Former Evening Standard sports editor Doug Jackson passed away on Tuesday, aged 91.
Doug, who grew up in the North East, was a mainstay of Standard Sport for more than 30 years, working his way up from racing correspondent to racing editor and then to sports editor until his retirement in 1992.
Colleagues remembered him as a gentle, amiable soul and great company. Yet he was capable of quick, clear and categoric decisions, leading the production across five editions a day.
He made his staff feel valued and positive amid the constant deadlines and never seemed troubled by the early-morning starts. When a brief lull came at lunchtime, he would grab a pint and a sandwich before returning, refreshed for the late editions and overnight planning.
Doug was a long-term friend of another giant of the industry and the Standard, Michael Herd, who was also sports editor at the paper.
The pair, godparents to each other’s children, met 68 years ago at the Sunderland Echo (where Doug’s wife, Ruth, also worked) and, after Doug’s spell at the Star, linked up again at the Standard.
Herd said: “Losing Doug is so much more than losing a colleague or even a friend. He and I were like brothers. A couple of likely lads who grew up in the North East and eventually made our marks in Fleet Street.
“He was a writer of real ability, with a lovely delicate touch, although he always undersold himself. He was the ghost who wrote Lester Piggott’s column in the Evening Standard. It was, he said, not the easiest of assignments.
“I find it hard to believe he has gone, but he leaves behind so many wonderful memories.”
