Jon Henderson

So many sporting anecdotes, so much unrestrained laughter - sports writer Jon Henderson kept everyone entertained at the Society’s 75th meeting. “A whole lot of balls” was his theme and "Hendo" (Reuters 1969-1989) ranged over his coverage of sports from Olympic Games to England cricket tours to boxing.

He left Reuters in July 1989 to join the about-to-be-launched Sunday Correspondent, which soared and then nosedived in the space of 14 months, after which he joined The Observer, finally taking voluntary redundancy after 19 years on 30 June 2009 to write more books to add to his Best of British: Hendo's Sporting Heroes and The Last Champion: The Life of Fred Perry. The latter has been long-listed for a literary prize. He remains captain of The Observer cricket team. ■