Legendary sports writer, author, commentator dies at 69

John Feinstein, a sports writer for the Washington Post and the author of 23 New York Times best-sellers, has died. He was 69.

His brother, Robert Feinstein, confirmed the death to the Post but said the cause was not immediately clear.

Feinstein's first book, Season on the Brink, was a chronicle of the Indiana men's basketball team and its temperamental coach, Bobby Knight. The book chronicled the Hoosiers' 1985-86 season; by 2011, Feinstein said the book had sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.

Feinstein wrote 48 books during his career, including most recently Feherty: The Remarkably Funny and Tragic Journey of Golf's David Feherty, released in 2023.

"I'm a creature of habit," Feinstein said in a 2020 interview. "I got into a habit of waking up in the morning and depending on the time of year, working out, reading newspapers, reading what I wrote the day before, editing it, taking a lunch break, then at 1 o'clock in the afternoon I'd sit down and write. And I'd just keep writing until I was tired."

Feinstein was born in New York City and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Duke University in 1977. He joined the Post that same year as a night police reporter.

Feinstein ultimately shifted his focus to sports, covering a wide range of sports and subjects. His versatility and experience made him a prolific commentator on NPR, ESPN and the Golf Channel, and had radio programs on Sirius XM. His sports titles also included a number of children's books.

Feinstein's final column for the Post, about Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, ran Thursday.

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