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David Coleman | |
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.jpg) Coleman in 1969 | |
| Born | David Robert Coleman (1926-04-26)26 April 1926 Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 21 December 2013(2013-12-21) (aged 87) Windsor, Berkshire, England |
| Occupation | Sports commentator |
| Years active | 1954–2000 |
| Employer | BBC |
| Television | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
David Robert ColemanOBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a Britishsports commentator and television presenter who worked for theBBC for 46 years. He covered elevenSummer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and sixFIFA World Cups from 1962 to 1982.[1]
Coleman presented some of the BBC's leading sporting programmes, includingGrandstand andSportsnight (originally titledSportsnight with Coleman until 1972), and was the host ofA Question of Sport for 18 years. He retired from the BBC in 2000. Later that year he became the first broadcaster to receive theOlympic Order award, in recognition of his contribution to the Olympic movement.[2]
Born inAlderley Edge, Cheshire, of Irish heritage (his immediate family hailed fromCounty Cork), Coleman competed as a schoolboy middle-distance runner.[3] In 1949, he won theManchester Mile as a member ofStockport Harriers, the only non-international runner to do so. He competed in the English National Cross-Country Championships for Manchester Athletic Club in 1952 (116th, 3rd team) and 1953 (118). He ran 440 yards (¼ mile) forStaffordshire. Injury eventually caused him to give up competitive running, and he later became president of theWolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club.[3]
Coleman worked as a reporter for theStockport Express. In 1946 he was called up fornational service.[4] He served in theRoyal Corps of Signals and worked for theBritish Army Newspaper Unit.[1] Part of his time in national service was in Kenya. He joinedKemsley Newspapers after demobilisation and at 22 became editor of theCheshire County Express. He did not attend the 1952 Olympic trials because of hamstring injuries. Instead he approached the BBC to see if they would like any help with athletics coverage. Although he did not have an audition, the BBC asked him to coverRoger Bannister atBradford City Police Sports. The following year he began freelance radio work in Manchester.[3]
In 1954 Coleman moved toBirmingham and joined the BBC as a news assistant and sports editor. His first television appearance was onSportsview, on the day that Bannister broke thefour-minute mile.[3] In November 1955, he was appointed sports editor for the BBC's Midlands Region.
In October 1958, the BBC's Head of SportPeter Dimmock recruited Coleman to be the presenter of the new Saturday afternoon sports programmeGrandstand.[3] He continued as the regular presenter until 1968. He also presented theBBC Sports Personality of the Year from 1961, andSportsnight from 1968 to 1972 as well as other special sporting events such as theGrand National. He even covered the return ofThe Beatles from the United States and the1959 General Election for the BBC from thePress Association headquarters.
As well as a presenter, Coleman was also a sports commentator. He presented and/or commentated on eleven Olympic Games fromRome 1960 toSydney 2000, as well as eightCommonwealth Games. He covered a total of sevenWorld Cups, both as a commentator and a presenter.[3]
Coleman covered as a secondary commentator for the1970 World Cup behindKenneth Wolstenholme but took over as BBC's senior football commentator when Wolstenholme left in 1971.[3] Coleman commentated on theWorld Cup Final in1974 and1978, theEuropean Cup Final in1973 and1975 and theFA Cup final from1972 to1976 inclusive, although he missed the1977 game because he was in a legal dispute with the BBC, allowingJohn Motson to make his FA Cup final debut. Coleman returned for the1978 final before Motson took overthe following year. Coleman's last live football commentary was on 26 May 1979 when he describedEngland's 3–1 win overScotland atWembley Stadium in the1978–79 British Home Championship, although he continued to work at football matches as a secondary commentator until October 1981 with his last game being a midweekLeague Cup game betweenTottenham Hotspur andManchester United.
In 1968, at theMexico Olympics Coleman was recorded at 200 words per minute while commentating onDavid Hemery's win in the 400m Hurdles. After the finish he could only identify the first two and exclaimed: "Who cares who's third?" The bronze medal winner turned out to be another Briton,John Sherwood.
Satirists of the 1980s and 1990s often portrayed Coleman as constantly surprised by mundane happenings at athletic events.Clive James wrote that the difference between commentating and 'Colemantating' is that "a commentator says something you may wish to remember; a Colemantator says something you try to forget". However, Coleman's ability to generate excitement through his commentary was widely praised. In 1972, he broadcast for several hours during thesiege at theMunich Olympics as well as the memorial service days later. Coleman concentrated on athletics commentary from 1984.[3]
Coleman was a key member of BBC Television's Wimbledon coverage from 1960 until 1969, hosting the live daytime coverage until 1969.
Coleman presented coverage of theGrand National for 23 years, between 1961 and 1976 and again from 1978 to 1984. He was due to present the first in 1960 but had to step down due to illness. He was also absent from the 1977 Grand National, which turned out to be Red Rum's historic third win, due to his contract dispute with the BBC.
Coleman also hosted sports quiz showA Question of Sport for 18 years from 1979 to 1997, striking up a strong rapport with captains such asEmlyn Hughes,Ian Botham,Willie Carson andBill Beaumont. Although he hosted the vast majority of the shows, he was occasionally absent and stand-in hosts were drafted in. Former hostDavid Vine returned to the show in 1989 when Coleman was ill, Bill Beaumont hosted two editions in 1996, whileWill Carling temporarily replaced Beaumont as team captain, andSue Barker hosted two editions later that year.
Coleman's on-air gaffes, use ofclichés and occasional mispronunciations led the satirical magazinePrivate Eye to name its sports bloopers columnColemanballs in his honour.[5]
Coleman retired from broadcasting after the2000 Summer Olympics. In December 2000, he was presented with theOlympic Order by then-IOC presidentJuan Antonio Samaranch in recognition of his services to the Olympic ideals. He retired, requesting no fanfare or recognition by the BBC, despite working for the corporation for over 40 years.[6]
The BBC later broadcast a programme entitledThe Quite Remarkable David Coleman to celebrate Coleman's life, which was aired just after his 85th birthday in May 2011.[7]
Coleman married Barbara Manning in 1952 in north-east Cheshire. They had six children. His daughter Anne (born 1954) was a British ladies' show jumping champion.[2] His son Michael (born 1962) was aPanavia Tornadonavigator, who flew in theGulf War in 1991, and had become aSquadron Leader. They had twin sons in 1955 and two other daughters in 1961 and 1969. He lived inWarwickshire andBuckinghamshire through his life, and lived inChippenham, Wiltshire, at the time of his death.[3]
In the1993 New Year Honours, Coleman was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).[8] He was also given the Judges' Award For Sport in the 1996Royal Television Society Awards. In 2000, he became the first journalist or broadcaster to be awarded theOlympic Order.[3]
Coleman died from complications ofbronchopneumonia and a stroke at a hospital inWindsor, Berkshire, on 21 December 2013, at the age of 87.[3][9][10]
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