Reilly began his career in 1979 as an undergraduate assistant with the
Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado. He left the
Camera in 1981 to be a football writer on the sports staff of the
Denver Post, then on to the
Los Angeles Times in 1983 before joining
Sports Illustrated in 1985. By some accounts, during his prime he was considered the preeminent sportswriter in the United States. Reilly officially left SI during the week of November 29, 2007, after 23 years with the magazine to join ESPN. At ESPN, his column “Life of Reilly” appeared in
ESPN The Magazine (also on the last page) and on ESPN.com. On March 10, 2010, Reilly announced that he would no longer be writing his opinion column for the magazine, but was going to a regular essay on
SportsCenter. On March 12, 2014, he announced his retirement from sports writing, and his last column was published on ESPN.com on June 10, 2014. ESPN announced that he would continue working for them in a television-only capacity, including SportsCenter and Sunday NFL Countdown.
Awards Reilly has been voted
NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year eleven times. He is second only to the late
Jim Murray of the
Los Angeles Times (14) in number of times winning that award. His work has also been recognized by the prestigious
Newspaper Guild of New York's
Page One Award for Best Magazine Story.
Film Reilly co-wrote the screenplay for
Leatherheads, a film directed by
George Clooney, starring Clooney,
Renée Zellweger and
John Krasinski and released in April 2008. Reilly's first novel,
Missing Links, has been optioned for development as a feature film.
Style Slate's
Josh Levin noted that Reilly had an affinity for discussing pro athletes and their accomplishments via tooth jokes. He is especially harsh on dental flossing. He described
Tiger Woods's 2002 victory at Augusta as suspenseful as flossing, riding
Lance Armstrong's team car about as boring as flossing sharks, would rather floss crocodiles than go skydiving, and stated
John Elway's perfect endorsement product would be
Johnson & Johnson dental floss.
Editorial stances In 2002, after
Sammy Sosa's public assertion that if baseball initiated testing for
performance-enhancing drugs, he "wanted to be first in line", Reilly suggested that he submit to preemptive, voluntary testing. "Why wait to see what the players' association will do?" Reilly asked. "Why not step up right now and be tested? Show everybody you're clean." Sosa refused, angrily. Reilly described the incident in his column the following week. Reilly has also been a frequent critic of former San Francisco Giants star
Barry Bonds for his treatment of his teammates, his off-field behavior and his alleged steroid use. Reilly had long defended cyclist
Lance Armstrong against accusations of using illegal performance enhancements, in part because his own reporting turned up no evidence corroborating the allegations that had been made against Armstrong over the years. When Armstrong confessed in January 2013 after many years of denials, Reilly wrote a strongly critical piece about Armstrong, saying that he had spent 14 years "polishing a legend that turned out to be plated in fool's gold."
Nothing But Nets In 2006, Reilly wrote a column in
Sports Illustrated about a program dedicated to providing anti-
malaria nets to African children at a cost of $10 per net. His request for contributions elicited a response from thousands and led to the creation of the
Nothing But Nets foundation in partnership with the
United Nations Foundation.
Bibliography Reilly's books include: •
The Boz – (Doubleday, 1988) – Co-author of the best-selling autobiography of Oklahoma linebacker
Brian Bosworth. •
Gretzky – (
HarperCollins, 1990) – The autobiography of hockey superstar,
Wayne Gretzky. Reilly was the co-author with Gretzky. • ''I'd Love to but I Have a Game'' – (Doubleday, 1993) – Co-author with announcer
Marv Albert. •
Sir Charles – The Wit and Wisdom of Charles Barkley – (Warner Books, 1994) – Co-author with
Charles Barkley. •
Missing Links – (Doubleday, 1996) – A novel about an eccentric group of golfers who are regulars at the worst public golf course in America. •
Slo Mo! – (Doubleday, 1999) – A fictional diary of a naive 7'8" kid taken from high school to the
NBA. •
The Life of Reilly – (Total Sports Illustrated, 2000) - An anthology of Reilly's best early works from Sports Illustrated. A New York Times bestseller. • ''Who's Your Caddy'' – (Doubleday, 2003) – A collection of stories about Reilly caddying for several remarkable people ranging from
Donald Trump to the blind golfing world champion. A New York Times bestseller. •
Shanks for Nothing – (Doubleday, 2006) – This sequel to Missing Links cracked
The New York Times bestseller list. Like
Missing Links, it revolves around the antics and camaraderie of the regulars of the
Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Links and Deli. •
Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly – (
Sports Illustrated, 2007) – An anthology consisting of one-hundred Reilly's best weekly articles from 2000 to 2006. An instant success, it hit
The New York Times bestseller list in its first week. • ''Sports from hell – my search for the world's dumbest competition'' – (
Doubleday, 2010) • ''Tiger, meet my sister... ...and other things I probably shouldn't have said'' – (
Blue Rider Press, 2014) •
Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump – (Hachette Books, 2019) – An on-the-ground and behind-the-scenes look at
Donald Trump's
ethics on and off the course. •
So Help Me Golf – (
Hatchette Books, 2022) ==Personal life==