[Closed] Your first sporting hero

Jim Clark

Brian Jacks.

Shaun Baker

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Went to Wales but never made it on a river in Iceland.

Shilts, or possibly David Gower...

Alberto Tomba

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Danny Blanchflower, then Jimmy Greaves followed by Eddy Merckx.

Jim Clark

Nikki Lauda...

Same name to begin (theses things being important when you're a kid) but then you start reading about him...

mine was brian jacks too. got his autograph at crowtree leisure centre when he was doing some judo competition too, my brother and i were genuinely starstruck meeting him.

Big Daddy - a 'fight' with these two was the best thing on TV on a Saturday afternoon...

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Nigel Mansell or Miguel Indurain, not sure which came first for me. Miguel Indurain probably more so though.

Definitely Brian Jacks after watching him on Superstars.

Brian Jacks.

For me not because of his chosen sport but his SuperStars performances

Daley Thompson

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Daley Thompson was awesome. Also Nigel Mansell and Barry sheene

Daley Thomson, then Nigel Mansell.

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Closely followed by the two Martyns.

My bedroom wall was like an MBUK collage.

Never really had a sporting hero, but first memory of a sportsperson I knew to be bloody good was Daley.

Melinda Messenger.

Nice pic, lowey.

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Lugbill. Was a close tie with Hearn, [url= http://www.sportscene.tv/whitewater/canoe-slalom/news/the-ultimate-run-25-years-on ]this[/url] is a great article about their friendship/rivalry including the tale of Lugbill giving Hearn his fifth world championship gold medal.

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Graham Noyce closely followed by Rob Aston

Playing in the number 10 shirt with it hanging out... pinging long passes left right and centre or chipping the Watford goalie

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and

The man who lived opposite me as a kid owned a sports shop or was a distributor of sports goods or something... anyway one day the World's strongest man paid him a visit.... Geoff Capes was on my street !! 😯

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Lou Sansom @ Workington Comets

Nigel Mansell or Miguel Indurain

The question wasn't who are the dullest sports people you can remember 🙂

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Stuart Pearce and Aryton Senna...

Ton ... iconic photo

Reminds me of this

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Villa goalkeeper Nigel Spink. In fact most of the. Late 80's/ early 90's Villa team, Gordon Cowans, Shaun Teale, etc.
Jason McRoy.
Slightly corny but also my Dad, he was a goalkeeper for various non-leave sides and played at Wembley 3 times. I spent most of my Saturday's at some club in the midlands watching him play.

This bloke was on my wall when I was a small boy. I think he used to score goals or something
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Now, the bloke stood up, in the above post is the only sportsman on my wall.

Muhammad Ali, they even had a cartoon series of him. He was in his decline when I become aware of him but still managed to inspire me. Sad to hear that he is in hospital now with respiratory problems.

Others that gained the Hero status include Nigel Benn, Daley Thompson and James Cracknell - more for what he has done after his rowing achievements.

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This guy:

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Mick Mills. Absolute legend.

Allan Wells and Kenny Dalgleish*.

Though, it now becomes apparent that Mr Wells may have been slightly cheaty, and Mr Dalgleish is by all reports a **** of a man.

Barry Sheene (probably)

although Mansell and Senna shortly after, probably because I went to (well, worked at) the truck races at Brands Hatch before the F1 races.

Ronnie Peterson

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There were lots of "Stars" around whilst I was growing up in Florida, but Dennis was the only one I had a picture on my wall..
Dennis Conner..
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Doing this..
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Clue is in the title Nobeer

[b]First[/b] sporting hero

ie when you were a lad.

Not

When you are a grown up old winge bag .... 😆

Otherwise there probably wouldnt be any heroes.. apart from maybe this good egg

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Dean Saunders. Odd I know.

Maybe also:
- Linford Christie
- Michael Jordan
- Gianluca Pagliuca

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[url= http://www.joeydunlop.co.uk/ ]Devastatingly fast but very humble[/url]

Robby Naish. I had pictures of this guy killing it when I was a teenager- he's still killing it! Ledge 😉

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Tom Simpson, first British road champion. Didn't work out so well in the end though 🙁
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Ali
Pele
Cruyf

Bruce Lee

For the OP, Peter Collins? Nah, Les Collins

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Only sport I was into as a kid, great time to be a monarchs fan... Then a wee bit later on, John Clelland- because we had a Cavalier, and he was a mentalist.

