In the days when journalists did not need to justify long absences at lunchtime, there was a Fleet Street mid-week football league. The Guardian was one of its stronger teams, and Eamonn McCabe was one of the stalwarts of their defence.
He was a very recognisable figure with his flop of dark auburn hair and equally distinctive beard. He wasn’t the quickest but his sizeable presence was usually sufficient to win most encounters when the opposition attacked.
Their fiercest encounters were against the Independent. During one of their matches Eamonn was faced with a rather nimble forward who had breezed past him on a couple of occasions.
He had to make a split-second decision as to how to prevent his agile opponent from being clear through on the Guardian’s goal. This left him trying to claim that their subsequent collision was accidental, despite his opponent being barely seen as Eamonn had landed on top of him.
Eamonn, with outstretched arms, protested his innocence. It is a pity there was no photographer present, as it would have made a perfect “Eamonn McCabe” photo.
