Brian Crowther, one of the mainstays of The Guardian‘s old Manchester sports desk in the 1960s, has died. He was 79.
As his former sports editor, John Samuel, writes in today’s newspaper, “Crowther was a sports specialist in several areas, most notably his reports on swimming, for which he won national awards.
“He reported on swimming at the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968, Munich in 1972 and Montreal in 1976.
“Colleagues remember him as a lovable man, able to turn his hand to anything, but with a special empathy for minority sports. He always had a knowledge of the larger international picture. He was particularly proud that one of his Football League match reports was used by the National Council for the Training of Journalists as an example of how to blend fact and opinion for balanced coverage.”
In the 1970s, when The Guardian closed its London operation, Crowther joined forces with Joe Lancaster to form the Lancaster and Crowther agency, which has remained a force in the north-west covering snooker, athletics and a range of sports since.
Crowther was born in Manchester, the son of a printer, who began work as a reporter on a weekly newspaper in Rawtenstall. During his career, he also worked at Farmers Guardian, Yorkshire Life (as editor), and Lancashire Life (as deputy editor and restaurant critic).
The SJA sends its sympathies to Brian’s widow, Doreen, his brother, John, his stepchildren, Jennifer and Ralph, and six step-grandchildren.