Hats off to tournament legend David

WIMBLEDON champions come and go – but David Spearing is hoping he will still be around at 100!

He is the chirpy chappie in the black hat who has been a fixture on Centre Court for 43 years.

Having turned 80 in April, the man who flies in from Abu Dhabi to be a voluntary steward in the players and families box hopes to carry on for another 20 years.

“That would be fun to do,” he says. “And as long as I stay fit and able, I hope to do it.”

God willing he will and, in the process, add to the records that have already made him a Wimbledon legend. David has never missed a day’s duty since 1974, when he arrived at Wimbledon following an invitation from a pal he met over dinner in Abu Dhabi.

He brought that famous hat with him – it now has pride of place in the All England Club museum – and the one he was wearing yesterday is only the second he has sported in all those years.

To be fair, he owes part of his fame to the late Terry Wogan, who spotted that hat on telly and asked his morning radio show listeners: “Who is the man in the black hat sitting on the centre court?”

David recalls: “He said I looked like General Custer and then lots of people rang in to say who they thought I looked like.”

He is also firm friends with the families and friends of many the stars who have graced the world’s greatest tennis tournament.

“The more famous the player the more the families come and I get to meet them,” he says.

“Roger Federer is the more famous in that sense and I have got to know his family pretty well. They have already been here three times this tournament.”

David also met Andy Murray’s mother Judy and wife Kim the other day, a meeting that left him with one of his very few regrets.

“I omitted to offer Kim my congratulations over their new baby daughter ,” he added ruefully.

But there’s always next year – and hats off to David Spearing.