JockBio.com is the brainchild of three partners: Mark Stewart, Mike Kennedy and Ron Jaffe. Together we’ve written and designed more than 100 sports books. You’ve probably seen our work before on the shelves of your local library or public school or at your favorite book store. We also benefit from the hard work of a crew of dedicated contributing editors and interns.

JockBio is your chance to sample our collective talents free of charge. Scroll down to find out more about each one of us.

Mark Stewart Writer/Editor

Mark is one of the most prolific sports biographers in the world, with more than 70 books and hundreds of athlete profiles to his credit. A graduate of Duke University, he has been active in sports journalism since the 1980s. Mark put in a four-year stint as editor of Racquet Magazine before launching a successful freelance career a decade ago. Since then he has worked with the NBA, NFL and NCAA, and contributed to a number of sports magazines, including Street & Smith and SportScene. Mark has also edited the show daily for The Super Show sporting goods convention for 14 years. His first foray into the world of sports biographies came in the mid 1990s, when he helped to create and execute IMP’s groundbreaking Sports Heroes, Feats & Facts project. At the same time he collaborated on a series of books with 30 different athletes, including John Elway, Florence Griffith-Joyner and Martin Brodeur. Mark also wrote Tiger By The Tale, the first biography of Tiger Woods. Among the books he has authored in the past year are biographies of Kevin Garnett, Mario Lemieux, and Jackie Stiles. An experienced interviewer, Mark has worked with countless luminaries in and out of the sports world. He is pictured above interviewing Dr. Mehmet Oz for MAR Magazine. Mark is the Managing Editor of MAR.

You can e-mail Mark at jockbio@earthlink.net

Mike Kennedy Writer/Editor

Mike ranks among the busiest sportswriters in the business. In the last five years, he has authored or collaborated on more than 30 books. Among his recent works are Kidd Rocks (Jason Kidd), Quest for Gold (Michelle Kwan), and En Fuego, a bilingual series on the starts of Latino baseball. Mike is also the lead author for Grolier’s new sports series, published by its Franklin Watts division. Already on the shelves are books on Soccer, Skateboarding, Roller Hockey,Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Ice Hockey. Each book traces the history of the sport it covers, offers helpful playing tips, and profiles all-time great players. A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, Mike enjoys golf and plays to a 15 handicap.

You can e-mail Mike at jockbio@earthlink.net

Ron Jaffe Layout/Design

Ron comes to JockBio.com by way of the retail side of publishing. Formerly the Senior Director of Marketing at Waldenbooks, he has had a hand in hundreds of publishing projects in every conceivable category. He designed the popular New Wave sports series for Millbrook Press, and produced more than three dozen titles for that company. Other past and present clients include MasterCard, BBC Audiobooks America, Earth Satellite Corporation, Viking/Penguin, Simon & Schuster, and Grolier. During his 17 years at Waldenbooks, he conceived, designed and published more than 400 original titles, and oversaw partnerships with the likes of Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company, Jim Henson Productions, DC Comics, Kodak, Anheuser Busch/Sea World and Prevention Magazine. Ron also was co-publisher of Third Story Books and publisher of Longmeadow Press.

You can e-mail Ron at jockbio@earthlink.net

Bill Mehlman

Bill Mehlman has written for publications as diverse as MAR magazine (the Breeders Cup), the Boston Globe (op eds), Carpenter (features about construction and the union) and numerous obscure zines (poetry). A graduate of Yale with a degree in English, he got sidetracked and wound up spending twenty years as a professional chef and owned a number of businesses including a jazz club in Harlem. He lives in New York City, where, in addition to writing (that novel will get finished in '08) and freelance copyediting, he is a full-time, ineluctable Yankees fan.

