Sad news of the death of another former SJA officer, Ron Beagley.
Beagley began his national newspaper career at the Daily Mirror in 1953, only moving in the 1980s when, according to one former colleague, “he fancied a change”, and he moved to the United States to take a senior position at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
For someone used to the cut-and-thrust of a Fleet Street tabloid, the somewhat staid style of the American broadsheet was not for Beagley, and a year later he returned to the Mirror, working in the publicity department.
In 1985, Beagley went to work at the Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail, where he was recruited by sports Editor Tom Clarke. Beagley would continue working for the Mail in some capacity or other until 2003, completing his 50-year career on the nationals.
Beagley served on what was then the Sports Writers’ Association’s committee from the 1960s into the 1980s, when for a long period he was the official in charge of organising some legendary lunches with leading figures from sport in the Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street which remain fondly remembered.
The Association’s officers, committee and members send their deepest condolences to Ron’s family, friends and former colleagues.