By Barry Newcombe
Fleet Street yesterday said farewell to Bob Millward, the Associated Press sportswriter who died in Johannesburg in July while covering the World Cup.
Steve Wilson, the European sports editor of AP, led the tributes at the memorial service at St Bride’s Church.
Millward spent three decades working for AP and in his career wrote on 52 sports for the agency. He had been AP’s London-based chief soccer writer for several years.
“He was a gentleman among British sportswriters, always ready to help and always willing and excited to cover new stories,” said AP international sports editor Simon Haydon.
“His enthusiasm was legendary and in South Africa he had been at his most versatile, filing impressive footballing stories until hours before his collapse.”
Millward’s last piece for AP was a preview of the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands.
Millward began in journalism at Caters News Agency in Birmingham and then moved to the Birmingham Post. With AP, he was a fixture at summer and winter Olympic Games,th e Open golf and Wimbledon, as well as major football.