Land of the giants

It has been a busy few months for the obituary writers and December has seen the demise of 3 titans – Peter O'Toole, Nelson Mandela and David Coleman.

Peter O'Toole was one of the greatest actors of his generation, acclaimed for both his stage and screen work. He will forever be remembered for his iconic performance in the David lean epic, 'Lawrence of Arabia', and as the most nominated actor never to win a Best Actor oscar (8 - though he did receive an honorary award from the Academy).

In 1952 he entered RADA along with fellow students, Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Brian Bedford, all of whom went on to achieve far greater success than their mentors had predicted. In fact Peter O'Toole was only cast as T. E. Lawrence in 'Lawrence of Arabia' because Marlon Brando was unavailable and Albert Finney had turned the role down. Other films for which he was nominated for best actor oscars included, 'Becket', 'The Lion in Winter', 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' and 'The Ruling Class'. 
 

Best known as a Shakespearean actor he was equally adept at lighter roles such as Woody Allen's 'What's New Pussycat?' in which he was able to demonstrate his comedic skills alongside Peter Sellers.

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Think of the few personalities from the 20^th Century who were truly recognisable on the global stage – iconic people who could not walk down any street on this planet without being recognised. There are very few – John F Kennedy, Mohammed Ali, Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Gandhi, Pope John Paul II, possibly Pelé and Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela – Rebel, freedom fighter, campaigner, politician, statesman, father of the South African nation and arguably the most influential person of the last 100 years.

As an influential member within the ANC he spent 27 years behind bars for trying to end white minority rule through violence before his release on 11^th February 1990.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with F. W. de Klerk, then South African President, in 1993 for their efforts to transform South African society. He succeeded de Klerk in 1994 to become the country's first black president, a post that he held for the next 5 years.

Few would argue that sport and politics should never mix but you can understand how many politicians would like to harness the two. Anyone who underestimates the power of sport to unite people never witnessed Nelson Mandela presenting the Rugby World Cup in 1995. His appearance at the final in the green and gold Springbok's shirt and cap was one of the most ingenious and powerful political statements ever seen. For a country that for so long was torn apart and outcast by its apartheid regime Mandela's gesture achieved more than any protest or fine words could in uniting the country and engendering the spirit of forgiveness.

                                 Nelson Mandela presenting the Rugby World Cup to South African captain, Francois Pienaar.

                                            Picture: Reuters

His death at the age of 95 on 5^th December comes at a time when cracks are beginning to emerge in the country he did so much to unite.

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In terms of sporting legends David Coleman was up there with the greats, not as a sportsman but as a broadcaster and commentator for the BBC for over 40 years. A keen runner he joined the BBC in 1954 as a news assistant and sports editor. He first appeared on TV on 6^th May 1954, coincidentally the day that Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile, on a show called 'Sportsview'.

He went on to present the BBC flagship sports programme, 'Grandstand', from its outset in 1958 as well as 'Sports review of the Year', 'Sportsnight with Coleman', 'Match of the Day', 'Quiz Ball', and 'Question of Sport'.

Famous for his football and athletics commentaries he had a very easy presentation style and an encyclopedic knowledge of statistics that made his appearance at the teleprinter a joy to watch in days before computers and armies of researchers.

His versatility as a presenter was demonstrated when he was called upon to cover the siege during the 1972 Munich Olympics as well as the memorial service for the victims.

He was also tasked with presenting the triumphant return from the US.

He covered 11 Summer Olympic Games between 1960 and 2000 and 6 Football World Cups before his retirement. In 1968 his commentary was recorded at 200 words a minute which may explain why on occasions enthusiasm would overtake him and he would make gaffs that would be seized upon by his satirists for their 'Colemanballs' collection.

                                                                 David Coleman in the Lenin stadium, Moscow, 1980.

                                                                 Picture: ITV

In December 2000 he was presented with the Olympic Order in recognition of his services, an honour generally reserved for athletes who have competed at the games.

As one of the millions who grew up during the Coleman era I would concur that his was one of the most identifiable voices on the BBC when it came to sport. Alan Weeks and Barry Davies possibly commentated on a wider range of sports but David was unflappable as a programme anchor. Certainly he is up there with the elite sports broadcasters who have that great gift of enthusing the public with their love for a particular sport, from that group I would nominate Brian Johnson, John Arlott, Bill McLaren, Dan Mascall, Murray Walker, Peter Alliss, Ron Pickering, Peter O'Sullivan, Cliff Morgan and John McEnroe, to name but a few.

I don't know whether the BBC had a deal with a knitwear company during the 60s and 70s but as a youngster I was very much aware that there were 2 individuals who excelled at wearing a wide range of sweaters, David Coleman and Val Doonican. It must have been around the time that the BBC was moving away from their traditional formal dress code, whether this was the inspiration behind the drive for sweaters on Breakfast TV, who knows.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about David's contribution to sport, undoubtedly he was a fine and fair broadcaster but I fear that this may also have worked against him.

I am not advocating a little less impartiality though I would say that there were occasions during David's commentaries when I felt that he set the sporting aspirations of this country back a couple of decades. I guess it was the essential Britishness of the man that I took issue with. He seemed to give the impression that it was unseemly to win by too great a margin. The sense that it was not so much the winning that was important it was the taking part – try telling that to an Aussie or a German when they are 30 metres from the winning tape. As cyclist, Mark Cavendish, said this year, 'Don't congratulate me on coming runner-up'. For the past 20 years school's policy seems to have followed the principal of 'everyone's a winner'. You don't breed champions by giving everyone a sweetie, hand the bag of sweets to the winner and give them a 20 yard start, that is how you breed champions. We seem to go to extraordinary lengths to beat the competitive instincts out of our children, which rather defeats the object when it comes to non-combative sports.

Here are just a few of his quotes that have sealed his place in broadcasting infamy.

"He is one of the great unknown champions because very little is known about him."

"If that had gone in, it would have been a goal."

"We estimate, and this isn't an estimation, that Greta Waltz is 80 seconds behind."

"He is accelerating all the time. The last lap was run in 64 seconds and the one before in 62."

"And the line-up for the final of the women's 400 metres hurdles includes three Russians, two East Germans, a Pole, a Swede and a Frenchman."

"The front wheel crosses the finish line, closely followed by the back wheel."

"The Republic of China: back in the Olympic Games for the first time."

"That's the fastest time ever run, but it's not as fast as the world record."

"Forest have now lost six matches without winning."

"There is a fine line between serendipity and stalking."

"This evening is a very different evening from the morning we had this morning."

"He's seven seconds ahead and that's a good question."

"I think there is no doubt, she'll probably qualify for the final."

"It's a great advantage to be able to hurdle with both legs."

“He is accelerating all the time. The last lap was run in 64 seconds and the one before that in 62.”

“There is Brendan Foster, by himself with 20,000 people.”

“And here’s Moses Kiptanui – the 19-year-old Kenyan who turned 20 a few weeks ago.”

David Coleman died on 21^st December 2013, aged 87