Stark grew up in Northeast Philadelphia and graduated from Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in journalism in 1973. In 1979 he joined The Philadelphia Inquirer as a beat writer for the Philadelphia Phillies, and eventually became a national baseball writer and columnist for that paper.
Stark's background was in Northeast Philadelphia, where he earned a journalism degree from Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1973. He began his career at The Philadelphia Inquirer as a Phillies beat writer in 1979 and later became a national baseball writer and columnist for the paper.