Jay Greenberg, former hockey writer, author and celebrated Daily News sports journalist, dies aged 71

Jay Greenberg, 71, of Monmouth County, NJ, the former Flyers beat writer for the Daily News, a celebrated author and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fames media honorees wing, died at home Thursday, Aug. 12 of complications from West Nile virus.

During his five decades of sports journalism, Mr. Greenberg worked for the Daily News from 1978 to 1989, reporting on some of Flyers’ and hockey’s greatest moments. He wrote about the teams’ losses in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1980, 1985 and 1987, and scored an exclusive interview with Wayne Gretzky when the superstar was traded from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988.

Former Flyers player, coach, general manager and president Paul Holmgren called Mr. Greenberg a database of the Flyers. He knew the stories in the game.

Mr. Greenberg also wrote football, baseball and other sports throughout his career, earning him a reputation as a writer who could tell a compelling story about anything. Beginning in 1994, he wrote a general sports column for the New York Post for 17 years.

In 2013, Mr. Greenberg was named a lifelong member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, in recognition of those whose words have brought journalism and hockey credit.

It took me a few years to realize how rare it was for a US-based writer to become such an ultimate [hockey] insider, said Les Bowen, who succeeded Mr Greenberg on the Flyers beat on the Daily News.

Writing Mr. Greenberg was insightful, entertaining, and crafted to be easily recognizable to his readers. He was arguably the greatest hockey writer ever, said Pat McLoone, the former assistant editor of sports at the Daily News.

Writing about the Flyers’ upcoming game in December 1980 from Calgary, Canada, Mr. Greenberg said in the Daily News: Something called a chinook blew here just before the Flyers did yesterday, raising the temperature to 52 degrees. . A chinook is a hot-air north wind, something like Gene Hart, that hails from the Canadian Rockies, disguising the fact that the National Hockey League has expanded almost to the North Pole.

Mr. Greenberg has also written for the Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Bulletin, Sports Illustrated, Toronto Sun, Hockey News, hockeybuzz.com and princetontigersfootball.com, among others.

He was the author or co-author of four books, including: Full Spectrum: The Complete History of the Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Club, and The Philadelphia Flyers at 50: the story of the iconic hockey club and its top 50 heroes, victories and events. A fifth book will be published next year.

Growing up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Greenberg was drawn to hockey as a youth by the Johnstown Jets, the local minor league team at the time. That’s where I learned the game, huh told the Johnstown Tribune Democrat in 2013. There I fell in love with the game.

After graduating from the University of Missouri, Mr. Greenberg began working for the Kansas City Star. When the city got a National Hockey League team in 1974, Mr. Greenberg volunteered to cover it when no other reporters were interested.

He went to the Bulletin to cover the Flyers in 1975 and then to the Daily News in 1978.

As much as he was respected for his writing, Mr. Greenberg was equally admired for his personal demeanor and professional courtesy. Scott Lauber, now a Phillies beat writer for The Inquirer and Daily News, worked for Mr. Greenberg as a researcher for his first book on the Flyers.

It was like being asked to attend a bullpen session of the Cy Young Award winners, Lauber said of their time together. It was a masterclass in writing and reporting, better than any internship I’ve ever had.

Former Flyer Joe Watson, who then played Mr. Greenberg on the Flyers, tweeted: Great hockey writer. Even better man.

New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro called Mr. Greenberg a beacon of kindness and grace, always ready to offer praise and encouragement.

In a statement, the Flyers said Jay devoted his life to writing and had a truly special ability to tell a story in a way that not many people could.

Mr. Greenberg liked dogs, popcorn, spicy food, and martinis. He was a regular blood donor and a lifelong follower of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The National Institutes of Health and the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, to which Jay donated his brain for study, will find no deterioration in his mind, only his motor skills, his family wrote in a statement. Jay was sharp and kept his sense of humor to the end. (In fact, he dictated and wanted to include this paragraph in his obituary.)

Mr. Greenberg is survived by his wife of 44, Mona; daughters Elizabeth and Stephanie; a sister; and other family members.

Services are private.