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Gilles.

Rob Aston

Kenny Dalglish
Viv Richards
Daley Thompson

For younger STW's there will be much more choice due to tv coverage, 'back in my day' 3-4 tv channels, papers mostly did sport seasonally and of course no women heroes cos women's sport was only invented in 2014 when some cyclists did stuff, although having written that now I am thinking that Tessa sanderson the javelin thrower was a big name in the early 80's.

George Best

Greg Lemond and Jamoliddin Abdoujaparov

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Can I have a second vote for Tommy Simpson?

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Severiano Ballesteros
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I was there that day watching him.

Jason McRoy for me

[img][url= https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3735/9299904547_fdd3fc25e6_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3735/9299904547_fdd3fc25e6_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/faNrBR ]tumblr_merc4uod5b1rn92z6o1_1280[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/58795727@N03/ ][/url], on Flickr[/img]

Ian Botham - Headingley 1981.

The Jimi Hendrix of the Skateboarding world -

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Gary Lineker

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Hmm, hard one, didn't have 'heros' as such, read about the famous people but don't remember hero-worshipping anyone in particular. I kind of think being into surfing, skating and riding bikes its less conducive to hero-worship compared to football/rugby.

However, the famous surfers when i were growing up were the newschool generation, people like Shane Dorian, Kalani Robb, Rob machado and kelly slater. Used to have an american magazine with a sequence of Kalani rob doing an insane tailslide on the bluest wave somewhere in hawaii which i can still remember now.

Bikewise was very much MBUK influenced so the two martyns, team animal etc. Plus I always wanted to have the guts to have spiky died hair liek one of the MBUK staff (can't remember name)

@rockape63. I trust you are referring to the wonderful Steve Ovett there?

Ali, although I was too young to see him at his best.

martinhutch

Shilts, or possibly David Gower...

You are me, and i claim my £5

Although to be strictly accurate, my very first would be the same as Rockape63, but in this guise

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I had a picture of every one of these goals in my scrapbook

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/apr/17/england-malcolm-macdonald-cyprus-1975

First one I was actually excited about winning something was probably Ainsley at the Sydney Olympics.

Not a 'pretty' win, but incredibly exciting to watch a masterclass in using the rules to keep Scheidt out of the points.

I trust you are referring to the wonderful Steve Ovett there?

Why? Would it be wrong to nominate Coe? ( I assume you are not referring to Straub?)
Coe is the only man to retain the Olympic 1500m gold, held more world records than you can shake a stick at and his 1:41 in Rieti is one of the most impressive 800m's ever run.
He was a hero of mine.

A few more than just one, but he ho.

Ieuan Evans

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Glenn Hoddle

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John Tomac

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Tim Gould

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Nigle Mansell

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Noyce

I like this bloke, not necessary hero, but he died age 32 so not sure if that is good or bad.

Yes, it's a sport.

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Botham smashing the Australian bowling round the ground. My favourite memory of my late Dad and I. Watching in the front room, I was 10 ish, all doors and windows open due to the heat. He was a Yorkshireman and as such Cricket was the only sport he loved. It was the happiest I had ever seen him!!!!!!

This legend:

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I was there on THAT day in 1990. I was also, unfortunately, there on that other day 18 months later. Almost behind the posts in fact.

Dougal Haston - cried when I head the BBC news saying that he had been killed in an avalanche in Leysin. Can still see the picture of him now.

Ingemar Stenmark - took me until this year to ski in a pair of élan skis!!

Tiggs - seve was close and I was there too, working in the stand behind the 18th. Magic put and theatre!

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The Goat

Whilst I don't mean to denigrate anyone's childhood heroes, you could explain Nigel Mansell to me from now until, oooo, the end of time and I'm still going to say "I don't get it".

Jean Pierre Rives
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although as an Englishman it was often somewhat masochistic.
James Hunt and Gordon Banks