One of Wales’s most prominent journalists, Michael Boon MBE, died on 28 June, aged 67, after a long illness.
A versatile writer who could turn his hand to any story, he is remembered by his colleagues as a consummate professional.
Born in London, Boon became one of the Principality’s best-known and most knowledgeable sports journalists covering a wide variety of sports. from football and rugby to cricket and athletics with equal assurance.
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He also made a name as a general writer and interviewer of celebrities and worked for a wide variety of newspapers in Wales and in Fleet Street in a career that spanned more than 40 years.
He was awarded the MBE for his services to Welsh journalism in the 2000 New Year’s Honours List and last year joined the highly distinguished list of writers to have been voted Welsh Sports Journalist of the Year by the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.
His friends remember him as a charming man devoted to the newspapers he worked for and unswervingly loyal to his colleagues.
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Boon first came to Wales in the Fifties to take a job on the Llanelli Star after training in London. Two years later he joined the South Wales Evening Post. He then moved back to London to work for the Press Association as its athletics correspondent for a number of years before moving to the Sunday Express as their sportswriter in Wales.
"His columns were compulsory reading for anybody interested in
Welsh sport," said Peter Jackson, rugby correspondent of the Daily Mail.
Wales on Sunday was launched in 1989 and Boon became a founder member of staff. "He was a true professional" said John Humphries, founding editor of Wales on Sunday and former editor of The Western Mail.
Eighteen months later, Boon joined The Western Mail as royal correspondent where he remained for nine years until his retirement in 1999.
"He was a gentleman in a profession not known for producing them," said Western Mail editor Neil Fowler.
He is survived by his widow, Valerie, and sons Richard, Gareth and Martin.
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