Bradford Carey Spurgeon (born 7 December 1957)[1] is a Canadian-born journalist whose international career has spanned decades and disciplines. Best known for his long tenure covering Formula One racing for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times[2], Spurgeon is also an author, musician, former actor and former circus performer.
Spurgeon was born in Toronto, Ontario, to science journalist David Carey Spurgeon[3] and Vicki Ann Jean Spurgeon. He is a descendant of the 19th-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon and the nephew of Baptist minister Muriel Spurgeon Carder. His grandfather, Carey Bradford Spurgeon, was born in India to a missionary father. Spurgeon earned a diploma in broadcasting from the National Institute of Broadcasting in Canada. He later completed a degree in English and Literary Studies at the University of Toronto, followed by French language studies at the Sorbonne[disambiguation needed] in Paris.
Performing arts and television
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Spurgeon worked in television and film. He played a small role in Deadly Harvest (1977 film)[4] alongside Clint Walker and Kim Cattrall. In 1976, he toured as a juggler and unicyclist[5] with Puck’s Canadian Travelling Circus.
Journalism career
From 1993 to 2016, he covered Formula One for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. Esquire UK described him as “one of the most respected voices in Formula 1 journalism.”'[6]. In 2008, he was voted Journalist of the Year in the annual Red Bulletin awards for the year's outstanding paddock people, from teams and drivers to caterers and journalists[7].
Spurgeon has also contributed to numerous other publications including the Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice[8], The Stage[9], and the British Medical Journal (BMJ)[10]. He also served as Formula 1 Guide for About.com for seven years.
Spurgeon is the author of Colin Wilson: Philosopher of Optimism (Michael Butterworth Books, 2006; revised edition 2017), a biography of British author Colin Wilson. He appears in and edited the accompanying documentary[12].
He is also the author of Formula 1: The Impossible Collection (Assouline)[13], with a revised edition released in 2025. A compilation of his Formula 1 reporting from 1993 to 2016 is scheduled for publication in the UK in 2025.
Before covering motorsport, Spurgeon specialized in mystery fiction, especially French crime writing. He contributed to The Armchair Detective[14], Mystery Scene, and Crime Time. He was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for best mystery short story by the Crime Writers of Canada in 1997[15].
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