John Feinstein, a Washington Post sportswriter and best-selling author, died Thursday.
He was 69.
His brother, Robert, said the legendary sports commentator passed away at his brother’s home in McLean, Va., according to The Washington Post.
John Feinstein has died at the age of 69. Getty ImagesRobert said the cause of death was not immediately clear.
Feinstein had a column on Michigan State coach Tom Izzo published on The Washington Post’s website Thursday morning.
The 23-time New York Times best-selling author released his milestone 50th book, “The Ancient Eight,” about Ivy League football, in 2024.
He discussed the book during an appearance on “The BOB & TOM Show” last November and seemed optimistic about writing more.
He also joked that he thinks the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl because “I’m an idiot.”
Feinstein wrote books about golf, baseball, basketball, tennis, football and the Olympics, among other topics.
Feinstein’s 1986 book, “Season on the Brink,” which chronicled the Indiana Hoosiers and coach Bob Knight during their turbulent 1985–86 season, is one of the top-selling basketball books ever.
John Feinstein in 2011. Getty ImagesDebuting at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, “Season on the Brink” set a record for the best-selling sports book to date.
It also served as the basis for the first ESPN television film, which premiered March 10, 2002.
In November 2024, Longwood University announced that Feinstein was joining the Farmville community as a broadcaster and teacher.
John Feinstein, winner of the Curt Gowdy print Media award, addresses the guests at the Bunn-Gowdy Awards Dinner as part of the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on Sept. 7, 2013. NBAE via Getty Images
John Feinstein (r.) on the Golf Channel desk during the 2017 Players Championship. US PGA TOURA press release at the time said Feinstein was joining Longwood as a color commentator, alongside play-by-play announcer Sam Hovan, for the ESPN+ broadcast of all men’s basketball games.
It said Feinstein was slated to begin the spring semester by co-teaching a Cormier Honors College seminar “designed to help students develop the interviewing, reporting, writing and editing skills to produce non-fiction writing that serves democracy by illuminating the human stakes and consequences behind important civic issues.”
John Feinstein (l.) with Spike Lee (r.) X/@FeinsteinBooks_“I’m proud to be an official part of the men’s basketball program, which has made incredible strides and found a new level of success over the last few years, but I’m especially excited to get into the classroom and work with students,” Feinstein said at the time.
Feinstein was inducted to The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, The National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame, The U.S. Basketball Writer’s Hall of Fame, The Greater Washington Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, The D.C. Basketball Hall of Fame, and The Washington D.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
