• Home
  • Recommendations
    • Basketball Books
    • Football Books (American)
    • Motivational Books
    • New Sports Books
    • Running Books
    • Soccer Books
    • Sports Betting Books
    • Sports Biographies
    • Sports Books for Teen and Young Adults
    • Sports Business
  • About
  • Merch
  • Blog
  • Contact Me
  BOOKS ABOUT SPORTS
  • Home
  • Recommendations
    • Basketball Books
    • Football Books (American)
    • Motivational Books
    • New Sports Books
    • Running Books
    • Soccer Books
    • Sports Betting Books
    • Sports Biographies
    • Sports Books for Teen and Young Adults
    • Sports Business
  • About
  • Merch
  • Blog
  • Contact Me

John Feinstein: Born to Write

3/14/2025

0 Comments

 
John Feinstein: a legend in sports writing

Intro

One of my favorite sports authors is John Feinstein. His first book, A Season on the Brink, published in 1986, is a behind-the-scenes look at the 1985-86 basketball season of Indiana University and their coach, Bobby Knight. This book is considered one of the best sports books ever written and has sold more than two million copies.
Picture
Buy On Amazon

In Memory

Yesterday, Feinstein passed away at the age of 69 due to natural causes. He was found at his brother, Robert's home in McLean, Virginia, where he was in town to cover the Atlantic 10 tournament. 

Ironically, Feinstein had written an article about Michigan State coach, Tom Izzo, that appeared in The Washington Post earlier that day. 

Feinstein was unashamedly brash in his some of his later commentary but always authentic. He took a stance on key issues, including politics, and he was known to engage in spirited debates on X. 

After beating Xavier yesterday in the Big East Tournament, Marquette coach Shaka Smart was asked about Feinstein: 

​“Oh, wow,” Smart said. “I’ve known him for a long time. He’s one of the best sports writers ever. I got to know him as a writer before I got to know him as a person, reading some of his stuff when I was in high school. He cared about the teams and he cared about the players and he cared about the coaches — which is not as common these days.”

Other Writing

Some of Feinstein's other notable books include A Good Walk Spoiled, a chronicle of the PGA Tour; The Last Amateurs, which follows a group of basketball players at Division III schools; and The Legends Club, which tells the story of the rivalry between college basketball coaches Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jim Valvano.

Feinstein has won numerous awards for his work, including the Casey Award for the best baseball book of the year, the James P. McGuire Award for his contributions to the game of lacrosse, and the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. He is a member of the United States Basketball Writers Hall of Fame and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.

In addition to his writing and broadcasting work, Feinstein was also a regular participant in charity golf tournaments and had served as a commentator for golf events on CBS and The Golf Channel.

​If you haven't read any of these books, I'd encourage you to do so. For more Feinstein books, check out his Amazon author page here. 

We also highlighted Feinstein's The Back Roads to March in our list of Best College Basketball Books here. 
Tags:
0 Comments
​

You Might Also Like

First Last



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    John Willkom is the author of Amazon best-selling basketball books: Walk-On Warrior and No Fear In The Arena. John is an avid reader, sports fan, and father to three incredible little kids.

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022

    Categories

    All
    All Time Lists
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Bodybuilding
    Book Clubs
    Book Reviews
    Boxing
    Climbing
    Coaching
    Cricket
    CrossFit
    Cycling
    Endurance Sports
    Esports
    Ethics
    Fantasy Sports
    Fishing
    Football
    Formula 1
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Hockey
    Hunting
    Kids
    Martial Arts
    Military
    MMA
    Motivational
    NASCAR
    Olympics
    Pickleball
    Quotes
    Rugby
    Running
    Skiing
    Soccer
    Softball
    Sports Authors
    Sports Betting
    Sports Broadcasting
    Sports Business
    Sports Cards
    Sports Doping
    Sports Equipment
    Sports History
    Sports Nutrition
    Sports Photography
    Sports Psychology
    Sports Science
    Streetlifting
    Swimming
    Table Tennis
    Team Building
    Teen & YA
    Tennis
    Track & Field
    Trading Cards
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    Wrestling

    Complete book of football trivia
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Recommendations
    • Basketball Books
    • Football Books (American)
    • Motivational Books
    • New Sports Books
    • Running Books
    • Soccer Books
    • Sports Betting Books
    • Sports Biographies
    • Sports Books for Teen and Young Adults
    • Sports Business
  • About
  • Merch
  • Blog
  • Contact Me