From Small Town Iowa to the Sports Data Big Leagues

If you had asked Sean Forman ’94 what he’d be doing more than two decades post-graduation, running a leading online sports stats hub probably wouldn’t have been his first answer.

When the Manning, Iowa native and president of Sports Reference LLC was accepted to Grinnell College, he brought a strong mathematics skillset, a passion for sports, and an affection for the liberal arts.

“Math was always my strongest subject, and I also really loved language classes, history, theater, and the arts,” Forman said. “Grinnell was really my only choice, it’s where I really wanted to go.”

A Strong Foundation

At the start of his undergrad years, Forman saw either engineering or teaching as his most likely future careers. He enjoyed connecting with faculty members both within and outside of his mathematics coursework.

“That closeness with the professors was important to me,” he said. “I found out that I had interests in humanities.”

Among the key faculty members that made a lasting impact on Forman was Professor Emeritus of mathematics Tom Moore.

“[Forman] was an excellent student, and he chose to pursue a flexible degree — mathematics — that can get your mind locked on to logical thinking.”

Outside of his math-heavy courseload, Forman found many creative outlets to explore. He fed his appetite for the arts through classes like Fundamentals of Literature.

“I also enjoyed building sets in the [Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies] scene shop as a carpenter,” Forman said. “I’ve taken that liberal arts exploration with me in my career.”

With a strong academic foundation, Forman moved forward from commencement day as a well-rounded student, ready to take the next step in his academic journey.

Pitching a Changeup

The years following graduation would prove pivotal for Forman’s career.

First, he dropped out of the Iowa State University College of Engineering, instead pursuing a career as a professor. He attained his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in 2001, where he earned tenure and taught from 2000-06.

His other big decision — starting the website that would become Baseball Reference (baseball-reference.com) — resulted from following his lifelong interest in sports, especially sports statistics.

Around the turn of the millennium, Baseball Reference grew from a passion project into a de facto full-time job. Forman said teaching while running the website kept him busy, but his zeal for the work never waned.

“I loved baseball stats, always have,” Forman said. “It felt like nothing for me to spend 60 or more hours a week on [Baseball Reference].”

Due to fans’ increasing interest in his website, Forman made another life-changing decision: he decided to make Baseball Reference his career focus.

For the Love of the Game(s)

Forman officially launched the Baseball Reference website in 2000, and partnered with fellow sports stats aficionados Doug Drinen (pro-football-reference.com) and Justin Kubatko (basketball-reference.com) in the following years.

In 2004, Forman established Sports Reference, Inc. and, together with Drinen, Kubatko and former president of Howe Sportsdata Jay Virshbo, formed Sports Reference LLC in 2007. The company’s websites remain popular resources for a wide range of sports fans.

Forman credits his time at Grinnell for setting him up for success.

“If you’re willing, you’re able to make a lot of opportunities to explore things you want to do at Grinnell College,” he said.

In addition to his mathematics education, Forman said he leaned on the humanities-related learning at Grinnell to navigate marketing, business planning, and other aspects of company leadership.

Moore, who remains friends with Forman to this day, said a wide-ranging education is one of the advantages Grinnell offers students.

“You have to stay on your toes and move with what’s out there, career-wise,” Moore said. “A broad-based education is an excellent tool.”

Forman said he’s glad to have chosen his ultimate career path based on an area of passion.

“Doing the things you would do for fun makes it easier to put in more effort, hone your skills, and keep learning,” Forman said. “Sometimes, those areas don’t sound like they have a lot of job prospects; but I’d encourage young people to explore those areas that they really love.”