Top journalist still enjoys a sporting life (From Penarth Times)

Top journalist still enjoys a sporting life

ONE of Britain"s leading sports writers, who now lives in Penarth, is showing no signs of letting up after a glittering 40-year career on Fleet Street.

Peter Corrigan, 70, chief sports columnist for the Independent and former sports editor of the Observer, started his working life as a copy boy on the South Wales Echo in 1952.

Looking back on a career spent writing for the Daily Mail, The People, The Daily Herald, The Guardian, The Observer and the Independent, Peter said: "I am a big Liverpool fan so I particularly enjoyed reporting on their European Cup wins in the 1970s for the Observer.

"Howard Winston winning his world title at the Albert Hall in 1968 against Japan"s Mitsunori Seki was another great moment. I was boxing correspondent for the Echo in the 1960s and got to know Howard very well."

Peter now writes three columns for the Independent - a general sports column, a ghosted column and a golf column called the Hacker.

Peter grew up in the same neighbourhood in Splott as John Humphrys.

He was offered an apprenticeship as a butcher on a wage of 30 shillings a week but opted for the newsroom job which earned him 5 shillings less.

He became a junior reporter working from the Echo"s Newport office where he reported on Division 4 side Newport County.

Peter became chief football writer for the Echo in 1960 when a Cardiff City side including Tapstock, Walsh and Harrington had just won promotion to the top flight of English football.

Peter made the move to Fleet Street in 1963 as a football writer on the Daily Herald which later became the Sun.

He went on to work as a sports reporter for many national dailies.

Peter was dismayed by the decision to move the Observer out of Fleet Street to Battersea and left the paper as a result.

He said: "Fleet Street was a great place to work. There was great rivalry between reporters. Each paper had its own pub. The Observer"s was the Cockpit, the Daily Mail had the White Swan and the News of the World people drank at the Bell. It was like being in a little village. Journalists don"t see each other now."

Peter Corrigan has authored two Jonathan Davies biographies - Jonathan and the Codebreaker.

He also wrote a Martin Peters biography after England"s victory in the 1966 World Cup.

His son James Corrigan covers golf for the Independent and the Independent on Sunday and his daughter Sally is a policewoman based at Cardiff Airport.