How I sealed a Spurs deal
HEARN’S 40-YEAR QUEST
PRIDE of place on Barry Hearn’s office wall is afforded to a picture garnished with an autograph that took him 40 years to acquire.
For one of British sport’s most influential puppet masters – especially in snooker, boxing, darts and football – it was the holy grail of squiggles.
As a master salesman who could flog ice cubes in the Antarctic, Hearn could usually close a deal faster than most of us can shut a door.
He once pursued Don King, right, through the night in Manchester, and warned the shock-haired promoter he would get “no sleep” until he handed over Bazza’s $2million share of the pot from Chris Eubank’s rematch with Nigel Benn at Old Trafford in 1993.
But Hearn, the 73-year-old president of the Matchroom empire, did not always call the tune in football. On his watch as chairman at first love Leyton Orient from 1995-2014, he “made a small profit twice, broke even twice and did our b ******* for the other 15 years.”
As a schoolboy, Hearn occasionally dropped in on Tottenham Hotspur. He recalls: “When players ran out onto the pitch, youngsters like me would run on with autograph books and try to get them to sign before the match.
“On one occasion, when Spurs were playing Blackpool, I ran on trying to get the one autograph that had eluded me – Dave Mackay, who tackled with proper tackles.
“I was determined to get it. I ran straight towards him as he came out of the tunnel and, without looking up, he kicked the ball he was holding. It hit me straight in the face and knocked me off my feet.
“He asked, ‘Are you all right, lad?’ ‘Yes, Mr Mackay, I’m fine,’ I said. ‘Can I have your autograph please?’ He replied, ‘No, you can f*** off.’ At least 40 years later, I was speaking at a function in the Midlands and there was a table of former Tottenham players, including the one and only Dave Mackay.
“I walked over to him and said, ‘Can I have your autograph now, Mr Mackay?’, recounting the story, and we had a good laugh – but I still ended up without his signature. A week later, a huge parcel arrived in my office. When I opened it, there was a picture of the great Spurs squad with Dave Mackay being held aloft by Jimmy Greaves,Alan Gilzean and Pat Jennings.
“Every player had signed it and there was an accompanying note from Dave: ‘At last you have got my autograph.’ That picture takes pride of place in my private office at home and will never be taken down.”
●Barry Hearn: My Life – Knockouts, Snookers, Bullseyes, Tight Lines & Sweet Deals, published by Hodder and Stoughton £20 hardback.