David Robert Coleman OBE was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years.
27 Facts About David Coleman
2.
David Coleman covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from 1962 to 1982.
3.
In 1949, David Coleman won the Manchester Mile as a member of Stockport Harriers, the only non-international runner to do so.
4.
David Coleman competed in the English National Cross-Country Championships for Manchester Athletic Club in 1952 and 1953.
5.
David Coleman served in the Royal Corps of Signals and worked for the British Army Newspaper Unit.
6.
David Coleman joined Kemsley Newspapers after demobilisation and at 22 became editor of the Cheshire County Express.
7.
David Coleman did not attend the 1952 Olympic trials because of hamstring injuries.
8.
In 1954 David Coleman moved to Birmingham and joined the BBC as a news assistant and sports editor.
9.
In October 1958, the BBC's Head of Sport Peter Dimmock recruited David Coleman to be the presenter of the new Saturday afternoon sports programme Grandstand.
10.
David Coleman presented the BBC Sports Personality of the Year from 1961, and Sportsnight from 1968 to 1972 as well as other special sporting events such as the Grand National.
11.
David Coleman even covered the return of The Beatles from the United States and the 1959 General Election for the BBC from the Press Association headquarters.
12.
David Coleman covered a total of seven World Cups, both as a commentator and a presenter.
13.
David Coleman was the BBC's senior football commentator for several years from 1971.
14.
David Coleman commentated on the World Cup Final in 1974 and 1978, the European Cup Final in 1973 and 1975 and the FA Cup final from 1972 to 1976 inclusive, although he missed the 1977 game because he was in a legal dispute with the BBC, allowing John Motson to make his FA Cup final debut.
15.
David Coleman returned for the 1978 final before Motson took over the following year.
16.
David Coleman was a key member of BBC Television's Wimbledon coverage from 1960 until 1969, hosting the live daytime coverage until 1969.
17.
David Coleman presented coverage of the Grand National for 23 years, between 1961 and 1976 and again from 1978 to 1984.
18.
David Coleman was due to present the first in 1960 but had to step down due to illness.
19.
David Coleman was 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.
20.
David Coleman hosted sports quiz show A Question of Sport for 18 years from 1979 to 1997, striking up a strong rapport with captains such as Emlyn Hughes, Ian Botham, Willie Carson and Bill Beaumont.
21.
Former host David Vine returned to the show in 1989 when Coleman was ill, Bill Beaumont hosted two editions in 1996, while Will Carling temporarily replaced Beaumont as team captain, and Sue Barker hosted two editions later that year.
22.
David Coleman retired, requesting no fanfare or recognition by the BBC, despite working for the corporation for over 40 years.
23.
The BBC later broadcast a programme entitled The Quite Remarkable David Coleman to celebrate Coleman's life, which was aired just after his 85th birthday in May 2011.
24.
David Coleman's daughter Anne was born on 1954 and was a British ladies' show jumping champion.
25.
David Coleman's son Michael was born on 1962 and was a Panavia Tornado navigator, who flew in the Gulf War in 1991, and had become a Squadron Leader.
26.
David Coleman was given the Judges' Award For Sport in the 1996 Royal Television Society Awards.
27.
David Coleman died on 21 December 2013, at his home in Berkshire after a short illness.