You can e-mail Bill at jockbio@earthlink.net

Jim Sargent

Jim Sargent is a longtime Professor of American History and Dean of the Social Science Division at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, Virginia. Growing up in Flint, Michigan, in the 1950s, he played sandlot sports, varsity football and basketball at Kearsley High, and YMCA League basketball. He attended Flint Junior College, worked for two years, and graduated from Eastern Michigan. After teaching American History and coaching basketball and baseball at Stockbridge and Frankfort from 1964 to 1967, he spent the next three years at Michigan State earning the Master’s and Ph.D. in Twentieth Century U.S. History. He taught American History on the college level for seven years before moving to Virginia Western in 1977. Starting in 1992 with onetime Tiger heroes Charley Maxwell and Ray Boone, Jim has interviewed and profiled more than one hundred former pro athletes in baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. He enjoys interviewing and writing about former ball players, especially those whose careers occurred during the decades of the 1930s through the 1970s. George Yardley is one of the first class individuals and athletes Jim was fortunate enough to talk to and write about. As he likes to say, “I wasn’t good enough to compete at that level, so this is my way of playing the game.” Jim is currently co-authoring former MSU baseball coach Danny Litwhiler's memoir, Danny Litwhiler: Living the Baseball Dream, to be published by Temple University Press in October 2006.

His JockBio Legend : George Yardley

You can e-mail Jim at jockbio@earthlink.net

Dan Rosenbaum

Dan is familiar to sports fans from his stints as senior editor for World Tennis and Tennis Magazine, between 1988 and 2002. He served for many years as a copy editor on the city sports desk for The New York Times, and has written for a number of magazines, including Rolling Stone, Men's Journal, Vogue, YM and Premiere. Dan's passion is collecting rare books.

His JockBio: Jeff Kent

You can e-mail Dan at jockbio@earthlink.net

Russell Dinnage

Russell has dreamed of being a journalist since he first sat down to write sports articles for his high school newspaper. Growing up as an American living overseas, he became a passionate soccer fan, and has written extensively on the sport. He has cut his teeth at The Intelligencer Journal, the daily newspaper in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he attends Franklin & Marshall College. Russell remains devoted to soccer, catching action from the European Champions League on television whenever possible.

His JockBio: Michael Owen

You can e-mail Russell at jockbio@earthlink.net

William Gould

WIlliam Gould's name was last seen in mainstream print during the 1970s, when his freelance work appeared in several national magazines, including Rolling Stone. After graduating from the University of Denver, where he was managing editor of the school paper, William went over to the Dark Side and joined the world of industrial capital equipment, air pollution control systems, and financial services. A love of sports and long-neglected literary itch precipitated his reemergence as a writer.

His JockBio: Pat Burrell

You can e-mail William at jockbio@earthlink.net

Phillip Vaughn (Philip Von Borries)

Phillip Vaughn (Philip Von Borries) is the author of four baseball books, including American Gladiator: The Short Life And Hard Times Of Pete Browning; Ameridi: An American Baseball Reader and Louisville Diamonds. His baseball bylines have appeared in The Oakland Athletics Magazine, The Chicago Cubs Program Magazine, The Washington Times, Sports Collectors Digest and Oldtyme Baseball News. Phillip’s baseball background also includes historical work on Pete Browning’s new grave marker, dedicated in 1984 during the centennial anniversary of the Louisville Slugger bat.

One of the few turfwriters to have won both the Eclipse Award (Thoroughbred Racing) and the John Hervey Award (Harness Racing), Von Borries has written for numerous American, Canadian and European publications, among them The Thoroughbred Record, The Kentucky Derby Magazine, The European Racehorse, The Thoroughbred Times, The Blood-Horse, The Daily Racing Form, Turf & Sport Digest, Hoofbeats and The Standardbred. The author of Racelines and RaceLens, he has also done extensive publicity for the Arlington Million and the Kentucky Derby; television production work on the latter for ABC-TV; and appeared as an extra in two horse racing movies: Sylvester and Seabiscuit.

You can e-mail Phillip at jockbio@earthlink.net

Andy Collins

Andy has been a successful advertising writer since 1986, but his passion has always been sports. A cum laude graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University, he first wrote sports for the Oneida Daily Dispatch, and then for the Evening Times in Little Falls, NY. After covering the now-defunct Class-A Little Falls Mets, Andy jumped to a Syracuse ad agency, and has been there ever since. He is still the proud owner of thousands of '60s and '70s baseball cards from his youth (when wax packs cost a dime!). Andy lives near Syracuse with his wife Jo-vanna and daughters Emily and Julia. Both girls have grown up at the ballpark, as the Collins family has held season tickets for the AAA Syracuse SkyChiefs for the past 10 years.

