George Robert Humphrys (16 April 1952 – 18 August 2008) was a Welsh broadcaster, chiefly known as a sports presenter on BBC Wales.

Biography

Humphrys was born in

Splott Splott ( cy, Y Sblot) is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Spl ...

, a poor working-class district of central

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and was the younger brother of journalist and television presenter

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

. Humphrys was one of five children born to Winifred Mary (Matthews), a

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...

and Edward George Humphrys, a self-employed

French polish French polishing is a wood finishing technique that results in a very high gloss surface, with a deep colour and chatoyancy. French polishing consists of applying many thin coats of shellac dissolved in denatured alcohol using a rubbing pad lubri ...

er. Encouraged to do his homework, he passed the

eleven plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

and became a pupil at

Cardiff High School Cardiff High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Caerdydd) is a comprehensive school in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff, Wales. Stephen Jones has been Headteacher since 2011. It has been rated as Excellent for current performance and Excellent for prospect ...

, then a grammar school. After university, he became a newspaper journalist, working on various publications until he joined the Cardiff-based '' Western Mail.'' He then joined

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales b ...

in 1978, and then joined BBC Wales television's team as an investigative reporter most often beside his brother on ''Week in Week Out'', where his reports included an early investigation of the AIDS epidemic developing in the UK. From the early 1990s Humphrys began reporting on sport, a passion of his. Humphrys and his then colleague, former Welsh

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

legend J.J. Williams, presented the first BBC pre-match club house show from Cardiff Rugby Club before a Welsh Rugby international – Humphrys added

Taffs Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, community and electoral ward located at the south easterly tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, to the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the Valleys', it is separated from ...

RFC for atmosphere, who got a bit too drunk through the programme. In 2004 he was given a lifetime achievement award by BBC Wales at the Welsh Sports Personality of the Year awards. After suffering from pains in his shoulders in late 2007, he undertook an

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

examination under instruction from his doctor in May 2008, which revealed he was suffering from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

, despite never having smoked. Humphrys confirmed his retirement in June 2008, before revealing his diagnosis in an interview. Before he died, he completed his autobiography ''Not a Proper Journalist''. Humphrys and his wife Julie had three children, two daughters and a son, and lived in Cardiff.Former BBC sports presenter dies
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 19 August 2008 ''

BBC Wales Today ''BBC Wales Today'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Wales, broadcast on BBC One Wales from the headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales in Central Square, Cardiff. According to the BBC, it is the world's longest-running television ne ...

'' made Humphrys' death their lead story on 19 August 2008, with his former colleague and broadcast trainee Jamie Owen leading the section, with a personal tribute by colleague

Vincent Kane Vincent Kane, OBE (born 1935) is a Welsh broadcaster and writer, known primarily for his career with the BBC. He was chairman of the Wales Quality Centre, the International Festival of Musical Theatre and the Cardiff Initiative. Biography Kane w ...

. In 2009, local

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

side, the Cardiff Devils held a Nostalgia Night against the Hull Stingrays honouring Bob Humphrys' work with BBC Sport and the coverage of the Devils in the early 1990s. BBC Wales announced a £5,500 student bursary, the Bob Humphrys Bursary, in his honour.

References

External links

BBC Sport 606 Page – tributes to Bob HumphrysObituary in ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrys, Bob 1952 births 2008 deaths BBC newsreaders and journalists Deaths from cancer in Wales Deaths from lung cancer Journalists from Cardiff People from Splott Welsh sports journalists Welsh television presenters