Eye on the Ball: Remembering John Feinstein

John Feinstein, an Island resident for many years, died March 13 at age 69.

He was a much-honored sports writer and author of more than 40 books, including the best-selling, “A Season On The Brink,” perhaps the best book ever on college basketball.

One of the most popular sports commentators of his era, Mr. Feinstein was a frequent commentator on outlets including NPR, ESPN and the Golf Channel and had radio programs on Sirius XM. As the Washington Post said, “With an indefatigable work ethic, Mr. Feinstein filed a day before his death a column for The Post on Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo.”

Our sports columnist Bob DeStefano, a friend of Mr. Feinstein’s, wrote of their friendship in a column from September 2014.

John first came to Shelter Island as a 2-year-old and for the last 55 years has not missed a season. We Islanders, of course, knew him before all his fame and celebrity status and continue to spend time with him trying to figure out why people pay him $30,000 to talk when we hear the same stories for free.

Things didn’t change much for John. As a boy he always had a mind of his own and was never afraid to give his opinion on anything. He was always highly competitive in any sport and fought hard to win.

He held a somewhat quiet grudge against me for over 30 years because of a putting trophy that he should have won. That’s right; John Caccese got the trophy and technically was supposed to be in a different age division. I just let it ride since the awards were presented and I figured it was over. Thirty years later I heard enough and I had to present John with a putting trophy.

Yes, he posed for the newspaper picture with the current 8- to 12-year-olds with his trophy proudly in front of him.

Although John was a good golfer and could shoot in the 70s, at times he considered himself a hacker. I am his primary target for his poor golf. Although not true, he still blames me for letting him play golf right-handed when he was a natural lefty. He alleges he could have been a contender and competing at least on the senior tour today instead of just writing about it.

Finally, John did reach national prominence — not as a golfer — as a swimmer winning three national championships as a Masters swimmer, a special class of competitive swimming for swimmers 25 years or older, along with being a part of two relays that broke world records.

It is difficult to be in his company without being reminded of these records.

John took what he had and kept improving it. He’s still the same guy I knew as a teenager and has never tried to be anything else, and that is one of the reasons I enjoy his company.

Interestingly, although we came from two totally different childhood environments, we always had plenty to talk about. John’s parents, Martin and Bernice, were both highly educated. Martin was the executive director of the Kennedy Center and Bernice was a Ph.D. in music history.

On my side, my father and mother quit school in the 11th grade. My dad ran a fishing pier and my mom was a seamstress in a factory. John and I found out that backgrounds don’t matter when friends are talking.

Like many boys of his generation, John’s idols were Tom Seaver, Broadway Joe Namath, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Brad Park and Arthur Ashe. As an adult, John was proud that he got to know Arthur Ashe well.

In 2009 doctors discovered seven blockages in his arteries, but he said he felt just fine. He asked how it was possible to have all those blockages and not even be short of breath. He loved what he was told by the doctors: “Your heart is incredibly strong because you swim and if you weren’t a swimmer, you would be dead.”

I closed our most recent conversation by asking him what sports offers schools and young people. He said he’s a big believer in small school sports programs that give kids a real chance to learn to compete no matter what their skill levels. He said a competitive sports program makes the school and all associated with it feel better about themselves.

When I asked him about the benefits of sports in general, his immediate reply was that I didn’t have enough space. He then said, “They are fun, they bring people together and with the right coaches, they teach life lessons, give you a sense of accomplishment and as you get older, they keep you in shape.”

In his case, John said, “What more can I say? They allowed me to stay alive.”