His JockBio: Vernon Wells

You can e-mail Andy at jockbio@earthlink.net

Mary Ellen Sweeney

Mary Ellen Sweeney has been a magazine writer and editor since 1987, when she joined the staff of TFH Publications. She has authored more than a dozen books on tropical fish and is considered one of the foremost authorities in her field. Mary Ellen has also worked for AT&T‚s Artificial Intelligence Department. Somewhere in between marine organisms and scientists falls the realm of athletics. The daughter-in-law of one of Ireland‚s legendary track coaches, she has been sideswiping sports for years, but her Maria Sharapova JockBio marks the first time she has written on the subject. 

Her JockBio: Maria Sharapova

You can e-mail Mary Ellen at jockbio@earthlink.net

Usman Ahmed

A Pre-Journalism Major at the University of Illinois, Usman Ahmed is a sports junkie. When he‚s not watching a game on TV—his favorite teams are the Bulls, Cubs, AC Milan and Real Madrid—Usman can be found playing pick-up basketball. Currently he's an editor at KrazyGamers.com, a web site devoted to anime and video games. He has traveled extensively through France, England, Italy, and Germany, and donates time to a variety of volunteer organizations. Usman hopes to one day write for the Chicago Tribune.

You can e-mail Usman at jockbio@earthlink.net

Dennis Dougherty

Dennis has always wanted to be a sports broadcaster—ever since he was old enough to tell a baseball from a basketball. He played football and competed in shot put, discus and the 100-meter dash in high school. Currently, Dennis is a senior at the University of Illinois, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. A passionate football, he boasts about being a Chicago Bears and Fighting Illini season ticket holder simultaneously, when both teams played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. He is still active in intramural sports with his fraternity, Sig Eps.

You can e-mail Dennis at jockbio@earthlink.net

Matt Downey

A Chicago sports fan, Matt Downey is a junior at the University of Illinois. He started his college career as a Journalism Major, but is now working towards a degree in Finance. His professional experience includes an internship for a real estate development company, where he helped forecast sales and construction, and used mapping software to identify feasible markets. Sports have always been one of Matt's passions. He played baseball, football and tennis in high school, and roots hard for the Cubs, Bulls and Bears.

You can e-mail Matt at jockbio@earthlink.net

Jeff Feyerer

The only thing Jeff has ever wanted to do is feed his love of sports. Working toward his bachelor's degree in sports management at the University of Illinois, he is a weekly columnist and writer for the Daily Illini, and stays involved with various other campus activities. He has also served as an intern for two summers at ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago. A diehard White Sox, Bulls and Illini fan, his earliest sports memories are watching the Packers and Notre Dame football. Jeff is an NFL Draft fanatic, and hopes to work in college scouting or personnel for an NFL team, while also pursuing a coaching career in coaching.

You can e-mail Jeff at jockbio@earthlink.net

Susan McKenna

Susan's two professional passions are sports and writing. Currently the full-time Internet services director at the University of Illinois Alumni Association, she's responsible for the technical, editorial and visual aspects of all UIAA Web projects, including hands-on creation of Web pages, text and images. She also serves as an ambassador for the school on alumni tours throughout the world.

Before joining the UIAA, Susan was vice president of Precision Graphics in Champaign. There she worked for 12 years as an illustrator and manager of the composition, illustration and advanced media departments. Susan earned a bachelor's degree in Organizational and Occupational Studies from Eastern Illinois University, where she received the 2000 Student Excellence Award. She's working on a master's degree in journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Her JockBio: Gene Davis

You can e-mail Susan at jockbio@earthlink.net

Mike Szwaja

Mike is born and bred Chicago sports fan. A senior studying journalism at the University of Illinois, he is a sportswriter for the school’s independent student newspaper, The Daily Illini. Mike has penned more than 80 columns to date. He is also active in campus affairs. For the past two years, Mike has served as a public relations director for the Illini Pride Executive Board, which organizes support groups for every NCAA team on campus.

You can e-mail Mike at jockbio@earthlink.net