prior to joining ESPN, he was a political reporter and

beat reporter for ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' from 1993 to 1995. During that time he also served as a reporter for

WPHL-TV WPHL-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and has studios in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia; it maintains a ...

nightly news show, ''Inquirer News Tonight'' and hosted ''Saturday Morning Sports Page'' on WIP sports radio. In 1993, he published his first book, a biography of

Frank L. Rizzo Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democ ...

entitled ''The Last Big Man in Big City America''. In 2018, he published ''Philly Special: The Inside Story of How the Philadelphia Eagles Won Their First Super Bowl Championship''. In 2007, he and fellow sports journalist

Reuben Frank Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese ...

put out ''The Paolantonio Report: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches, and Moments in NFL History''. It has been the best-selling NFL book in the country (October 11, 2007) according to

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. He went on to make the provocative claim in his 2008 folk history, ''How Football Explains America'', that the competition informed the public morality on integration and consciously developed in the mid-20th century into an almost mythic spectacle. With its origins in the closing of the Turnerian frontier, the NFL league, rather than baseball, apparently broke down the

color barrier Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...

in sports.

Personal life

Paolantonio has been a resident of

Haddon Township, New Jersey Haddon Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,407, an increase of 700 (+4.8%) from the 2010 census count of 14,707, in turn reflecting an increase of 56 (+0 ...

. He later moved to nearby Moorestown.Aleardi, Marianne (July 2013)
"Ten Questions: Sal Paolantonio; The ESPN correspondent talks sports, politics and Uncle Bill's Pancake House"
''South Jersey Magazine''. Accessed January 11, 2018. "A resident of Moorestown, Paolantonio spends the NFL season watching, talking, breathing football." His given name is Salvatore Anthony Nicholas Paolantonio.

Awards

* * * *

References

External links

Sal Paolantonio's ESPN BioSal Paolantonio at ESPN.comSal Paolantonio at ESPN.tv
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paolantonio, Sal Living people American television sports announcers American writers of Italian descent People from Haddon Township, New Jersey People from Moorestown, New Jersey Sportspeople from Queens, New York The Philadelphia Inquirer people United States Navy sailors State University of New York at Oneonta alumni New York University alumni Saint Joseph's University faculty Sportspeople from the Delaware Valley Writers from New Jersey National Football League announcers Writers from Queens, New York American male non-fiction writers United States Navy officers Military personnel from New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)