David Coleman
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David Coleman OBE |
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| Born |
David Robert Coleman 26 April 1926 Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 21 December 2013 (aged 87) Berkshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Sports commentator |
| Years active | 1954-2000 |
| Employer | BBC |
| Television | |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara |
| Children | 6 |
David Robert Coleman OBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and TV presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six football World Cups.
Coleman presented some of the BBC's leading sporting programmes, including Grandstand and Sportsnight, and was the host of A Question of Sport for 18 years. He retired from the BBC in 2000. Later that year he became the first broadcaster to receive the Olympic Order award, in recognition of his contribution to the Olympic movement.
Born in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, of Irish heritage (his immediate family hailed from County Cork), Coleman was a keen amateur runner. He competed as a schoolboy middle distance runner. In 1949, Coleman won the Manchester Mile as a member of 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) for Staffordshire. Injury eventually caused him to give up competitive running, and he later became president of the Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club.
Coleman worked as a reporter for the , and during military service in the Royal Corps of Signals he worked for the British Army Newspaper Unit. Part of his time in national service was in Kenya. He joined Kemsley Newspapers after demobilisation and at 22 became editor of the Cheshire 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 cover Roger Bannister at Bradford City Police Sports. The following year he began freelance radio work in Manchester.
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