Alan John Fraser Hoby (1914 – 15 October 2008) was an English sports journalist, broadcaster and author, who was best known for his regular columns from 1949 to 1986 in the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'', where he became chief sportswriter. During his career he covered seven Olympic Games, six World Cups and 31 Wimbledon championships.

Early life and career

Alan Hoby was born in London in 1914, the son of John Charles James Hoby, Bandmaster of the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. He started in journalism at the age of 16 reading proofs in a basement before becoming a junior reporter at the Richmond and Twickenham Times. He moved to The People in the early 1930s and served as a Royal Marine in World War II. In 1954 he authored ''One Crowded Hour'' (

Museum Press The Museum Press was a British fiction and non-fiction publisher, based in London, that was active in the post-Second World War period up to the 1960s. Selected titles *''Honey and your health: A nutrimental, medicinal & historical commentary''. ...

Sunday Express

In 1949 Hoby was recruited by

John Junor Sir John Donald Brown Junor (15 January 1919 – 3 May 1997) was a Scottish journalist and editor-in-chief of the '' Sunday Express'' between 1954 and 1986, having previously worked as a columnist there. He then moved to ''The Mail on Sunday''. ...

as sports correspondent for the

where he subsequently became chief sportswriter and over the years his regular columns covered a wide range of sports. In 1963 in Louisville, Kentucky he interviewed a young Cassius Clay, prior to Clay defeating

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson i ...

the following year to become WBA and

WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

champion. Clay predicted that he would become famous as champion and asked Hoby to send him copies of his article in the post, stating "Just address the envelope 'Cassius Clay, USA'. Hoby became close friends with a number of notable sporting figures such as Stanley Matthews and

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager, who managed Manchester United F.C., Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 197 ...

. He retired from Express Newspapers in 1986 and in the

1986 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

for services to journalism.

Later life and death

Twice married, Hoby was a lifelong lover of jazz and was still attending jazz festivals at the age of eighty-nine. He died on 15 October 2008 at a retirement home in Hove,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

and was cremated at Mortlake Crematorium in West London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoby, Alan 1914 births 2008 deaths English sportswriters Journalists from London Royal Marines personnel of World War II Daily Express people English sports broadcasters Officers of the Order of the British Empire