The sad news broke yesterday of how iconic British sports presenter Dickie Davies passed away, this at age 94. Since the news came out, tributes have been literally pouring in. In short, if you are of a certain age and are from the UK, and if you have even a mild interest in sports, Davies was the man you regularly welcomed into your living room.
Dickie was the face of the hugely popular TV show ‘World of Sport,’ which ran for 20 years, from 1965 to 1985. Davies, who had a long and happy working relationship with ITV, covered numerous sports, including snooker, darts, the Olympics (Davies covering no less than three Olympic Games) – and boxing.
As far as his tenure in boxing, Dickie was one of Muhammad Ali’s favourite presenters/hosts, and the 1974 special ‘An Audience With Muhammad Ali,’ which Davies hosted, is simply marvellous to watch. Davies was also close with British boxing legends Henry Cooper and Frank Bruno. Dickie was ringside to cover many big fights, including some of Mike Tyson’s early world title fights, as well as the epic Michael Watson-Nigel Benn fight.
In 2006, Davies gave an interview with The Guardian, during which he spoke about his passion for boxing.
“I was ringside for Mike Tyson’s demolition of Trevor Berbick, sitting right beside Berbick’s wife and young daughter,” Dickie recalled. “Tyson was awesome. The sound his punches made was simply frightening. And there’s no way that girl should have been there to see her dad get a beating like that.
“Muhammad Ali was the greatest boxer I’ve ever seen, no doubt about it. He wasn’t just a great sportsman, he is a great, great man. I had the honour of doing a long programme with him in the late 70s and he was fantastic. I don’t think any sportsman will ever enjoy the fame and respect around the world that he has. You go anywhere on the planet and people know about Muhammad Ali.”
Dickie was one of the special ones himself, yet he never once allowed ego to get in the way of his performance before the cameras. Very much a sports presenter who was blessed with a ‘guy next door’ quality and appeal, Davies made all fans feel comfortable, while he made his famous guests feel just the same during interviews.
Dickie lived a good, long, ever so productive life. He will be missed. Never to be replaced.