Martin Fennelly, who spent three decades as a sports writer and columnist in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, passed away on Friday.
The news of Fennelly’s passing was shared on Twitter/X by Action Network’s Brett McMurphy on Sunday.
“Incredibly sad news: former Tampa Tribune & Tampa Bay Times columnist Martin Fennelly, 65, passed away Friday from a heart attack. Martin was not only the best writer I ever knew, but the smartest, funniest & most compassionate person as well. RIP.”
https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1751688016525918362
Fennelly was well liked and well respected in the sports media world as both a writer and a person. To that end, several people who knew Fennelly flocked to Twitter/X to pay tribute to him, honoring both his work and character.
RIP to an absolute genius. https://t.co/XSx333hpsU
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) January 28, 2024
Crushing. 🙏
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) January 28, 2024
https://twitter.com/JennaLaineESPN/status/1751703921976897695
Gutted by this news. Worked with Martin while I was in school at Mizzou and he was at the Columbia Daily Tribune, writing ridiculously good stories for a p.m. paper. Knew him ever since. He's the most underrated sports writer of my lifetime. So gifted, so funny, and so kind. RIP. https://t.co/PK8yVlKPOT
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) January 28, 2024
Oh no. Rest in peace.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) January 28, 2024
Sad news on a former colleague, who was a friend to many, a huge baseball fan, and a funny and caring person. https://t.co/va9hfWFNJ8
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) January 28, 2024
So sad!
— Jeannine Edwards (@jeanninee12) January 28, 2024
He was a good man and a good columnist. Martin will be missed by so many, far and wide. RIP my friend. https://t.co/XZ0GQxyORC
— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) January 28, 2024
Fennelly began writing for The Tampa Tribune in 1991. In 2016, The Tampa Tribune was bought by the Tampa Bay Times and Fennelly continued writing for that paper. He later wrote for the Tampa Free Press. His most recent article for the Tampa Free Press ran on Feb. 17, 2021. He had bylines in the Palm Beach Post and Ocala Star Banner in 2022.
[Brett McMurphy on Twitter/X, Photo screengrabbed from Tampa Bay Times on YouTube]
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