Tributes to former Northants ET sports reporter John Wilkinson who has died aged 74

John Wilkinson died on January 21 as a result of prostate cancer, spending his last weeks being cared for at Kettering’s Cransley Hospice.

Known for his exceptional sports knowledge, John joined the ET sports desk in 1974 covering Rugby Union but covered many other sports, notably cycling, boxing, athletics, darts and skittles.

The ‘ultimate all-rounder’ sports journalist, he even ‘wangled’ accreditation for the Northants Evening Telegraph at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Former ET sports editor Alan Poole said: “John was nominally the ET’s rugby union correspondent but he was so much more than that. He raised our coverage of athletics, cycling and boxing in particular to new heights and embraced numerous other so-called minority sports with astonishing energy and enthusiasm.

“In journalistic terms he was the ultimate all-rounder. Long before we could just dial up facts on the internet, he had an astonishing trove of specialist knowledge at his fingertips and he was a superb writer – an old-school craftsman who could knock out high-quality copy, to length, however tight the deadline.

“Even more impressively, though, John didn’t just cover local sport, he immersed himself in it, helping countless clubs and associations with free advice and administrative support.

“I worked with a lot of exceptionally talented journalists during my half-century in the trade but I can’t think of one who made such an impact on their adopted community.”

Born in 1951 on the Isle of Man, John used his post-A-level gap year travelling to France where he got a job that included having to exercise a cheetah called Sheba.

Back in the UK he worked as a clerk at an ad agency, eventually getting a job where he could use his love of sport, becoming a sub editor at The Jockey Press.

In 1972, he took a pay cut to take a job back on the Isle of Man working for the local paper. After two years he joined the Evening Telegraph in Kettering.

He was head-hunted in 1989 taking his talents to the Coventry Evening Telegraph. It was while working there that he managed to save Coventry Rugby Football Club.

In June 2008 the club risked dropping to the bottom tier of the English pyramid unless they could guarantee a £100,000 bond to set against any future shortfalls.

John was tipped off two hours before a crunch meeting that with no financial guarantee delivered, the club had run out of road.

Rather than type up his scoop, he proposed the paper would spearhead an appeal – and he was given two weeks to try to put the public’s money where his mouth was.

Nearly £55,000 was collected and the RFU was so impressed by the community’s commitment they gave Coventry permission to carry on in National One.

Alan added: “So knowledgeable on so many sports, equipped with the full set of reporting skills and a high-quality, remarkably fast writer, he certainly had all the credentials for a national newspaper role which would have earned him much bigger paycheques for many fewer hours.

"But because he elected to remain in the provinces, he will be remembered as a journalist who contrived to dictate the narrative, to make a definitive contribution in his own right.”

John took voluntary redundancy in 2008 but carried on as a freelance writer and was the media officer for the club he saved - Coventry RFC.

A tribute from the club said: “With steely determination, unrelenting focus and typical good humour John Wilkinson ignited the flame that saved Coventry Rugby Club and in the process added his name to the club’s hall of fame. He will be sorely missed.

"Wilkie never played much rugby, let alone at senior club level, but he loved the sport and those who play it with an enthusiasm that leaped off the page at his readers.”

John had moved back to Barton Seagrave to be close to his son Barry and daughter-in-law Niki during his final months. He also remained close to his step-daughters Jenny and Louise and their families.

Writing about his own life, John wrote: “I consider myself so lucky to have spent so much of my working life in sport which is what I always loved. Following my passion and being paid for it. It took me to all the corners of the world, and I was always like the kid with his face pressed against the sweet shop window.”

Barry added: “We shared a lot of laughs over the years and he was always the one to try and make a laugh and joke out of every situation and this was true right up until the end. “My wife and I will cherish the time we spent with him when he retired and would tell us about all his travels over the years. We managed to surprise him by turning up on holiday to Lanzarote only last year and had the most amazing time with him, a memory that will stay with us forever. His shocked face saying ‘what the bloody hell are you doing here’ will raise a smile for years to come!”

John’s funeral will be held on Friday, February 27, at 11.15am at Canley Crematorium in Coventry followed by a wake at Coventry RFC.