July 2025

Steve Ovett 1978

Admin July 7, 2025

In 1978, middle-distance runner Steve Ovett was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY), ahead of decathlete Daley Thompson and cricketer Ian Botham. As rightly pointed out by presenter Frank Bough, he became the first of his kind to receive the accolade since Christopher Chataway won the inaugural SPOTY Award back in 1954. During a distinctly tongue-in-cheek interview with Bough, Ovett said, “I just decided when I sat down with Harry [Wilson, his coach] at the beginning of the season that the European 1,500 metres, the Blue Riband of the track, should come back to England after a long while.”

At the European Athletics Championships in Prague – which was, at the time, still the capital city of

Czechoslovakia – Ovett won the gold medal in the 1,500m in a championship record time of 3:35.59. In the absence of compatriot Sebastian Coe, with whom his rivalry would become legendary in the years that followed, Ovett sprinted into the lead with 200 metres remaining and quickly went clear of his rivals. Down the home straight, he had the luxury of looking around several times, waving to the crowd and noticeably slowing in the closing stages. Nevertheless, he still crossed the line more than a second ahead of his nearest pursuer, Eamonn Coghlan of Ireland, who caught another Briton, David Moorcroft, for the silver medal in the dying strides.

Prior to his spectacular win in the 1,500 metres, Ovett had already raced against Sebastian Coe for the first time in his senior career, in the final of the 800m. Coe made the running until joined, and passed, by Ovett entering the home straight but, having briefly looked the winner, Ovett himself was outpaced in the sprint to the line by the largely unheralded East German Olfa Beyer, who nonetheless ran a championship record time of 1:44:09 to win the gold medal. In the aftermath, Ovett famously asked Coe, “Who the **** was that?”.

Ovett went on the break the world record for 1,500m three times, twice in 1980 and once in 1983, and the world record for a mile twuce, in 1980 and 1981. He also won the gold medal in the 800m at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow before retiring from competitive athletics in 1991.

Sir Jackie Stewart 1973

Admin July 7, 2025

Sir Jackie Stewart was awarded a knighthood for services to motor racing in the 2001 Birthday Honours and described the accolade as “more important than my first win or winning a world championship”. ‘The Flying Scot’, as he was known in his heyday, was one of the most successful Formula One drivers in history. In nine seasons behind the wheel, between 1965 and 1973, he won the World Drivers’ Championship three times, in 1969, 1971 and 1973 and was runner-up twice, in

1968 and 1972.

At the time of his retirement, in 1973, Stewart had won 27 of his 99 races, thereby setting a record for the most wins by a Formula One driver that would stand until 1987, when broken by Alain Prost. He was subsequently voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY), beating tennis player Roger Taylor and equestrian Patrick McMahon in a poll of ‘Radio Times’ readers. Accepting the SPOTY trophy from the 1972 winners, pentathlete Mary Peters, Stewart said, “It’s a tremendous thrill. It is the climax of something that has been a great year.”

Despite that upbeat assessement, the Formula One season had ended on a tragic note, with the death of his teammate at Elf Team Tyrrell, Frenchman Francois Cevert, at the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, New York. In Saturday morning practice for the final race of the season, Cevert struck a kerb in the high-speed section known as the ‘Esses’, lost control and crashed, almost head-on, into a guardrail. He was killed instantly. Subsequently described by Stewart as, “The best boy that I had ever known”, Cevert had been primed to lead Tyrrell following his retirement.

As it was, Tyrell withdrew from the race, such that Stewart did not start, but had already done enough to win his third, and final, World Drivers’ Championship, ahead of Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson. Stewart had known all along that the 1973 Formula One season would be his last, but officially announced his retirement on October 14, saying, “As of today, I am no longer a racing driver.I have retired and I am very happy about it.”

Sir Henry Cooper 1970 & 1967

Admin July 7, 2025

Sir Henry Cooper, who was knighted for services to boxing in the 2000 New Years Honours, was a hugely popular figure inside and outside the boxing ring. He remains the first and, at the time of writing, only boxer to be knighted and was the first person to be voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) twice.

On May 21, 1966, ‘Our Henry’, as Cooper was affectionately nicknamed, famously fought Muhammad Ali for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Heavyweight title at Arsenal Football Stadium in Highbury, London. He lost, officially by technical knockout, in the sixth round after Ali opened a bad cut over his left eye. However, Cooper was unbeaten in three fights in 1967, notably defending his British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) British Heavyweight and Commonwealth Boxing Heavyweight titles against Jack Bodell at Molineux Grounds, Wolverhampton in June and against Billy Walker at Empire Pool, Wembley, London in November.

Those performances were sufficient, in the opinion of ‘Radio Times’ readers, for him to win the coveted SPOTY Award, ahead of World Cycling Champion Beryl Burton and the individual silver medallist at the European Show Jumping Championships, Harvey Smith.

Fast forward three years to 1970 and Cooper still held his British and Commonwealth titles. In the interim had also won the European Boxing Union (EBU) Heavyweight title following the disqualification of Karl Mildenberger, for illegal use of the head, also at Empire Pool, Wembley in September 1968.

After successful title defences, against Jack Bodell, again, and Jose Manuel Urtain, Cooper was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year for a second time, ahead of golfer Tony Jacklin and footballer Bobby Moore. Accepting the trophy from host Peter Dimmock, he said, “Boxing is as much a team sport as football, cricket or any other, so half of the credit goes to my manager, Jim Wicks, my trainer [Danny Holland], my brother [George, his identical twin], who’s helped me and I would just like to thank you all very much for making this possible.”

Cooper fought just once in 1971, controversially losing all three of his titles to 21-year-old Joe Bugner at Empire Pool by just a quarter of a point. He retired shortly afterwards.

Sir Brendan Foster 1974

Admin July 7, 2025

Born in Hebburn, County Durham on January 12, 1948, Sir Brendan Foster was knighted for services to international and national sport in North East England in the 2020 Birthday Honours. However, the best part of half a century earlier, Foster was also voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY), beating boxer John Conteh and rugby union player Willie John McBride in a poll of ‘Radio Times’ readers. After accepting the SPOTY trophy from the 1973 winner, Sir Jackie Stewart, he delivered a genial speech, which he began, “This is indeed a great honour, but I’ll let you into a little secret. The BBC are a little bit sneaky; they could have least told me beforehand, given me a clue. But, it’s a well-guarded secret.”

A member of Gateshead Harriers, Foster won the silver medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, finishing in a time of 13:14.4, just 0.2 seconds slower than the gold medallist, Ben Jipcho of Kenya. Later in the year, he won the gold medal in the 5,000 metres at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy. In the final, at the Stadio Olimpico on September 8, Foster set a fast pace right from the gun and, with Lasse Viren of Finland effectively giving up the chase after 3,000 metres or so, ran the last four laps in splendid isolation. He eventually cruised home in a time of 13:17.21, which was, nonetheless, a championship record, with Manfred Kuschmann of East Germany a distant second and Viren third.

The previous month, Foster had also run 7:35.2 for 3,000 metres on his home track at Gateshead International Stadium, thereby breaking the previous world record set by Emiel Puttemans in Aarhus, Denmark two years previously. Later in his athletics career, he won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada – the only track and field medal that Britain won – and the gold medal in the same event at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada. Foster retired from competive athletics following the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, having reached the final of the 10,000 metres, but finishing only eleventh.