I HOPE you’ll forgive the indulgence of penning a tribute to someone slightly off patch, but I was shocked and saddened this week to hear of the passing of a true giant of British sports journalism, Ken Gorman.

Ken, who died at the weekend aged 72, is one of Wales’ best known scribes, having enjoyed a glittering career on Fleet Street, reaching the absolute pinnacle of both football and boxing reporting.

A lifelong student of sport and journalism, Ken’s connection to Gwent does go way back as he started out with the Argus’ own Robin Davey on the Monmouthshire News Agency.

His return to Wales was supposed to be a “winding down,” period with Ken returning to Cardiff to cover his beloved Bluebirds and Swansea City, both lower league clubs who need not present too much of a headache.

However, from the Millennium Stadium being built to the incredible successes of Cardiff and Swansea, not to mention a certain Joe Calzaghe, Ken was probably as busy in what were supposed to be his twilight years as ever before.

You’d certainly never hear him complaining though, not about the work, because he absolutely loved it.

I first encountered him covering Cardiff City for university paper Gair Rhydd in my capacity as sports editor.

A 19-year old who didn’t known his arse from his elbow and his couldn’t spot an intro if it beat me over the head, Ken was one of the first ‘proper’ journalists to show an interest in what we were doing and to attempt to teach us the ropes.

His ability to ring copytakers and deliver perfect copy despite having few notes written down were legendary and he never lost his wicked sense of humour, that meant you could pretty much guarantee a ribbing of some description.

Ken, who has written in the Sunday Mirror for years about Welsh soccer, was also a follower of Newport County, often ringing me for the latest gossip as the Exiles rose from the Southern League. You could tell he sniffed the story of them completing the journey back to the Football League.

However, without question my abiding memory of Ken is his fantastic way of dismissing people, especially international managers, when they threatened to impinge on his deadline.

Until you’ve seen Ken Gorman thank the manager of Belgium for coming and gesture for him to leave the room after only one question, you haven’t experienced what it is really like to be on a deadline.

I learned a lot from Ken Gorman over many years and it breaks my heart to think we’ll never again see him in a Welsh press box, where he absolutely was the king.

Rest in peace mate.