HUGH McILVANNEY, widely considered to be one of the finest British sports journalists, has died at the age of 84.
The Football Writers’ Association, of which McIlvanney was a life member, confirmed the news on Twitter, calling him “one of the true greats of sportswriting”.
Sad news that Hugh McIlvanney, our dear colleague and one of the true greats of sportswriting, has passed away aged 84. Tribute from @collinspatk1 here:https://t.co/fXlSCk9WAypic.twitter.com/6hBqsBGWHR
— The FWA (@theofficialfwa) January 25, 2019
McIlvanney began his journalism career on the Kilmarnock Standard before moving to Fleet Street in 1962.
Especially renowned for his reporting on football and boxing, McIlvanney covered the 1966 World Cup final and the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, after which he remained friends with Muhammad Ali.
In 1998 I was sitting in the coach’s room at The Cliff when The Gaffer brought Hugh McIlvanney in, wasn’t long before he had us roaring with laughter with hilarious tales about Busby, Stein, Shankly & some boxing dude delivered with impeccable timing with that velvet voice…
— Brian McClair (@BrianMcClair13) January 25, 2019
When McIlvanney retired in 2016 after a career spent predominantly with the Observer and the Sunday Times, Ali was one of the first to pay tribute.
Ali had said: “His words were a window to the lives, the courage, the struggles and the triumphs of the great champions of his time.
“He has contributed richly to the fabric of our sport.”
Sad to hear the great Hugh McIlvanney has died. A wonderful, wonderful writer and great company. Lover of sport and life, with such a way with words. https://t.co/ysNCzhKqr2
— Rory Bremner (@rorybremner) January 25, 2019
McIlvanney’s friend and former colleague Pat Collins wrote on the FWA’s website: “His influence on British sports writing is profound, and he has long since secured his place alongside Ian Wooldridge and Frank Keating in the trinity of our greatest sports writers.”
His friend, the broadcaster Danny Kelly, wrote on Twitter: “When you were having a proper barney with Hugh, his use of language… made you secretly glad you were fighting. #genius.”
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