Hubert Lawrence: The greatest

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The death of Hubert Lawrence has ended the chapter of the greatest media sports commentator of this generation. Hubert was a talking encyclopaedia about the track and field athletes’ performances; his knowledge of the technical aspects of the sports meant he could be a coach, and his predictions were usually accurate and his analysis was thorough and objective. Not to mention that his delivery was done with humility.

Jamaicans enjoyed listening to his offerings and admired him greatly.

Furthermore, Hubert was equally comfortable in both electronic media and in print. He was a throwback to people like Barbadian Tony Cozier, who was adept in both radio and print for cricket, and Jamaican Jimmy Carnegie, who was also good at both in track and field. Hubert was that and more. He was also a good track announcer, a celebrated author, and an insightful columnist.

His columns in The Gleaner were in-depth and covered up-and-coming athletes, in addition to the outstanding athletes. Hubert was comfortable in print, on radio, on television or by the track side.

I first met Hubert in 1977 when I represented Calabar at table tennis and he played against me while representing St Jago. He won the match. Hubert was good at many sporting disciplines and his interest was not confined to track and field.

Hubert was an honest critic. When I was compiling a collection of my Gleaner articles for the book, ‘Enduring Advocacy for a Better Jamaica (2019)’, I asked him to write a commentary and critique on the sports section of my columns in that book, which he did graciously and objectively.

Hubert took in stride the loss of his wife some years ago and also the death of his brother in England. The latter’s death was the last time I spoke to him as I expressed condolences.

May his legacy inspire us all to strive for excellence in our fields of undertaking.

DEVON DICK