One of Grant Wahl’s favorite annual projects when he worked at Sports Illustrated was called MLS Ambition Rankings. And while the piece was far from his most decorated or glamorous work across two decades of storytelling through writing, podcasting or appearing on camera, it did hit on something that perhaps defined him and his career and what drove him the most: ambition.
No swing was too big, no target too out of reach for Wahl, who died suddenly Friday while covering Argentina-Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup. His loss is as shocking as it is devastating, as evidenced by the outpouring of support and sympathy that has followed. Wahl was a force in this industry, and for 24 years, SI was the fortunate beneficiary of that talent. While he became known for being a preeminent voice in the soccer space, Wahl’s work spanned multiple sports, and arguably his most memorable story at SI had nothing to do with soccer—it was the grand reveal of LeBron James to the world, a high school junior at the time dubbed “The Chosen One.”
Multiple magazine covers—college basketball, soccer among them—and countless high-impact and meaningful stories followed. In tribute to his life and his work, we shed light on a small selection of the features that helped define Wahl’s career—and helped Wahl define SI.
