John F. Kennedy Jr. died more than 25 years ago, in a tragic plane crash with his wife, Carolyn, and his sister-in-law, Lauren, near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
But the Kennedys are once again back in the headlines. Ryan Murphy’s new FX and Hulu show, “Love Story,” is a cultural phenomenon. The show, which details the relationship between JFK Jr. and his wife, Calvin Klein publicist Carolyn Bessette, has quickly become a fan favorite.
It’s so popular, in fact, that men in New York City are starting to dress like JFK Jr. Men are wearing backwards baseball hats with suits, riding around on bikes in Kangols and doing their best to impersonate the style made popular by the son of the late American president.
JFK Jr. who died when he was just 38 years old, remains a cultural icon. Stories about his time in New York City have been going viral for years, but especially now, thanks to the show.
While JFK. Jr was known for his bike riding, sailing and water sports, he was an active participant in a popular New York City summertime sport: softball in Central Park.
However, he wasn’t very good – at least according to one former teammate.
JFK Jr. was ‘horrible’ at softball
In a 2009 blog post, a former New York City softball player described what JFK Jr. was like as a player.
Spoiler alert: it’s not good.
“First thing off the bat, so to speak, JFK Jr. was a horrible softball player, with no baseball talents at all. He threw like my grandmother, only not as hard. When he tried to hit the soft lob-in pitches, a medium-speed ground ball to short was a major accomplishment. As for fielding, if he ever actually caught a ball, it was mostly by accident,” the post reads.
JFK Jr. was a good athlete, though, and that came through.
“He was a natural athlete and could run decently, if not especially fast. Obviously, the Kennedy family sports talents were mostly exhibited in their traditional touch football games on the lawn in Hyannis Port, Mass.”
JFK Jr. was better known for his football skills, which are on display in the “Love Story” show on Hulu.
In softball, he mostly stuck to catcher.
“So JFK usually was the team’s catcher, where a player can do the least amount of damage, unless there is a play at the plate, and a good fielding pitcher can always fall back to home plate to make the catch and tag play,” the post added.
Hey, softball isn’t for everyone, but good for JFK Jr. for at least staying active.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Trending section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.