David Bush

David Bush
09/08/2025
David Bush, longtime sports journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle whose career spanned more than three decades of covering Bay Area baseball and beyond, passed away peacefully on September 8, 2025. He was 80 years old.
For 34 years, Bush was a constant presence in the Chronicle's sports pages, chronicling the triumphs, heartbreaks, and evolving landscape of Bay Area baseball. He joined the Chronicle in 1972 and, over the years, became one of the most trusted voices on the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants, as well as on college and high school sports throughout the region.
In his farewell column, "Time to say goodbye after 34 Green years," published in March 2006, Bush reflected on a career filled with milestones: covering World Series championships, the dramatic 1989 earthquake series, the opening of new stadiums, and the rise of generations of players. His reporting was marked not only by deep knowledge of the game but also by a unique warmth and respect for the athletes, coaches, and fans whose stories he told.
Bush's journalism bridged eras of sports reporting, adapting from the typewriter to the digital age without losing his hallmark clarity and fairness. Colleagues remembered him for his thoughtful mentorship, steady professionalism, and the friendships he fostered in newsrooms and press boxes alike.
Beyond the Chronicle, Bush was admired as a family man, friend, and community member whose love of sports was matched only by his kindness and integrity. His work remains an enduring part of Bay Area sports history.
He is survived by his sisters-in-law Ellyn Gemeiner and Jessica Bush, brother-in-law Chuck Stewart, step-brothers PJ Kirkhorn and Bruce Kirkhorn, nieces and nephews, and predeceased by his wife Lesly, his brother Ron, his sister-in law Sharon Stewart and his parents Ruth and Per Kirkhorn.
The family respectfully requests that no formal service or gathering take place. Instead, they encourage loved ones to remember and celebrate cherished moments shared.