Alan Greenberg, 55, sportswriter for Hartford Courant

As a sportswriter and a columnist for the Hartford Courant, Alan Greenberg was well known for his award-winning articles.

But those who answered Mr. Greenberg's questions and worked with him during his 30-year career also knew him for his customary LaCoste polo shirts.

"It's what he wore everyday. . . . We were in Seoul, South Korea, for the Olympics, and there he was wearing the famous . . . 'gator," said Mike Littwin, a columnist for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and Mr. Greenberg's friend for almost 30 years.

Mr. Greenberg, New England Patriots beat reporter for the Hartford Courant, died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack. He was 55 and lived in Sudbury.

Mr. Greenberg was a native of Baltimore.

"He grew up going to Baltimore Colts games. . . . His mother was probably the greatest Colts and Orioles fan that I knew," Littwin said. "Alan, he loved the games, but more I think he loved the writing."

Mr. Greenberg earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Syracuse University. He worked for small papers before being hired as a sportswriter by the Atlanta Constitution, Littwin said. In 1979, Mr. Greenberg began working for the Los Angeles Times as a sports feature writer. He worked there for six years before moving to the Courant in 1985.

At the Courant, Mr. Greenberg was a national sports columnist, NBA writer, and Patriots beat reporter covering all three of the team's Super Bowl wins.

During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick remembered Mr. Greenberg.

"He was a person that definitely added a lot of levity to the press conferences, even though he asked a lot of very difficult questions and had a unique way of raising some of his opinions and questions," Belichick said.

Mr. Greenberg won various awards throughout his career. He was honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors for many stories, most recently for a 2003 feature article about the Yale-Harvard regatta.

"He was one of the best pure writers I ever worked with; he just had a natural gift for writing," said Courant sports editor Jeff Otterbein. "He was a very fluid writer. He could really turn a phrase effortlessly."

Other sportswriters who came to know Mr. Greenberg considered him a friend.

"Alan was the guy you wanted to be next to on the plane," said Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who knew Mr. Greenberg for more than 25 years. "I would always bring reading, but if I was sitting next to Alan, nothing would get read. We would spend the whole time talking."

Mr. Greenberg had lived in Sudbury since 1991.

"He volunteered at all the kids' school events. For our son's Mexican festival, he put on a big sombrero; he was the piñata guy and held the rope," said his wife of 14 years, Anne-Marie.

In addition to his wife, he leaves a son, Alex; two daughters, Allison and Abigail; his father, David of Baltimore; and a sister, Marcie Lowe of Oreland, Pa.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Congregation B'Nai Torah in Sudbury.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.