Joel Sherman
Joel Sherman (1962-), nicknamed "GI Joel," is a top American Scrabble expert who has been chronicled in Stefan Fatsis' book "Word Freak" as well as Eric Chaikin's film "Word Wars" and mentioned in CollinsGem's reference book "mental_floss presents: INSTANT KNOWLEDGE." He was born in the Bronx, NY, to unusually short parents. He also has made appearances in Scrabylon and Word Wars. Word Freak lists some of his other hobbies as Movies and running Club #56. He still lives in the house he was brought up in with his dad Mike and his brother Larry. His name was derived from his many health problems including mucus build up when he drinks water.
Sherman's major Scrabble tournament victories include:
- World Scrabble Championship - Washington, DC (1997)
- National Scrabble Championship - San Diego, CA (2002)
Since beginning his career in 1988, he has played at least 3,400 tournament games, winning about 64%, and earning at least $102,000 in prize money. He is director of N.S.A. club #56, which meets weekly in New York, NY.