David Edward Charles Lacey (4 January 1938 – 15 November 2021) was a British journalist and football writer. He spent the majority of his career at The Guardian, serving as chief football correspondent from 1973 until 2002.

Early life

Lacey was born in Lewes, Sussex, to Hilda (a librarian) and Leslie Lacey (a journalist), on 4 January 1938. His father was the editor of the local newspaper, the Sussex Express, and his two brothers, Jeremy and Roger, also went into journalism.[1][2]

He attended Lewes county grammar school.[3]

Career

Lacey completed his national service in the Royal Air Force, but did not fly planes or see combat.[4] His first role in journalism was as a cub reporter for the Brighton Evening Argus, aged 16, and he also worked as a subeditor for the Brighton Gazette.[5][4][6]

He joined The Guardian as a subeditor in 1964, with his byline first appearing on 23 November 1964, on a report on a goalless draw between Coventry City and Crystal Palace in the Second Division. Lacey was appointed chief football correspondent for The Guardian in 1973, a position he held until his partial retirement in 2002; he continued to write for the paper until 2013.[7][8]

He covered ten world cups for the paper, covering every tournament from 1966, won by England on home soil, until Korea Japan 2002, won by Brazil.[9] He reported from the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, when 39 people died following a crush in 1985, and was in the ground at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield when 96 people were killed in a similar incident in 1989. In his almost five decades with The Guardian he published game previews, match reports, profiles, features and columns, and became particularly known for his weekly synopsis and analysis of the weekend's action, published in his Monday column.[2][10]

He was named sports reporter of the year at the British Press Awards in 1997 and 2003.[11] He is sometimes described as one of the greats of football writing,[12] and the best football writer in the English language.[2][13][14][15]

Lacey died in a care home in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England, on 15 November 2021, aged 83.[2][7]

References

  1. ↑ Engel, Matthew (19 November 2021). "David Lacey obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Omoyele, Idowu. "Tribute: David Lacey, the greatest football correspondent ever to write in English". mg.co.za. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Engel, Matthew (19 November 2021). "David Lacey obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 "FWA Q&A: David Lacey". Football Writers' Association. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Former football correspondent David Lacey dies aged 83". The Argus. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Engel, Matthew (19 November 2021). "David Lacey obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  7. 1 2 Ingle, Sean (17 November 2021). "David Lacey, former Guardian football correspondent, dies aged 83". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  8. ↑ Steen, Rob; Novick, Jed; Richards, Huw (17 November 2020). Routledge Handbook of Sports Journalism. Routledge. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-317-20575-3.
  9. ↑ Lacey, David (27 June 2002). "The gold from 10 World Cups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Engel, Matthew (19 November 2021). "David Lacey obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "David Lacey named Sports Reporter of the Year". The Guardian. 20 March 2003. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "David Lacey's funeral on December 10 – Football Writers' Association". 18 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Keating, Frank (15 July 2002). "'From first to last: wistful, spot on and typical Lacey'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Collins, Patrick (18 November 2021). "In a single, elegant phrase, Lacey had ended the argument. It was an enviable trick..." Sports Journalists' Association. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  15. ↑ Williams, Richard (17 November 2021). "David Lacey never wasted words – he used them to enrich the reader". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
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