Giles Oakley writes: It’s often forgotten that Jimmy Hill was an enthusiastic hunter who loved to ride to hounds. I remember filming him and a somewhat snooty Horse of the Year commentator for a BBC Open Door programme in 1977, making the case for hunting. As I approached them with my crew I could sense the frosty disapproval as they looked me up and down, from longish hair to bell-bottoms, no doubt correctly discerning that I disagreed with their viewpoint.
What helped break the ice was when I told Jimmy that I had first seen him play for Fulham against my team, Manchester United, at Craven Cottage in March 1960. In the early minutes Jimmy had missed an open goal, skidding in the penalty area and landing on his backside as he vainly tried to bundle the ball over the goal line. As I gleefully pointed out all those years later, United went on to win 5-0.
Quick as a flash and displaying all his old competitive instincts, Jimmy pointed out that Fulham had been effectively reduced to nine men in those pre-substitution days by injury, with Jimmy himself forced to limp along the right wing. “If I’d been fit,” he declared defiantly, “the result would have been very different!”
From that point we got on famously, football once again the perfect ice-breaker, and Jimmy delivered a pithy defence of the indefensible.
David Harrison writes: Aside from his commitment to top flight football, Jimmy Hill had a keen interest in, and involvement with, the non-league game.
He was president of Corinthian-Casuals from 1996 until his death, and was a strong supporter not only of our club’s determination to remain strictly amateur, but to uphold what our founders called “the Corinthian spirit”. If behaviour wasn’t up to the mark, Jimmy was quick to go into the dressing room to say so.
He was a keen supporter of the club’s junior sides, urging a passing game for the young men on the pitch and patience from parents on the touchline. One of the club’s most enduring images is of Jimmy with a group from the youth section. His words to the boys as the photo was taken were: “If you want to be famous, you’ve got to learn how to smile.”
