David Coleman at his home in Berkshire after a short illness. David Coleman David Robert Coleman OBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and TV presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six football World Cups. Coleman presented some of the BBC's leading sporting programmes, including "Grandstand" and "Sportsnight", and was the host of "A Question of Sport" for 18 years. He retired from the BBC in 2000. Later that year he became the first broadcaster to receive the Olympic Order award, in
David Coleman year he began freelance radio work in Manchester. In 1954 Coleman moved to Birmingham and joined the BBC as a news assistant and sports editor. His first television appearance was on "Sportsview", on the day that Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. In November 1955, he was appointed Sports Editor for the BBC's Midlands Region. In October 1958, the BBC's Head of Sport Peter Dimmock recruited Coleman to be the presenter of the new Saturday afternoon sports programme Grandstand. He continued as the regular presenter until 1968. He also presented the "BBC Sports Personality of the Year" from 1961, and