Legendary sports reporter John Feinstein dead at 68... just hours after his final column was posted online
By OLIVER SALT
Published: 14:39 EDT, 13 March 2025 | Updated: 16:01 EDT, 13 March 2025
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Legendary Washington Post sportswriter John Feinstein has died at the age of 68, the publication has announced.
Feinstein, the best-selling author of more than 40 books, passed away at his brother Robert's home in McLean, Virginia on Thursday.
Robert confirmed his brother's death but said the cause was not immediately clear.
News of Feinstein's passing comes just hours after his final column for the Washington Post was published online early Thursday morning.
The iconic reporter first joined the Post as a night police reporter in 1977 before moving into the world of sports.
He covered a wide range of sports; going onto write books about baseball, football, tennis, golf and the Olympics.
Legendary Washington Post sportswriter John Feinstein has passed away at the age of 68
Feinstein, the best-selling author of over 40 books, died at his brother's home in Virginia
He was best known for his college basketball work, with his 1986 book 'A Season on the Brink' one of the most bestselling of all time
However, Feinstein was best known for his work on college basketball, with his 1986 book 'A Season on the Brink' - chronicling the volatile Indiana University men's basketball coach Bob Knight - one of the bestselling sports books of all time.
His fascinating portrayal of Knight was considered a breakthrough in sports writing, detailing the three-time national championship winner's many complexities while he was at the height of his career.
The book spent 17 weeks as a No. 1 bestseller and was eventually turned into a movie on the big screen, with award-winning actor Brian Dennehy starring as Knight.
'I can’t possibly overstate how important Knight was in my life,' Feinstein wrote after the former Indiana coach's death in 2023.
He remained a full-time reporter with the Post until 1991, yet still continued to publish best-selling books including another college-basketball story in 'A Season Inside', 'A Good Walk Spoiled' (golf), 'Hard Courts' (tennis), 'A Civil War' (Army-Navy football game) and 'Where Nobody Knows Your Name' (minor league baseball).
Feinstein also became a frequent commentator on NPR, ESPN and the Golf Channel over the course of his career and had radio programs on Sirius XM.
The veteran writer filed a column for the Post on Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo a day before his death.
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