John "Jack" Cavanaugh

Jack Cavanaugh, a longtime writer and reporter and resident of Stamford, died on August 25th due to complications related to pneumonia. He was 99 years old.. Prior to returning to his native Stamford, Mr. Cavanaugh lived in Riverdale in the Bronx, Norwalk, and in Wilton where he raised his family.

Mr. Cavanaugh had an illustrious career in journalism and amassed many colorful stories which he frequently enjoyed sharing with family and friends. He worked for newspapers in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., New Haven, Providence, and New York. He also worked for United Press International at bureaus in Hartford, New York, and Washington and for Reuters news agency in New York. In addition, Mr. Cavanaugh spent eight years as a news reporter for, first ABC News and then for CBS News. He also taught at Columbia University, Fairfield University, and Quinnipiac University., and lectured and participated in seminars at a number of additional universities. Some of his proudest achievements were meeting John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, and Muhammad Ali, along with many other famous boxers and tennis stars.

Mr. Cavanaugh was best known as a sports writer for Reuters and later for The New York Times. As a sports writer, he covered scores of major boxing bouts, the Olympics, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the America’s Cup, the U.S. Open golf and tennis tournaments, the Masters golf tournament, the Ryder, Walker and Curtis Cups in golf and the Davis and Wightman cups in tennis, along with many college and professional football, basketball and hockey games. He wrote extensively for The New York Times and Sports Illustrated, and also contributed to Reader’s Digest, Tennis magazine, The Sporting News, and many other publications. In the later part of his career, he was a passionate author of numerous books, including “Tunney” which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Cavanaugh completed writing his last book just last year. In addition to being an author in later years, Mr. Cavanaugh was a contributing columnist to The Advocate, writing about Stamford area subjects that he felt passionately about.

An athlete all his life, Mr. Cavanagh played on basketball and baseball teams for the Stamford Boys Club and the Holy Name Athletic Club, both as a boy and young man. He also played baseball for Bull’s Head in the old Community League and was on the basketball team at Stamford High School. He also played baseball and basketball at Syracuse University, from which he graduated in 1952. Later, he was an active tennis player, swimmer, golfer, and skier, besides continuing to play basketball. He loved Stamford’s beaches and could be found on many summer days at Cove Island, West Beach, or Cummings Park.

One of Mr. Cavanaugh’s proudest accomplishments was helping organize a newspaper at the Stamford Boys Club when it was located in the South End, where he spent his boyhood. He later wrote for his school newspaper at Cloonan Junior High and Stamford High School. He was a member of the State Street Debating Society in Stamford. Mr. Cavanaugh was also a proud veteran. After graduating from Stamford High School, Mr. Cavanaugh spent two years in the U.S. Navy as a signalman during World War II.

While Mr. Cavanaugh’s passion was his writing, his love was for his family that meant everything to him. He is survived by his beloved wife of over 60 years, Margaret Rose McDonald; his son John of Santa Cruz, California, his daughter, Tara, her husband, Lance Wells, and his three beloved grandsons, Rogan, Tanner, and Rylan Wells, all of Denver, Colorado. Mr. Cavanaugh was the son of John Cavanaugh and Mary Naikelis Cavanaugh and the stepson of Joseph Kozma, a former captain in the Stamford Fire Department. He was predeceased by his sister, Barbara Shore.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Friday, August 29, 2025 at 10:00 AM at Mr. Cavanaugh’s boyhood parish, St. John’s Basilica on 279 Atlantic Street, Stamford. Inurnment with Military Honors will follow at St. John’s Cemetery, Darien.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that anyone who wishes to remember Jack make a donation to the Stamford Boys Club, an institution he credited for supporting him during his formative years and inspiring his lifelong love of journalism (https://bit.ly/jackcavanaughlegacy), or the Holy Name Athletic Club where Jack spent a great deal of time playing sports as a boy, and attending many special occasions throughout his adult life with lifelong friends.

To leave online condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com.