TED IS SNOOKERED, HENRY KO'd.

The news of the last couple of days has carried the stories of the loss to us of two great sporting figures, Ted Lowe and Henry Cooper.

'Whispering' Ted Lowe was the man who brought snooker to a wide audience as commentator on the wonderful 'Pot Black' series, from its beginning in 1969, through to the 1980s by when the game had gained much greater popular appeal. His hushed tones were exactly right for the snooker-room atmosphere and he was always an understated commentator, never shouting at his audience and never saying more than was necessary, as so many do today. Snooker is a game that benefited greatly from the advent of colour television and it also gave rise to Ted Lowe's immortal line "and for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green" ! Ted also gave us an unforgettable quote about the great Fred Davis when he explained Fred's difficulty in reaching a long shot by saying that Fred "is getting on a bit and is having trouble getting his leg over". Ted Lowe was 90 and sadly died on the first morning of this year's World Championship final; it would be nice to think that, having watched the two terrific semi-finals, he didn't want to see either contestant lose in the final, and so did the gentlemanly thing and made himself unavailable. He will be missed.

While Ted Lowe was a commentator rather than a participator, Sir Henry Cooper was exactly the opposite. From humble beginnings, 'our Henery' became a national icon, one of the best boxers this country has ever produced. British heavyweight champion from 1959 until 1967 and again in 1970/71, Commonwealth and European champion too, and nearly a conqueror of Cassius Clay before he became Muhammed Ali. As a heavyweight, Henry was really too light and his tendency to cut easily was a blight on his career that prevented him from rising to the very top, which he would undoubtedly have done otherwise. Henry was always a man of few words and usually let his manager, Jim Wicks, do the talking for him - Henry did his in the ring. His last fight, against  Joe Bugner, produced one of the most incredible results in the history of the sport as Bugner was deemed the winner of a bout that Henry had clearly done at least enough to draw, if not to win himself. This result brought about Henry's retirement from the sport he loved but his universal popularity saw him return to television screens in advertisements and as captain of one of the 'Question of Sport' teams from 1970 until 1977. Henry was a true 'Gentle Giant', notwithstanding his sporting activities, and was deservedly given a knighthood in 2000. A Sporting Great who will live long in our hearts.