Having spent much of my working life writing sports headlines, among other things, to keep baked beans on the table, I still can’t help but admire the occasional gem these days.
What with State of Origin streaks and cricket’s “Mickeyleaks”, sub-editors all around the country have had a field day lately – which had me thinking about some of the better sports headlines I’ve seen down through the years.
Coincidentally, given that we’ve got a British Open golf championship being played out this weekend, one of the oldies but goodies featured an Aussie British Open champion – Kel Nagle (winner of the Centenary Open at St Andrews way back in 1960).
From memory, the headline in question was published in 1968 when Nagle, no stranger to streaks himself, was en route to one of his record seven New Zealand Opens – at the Shirley Golf Club in Christchurch.
What I do remember quite clearly is that it appeared in Wellington’s Evening Post – around the same time as a certain young sports nut was embarking on a career in journalism on that very same newspaper.
Bearing in mind that it was an afternoon publication, and the New Zealand Open’s leading players were still out on the course when the edition went to press, the headline appeared above a story restricted to a report on a Nagle birdie blitz on Shirley’s front nine.
It read … “Nagle shoots up Shirley with a hot 32!”
Any Roarers got a favourite sports headline?
Disclaimer: Author no relation to celebrated golfing namesake, who boasts five more British Opens than him.
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