John Anthony Parsons (20 February 1938 – 26 April 2004) was a British sports journalist and author.

Life

John was born the son of Les Parsons and his wife Marion in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 20 February 1938. His father had been president of the

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physical ...

for the Oxford area. As a schoolboy at Magdalen College School, Parsons was a member of the tennis team. At the age of 14, he began writing football match reports for the

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 as a success ...

. After leaving school in 1956, he took a job as a reporter on general topics at the paper. In 1964 he moved to the

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

. In January 1981, Parsons came to the

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

and succeeded

Lance Tingay Lance Tingay (15 July 1915 – 10 March 1990) was a British sports journalist, historian, and author of several tennis books. For many years his annual ranking of top tennis players was "the only one that counted" before ATP rankings were introduc ...

as tennis correspondent. In 2001, he retired from full-time work but continued to cover major events for the paper. Beside his journalistic work, he published numerous books including ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Tennis'' (1998) and the ''Official Wimbledon Annual'' every year. Parsons was born with only one functioning

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

. He received a kidney transplant in 1982 after his only kidney had been injured by a soldier during a military coup in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in 1975. While reporting from the

NASDAQ-100 Open The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in March 2004, he suffered an

acute kidney failure Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden decrease in kidney function that develops within 7 days, as shown by an increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, or both. Causes of AKI are cla ...

and was brought to Mercy Hospital. He died there a month later. He was unmarried and survived by his parents and his sister Heather Nason.

External links

Obituary
from the Daily Telegraph, 28 April 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Anthony 1938 births 2004 deaths British sports journalists Tennis writers Kidney transplant recipients