Hugh McIlvanney
Hugh McIlvanney (2 February 1934 – 24 January 2019) was a Scottish sports journalist who had long stints with the British Sunday newspapers The Observer (30 years until 1993) and then 23 years with The Sunday Times (1993–2016). After nearly six decades in the profession, he retired in March 2016 at the age of 82. Early life McIlvanney was born on 2 February 1934 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, to William and Helen McIlvanney (née Montgomery). He had one sister and two brothers, including the novelist and crime fiction writer William McIlvanney. He was educated at Hillhead Primary school then James Hamilton Academy. He transferred across to Kilmarnock Academy for a session when his brother William started there. Journalism career McIlvanney left school to work as a reporter at The Kilmarnock Standard. He moved on to the Scottish Daily Express. In his mid-twenties, while he was working at The Scotsman, he was persuaded to write about sport. He joined The Observer in 1962 as an assistant sports editor and worked at the paper until 1993, interrupted when he took a news and features role in 1972–73 with the Daily Express, before joining The Sunday Times in 1993. His column on the