Joel Sherman

Joel Sherman
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Other namesGI Joel
Alma materBronx High School of Science
OccupationProfessional English-language Scrabble player
Years active1988–present

Joel Sherman (born 1962), nicknamed GI Joel, is an American professional English-language Scrabble player and former world champion. He is featured in Stefan Fatsis's book Word Freak,[1] in Eric Chaikin's film Word Wars,[2] and in Scott Petersen's film Scrabylon.[3][4] He is also mentioned in Collins Gem's reference book.

He was born in The Bronx, New York in 1962, and is an alumnus of the Bronx High School of Science.[citation needed]

Sherman's major Scrabble tournament victories include:

Since beginning his career in 1988, he has played at least 4,750 tournament games, winning about 64%, and earning at least $135,000 in prize money.[5] He is director of NASPA Games Club #56, which meets on Thursday evenings in New York City.[citation needed]

Sherman holds the record for the highest score recorded in a tournament game played with the North American lexicon, having defeated Bradley Robbins 803-285 at a tournament in Stamford, Connecticut on December 9, 2011.[6]

His nickname is derived from a health problem, gastrointestinal reflux syndrome, and a pun on the G.I. Joe action figure.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Fatsis, Stefan, Word Freak, September 2002, ISBN 978-0-224-06061-5
  2. ^ Word Wars Internet Movie Database
  3. ^ Scrabylon scrabylon.com
  4. ^ Scrabylon Internet Movie Database
  5. ^ "cross-tables.com". www.cross-tables.com. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  6. ^ game-by-game results for Joel Sherman in Stamford, CT 2011 at cross-tables.com