Dickie Davies dies as tributes paid to legendary sports presenter

Tributes have been paid to legendary World of Sport presenter Dickie Davies after confirmation of his death at the age of 94 on Sunday.

The news was broken by former colleague Jim Rosenthal, who posted on social media: "With huge sadness, we announce Dickie Davies passed away this morning.

"So proud of his 20 years of World of Sport, 3 Olympic Games and a brilliant career on the telly. He is survived by a loving wife, two adoring sons, four grandkids and two beloved dogs." Rosenthal followed the tweet with a second post reading: "Would appreciate some privacy as we mourn and celebrate his life. Dickie was a wonderful friend and colleague….RIP DD."

Davies, from Cheshire, also went on to work for Eurosport before suffering a stroke in 1995. He recovered and then fronted his own shown, Dickie Davies' Sporting Heroes.

Following Rosenthal's tweet, a host of sports fans replied with their own posts of respect. BBC rugby commentator Andrew Sheridan wrote: "A legend of sports broadcasting and an integral part of my Saturdays in my youth."

While Piers Morgan wrote: "RIP Dickie Davies, 94. One of Britain's all-time great sports presenters. Made live TV broadcasting look so easy when anyone who's tried it knows how difficult it can be."

Meanwhile, Sky Sports football reporter Gary Taphouse said: "RIP Dickie Davies. What a professional. So many wonderful memories watching World Of Sport as a youngster."

Richard Keys posted: "Dickie Davies. A legend. It's the end of that era.

"A kind man and brilliant broadcaster. RIP Dickie," and Paddy McGuinness said: "Many Saturday afternoons spent watching this fella. Wonderful memories." Joey Barton simply tweeted: "RIP Dickie Davies."

The World of Sport programme, initially called World Wide Sports, began in 1965. Initially christened Richard, three years later he took over from Eamonn Andrews and changed his name to Dickie at the suggestion of former footballer and pundit Jimmy Hill, who came up with the idea during a round of golf.

After the programme finished in 1985, Davies remained with ITV and presented snooker, boxing, wrestling and darts. he also played a key role in their coverage of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

But it was his association with wrestling which he became most famed for, despite the presenter admitting in later years that he was never its greatest supporter: “I was never a great wrestling fan,” Davies told The Guardian in 2006.

“I never thought of it as a sport, but we used to get six to 10 million people watching it every Saturday, so the success of it can’t be denied."

In 1989 though, he switched over to Eurosport, again working heavily in snooker. After falling ill, his speech was affected for almost two years but made a successful comeback to television for his own feature series on famous sportsmen and women.

He also featured in ITV’s 50-year ‘World of Sport’ anniversary in 2005 and presented programmes and DVDs about the so-called ‘golden age’ of wrestling. He co-edited ‘The Grapple Manual’ with wrestler Kendo Nagasaki in 2005.

His popularity extended beyond sport though. He was famously referred to in the song 'Dickie Davies Eyes' by the group Half Man Half Biscuit and was the subject of a Benny Hill skit.