Acclaimed sports writer and bestselling author John Feinstein died unexpectedly Thursday at age 69.
Feinstein died of natural causes at his brother’s home in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C. Robert Feinstein said he was the one who discovered his brother’s body, but did not provide further details.
Feinstein was a longtime fixture at the Washington Post, beginning his career at the D.C. paper in 1977. He went on extensively cover college basketball, professional golf and the Olympics. A column he wrote about Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was published Thursday morning.
He also published nearly 50 books, many of which became bestsellers. Along with books about sports, he also penned mysteries for young adult readers.
His first book, “A Season on the Brink,” detailed a tumultuous season for the Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball team and their obscenity-spewing head coach Bobby Knight. The book was later adapted into a made-for-TV movie starring Brian Dennehy.
Feinstein was also a frequent contributor to ESPN, The Sporting News, Golf Digest and NPR, and hosted radio programs on SiriusXM.
“He was very passionate about things,” his brother said. “People either loved him or hated him — and equally strongly.”
Feinstein received the Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. He’s also inducted into the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
Feinstein is survived by his wife, Christine, son Danny and daughters Brigid and Jayne.