We at the FWA were saddened by the news that Peter Blackman, former football writer for the Evening Standard, has passed away at the age of 90.
Peter died peacefully on 16th April 2025 shortly after celebrating his 90th birthday and enjoying a break by the coast with his daughters Joanne and Oonagh.
He started his long and successful career in journalism at the Bucks Free Press moving into sports reporting as a freelance for newspapers including the Evening Standard and News of the World. Peter joined the Evening Standard as a staff sports writer in 1966, mainly focused on football reporting, and made a great many friends among the stars of the sport as well as his colleagues.
He later covered the international tennis circuit for the Evening Standard and his passion for sport never dimmed, not just as a writer but also as a cricketer at Stanmore with Reg Hayter and latterly a golfer.
Below is a tribute by his former colleague at the Evening Standard, Michael Hart:
“In my opinion Peter Blackman was one of Fleet Street’s leading football writers and I was lucky enough to work alongside him.
“I sat next to him in the old Evening Standard building in Shoe Lane where we shared a desk and an old upright typewriter with a worn out ribbon and, in those days, the obligatory ash tray.
“Peter was a stylish writer with a reputation for ‘breaking’ good news stories. He measured his success by the number of ‘well done’ messages he received from the editor’s office. He had an easy charm which enabled him to befriend the big football stars of the day – players like Bobby Moore, George Best, Rodney Marsh, Geoff Hurst, Terry Venables and Kevin Keegan.
“His talents extended beyond football. He was an outstanding golfer – times captain at Northwood – and also a talented pianist and guitarist. But perhaps the least known of his talents was his love of painting. It was a lifelong enthusiasm and was rated highly enough to have his own exhibitions in some of London’s most prestigious galleries.
A great writer and a good friend to many. He will be missed.”
Peter’s funeral will take place on Tuesday 20th May at 11am at West Herts Crematorium, High Elms Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 0JS followed by a gathering to share memories of Peter at Northwood Golf Club, Rickmansworth Road, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 2QW.
