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Here is the full statement from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley:
Today, as I prepared to attend the funeral of my dear friend and party colleague Herbie Yearwood, I received the very sad news that a true Barbadian sporting icon, Samuel Algernon “Sam” Wilkinson, had passed away – most interestingly, he was known to countless Barbadians as Sporting Sam.
Although Sam the sports reporter has retired from the public eye, for many of us his voice will never be forgotten. When 7-Up’s Sam did the morning radio sports report, he received as much attention as any breaking news. When it came to sports reporting, he was in a league of his own.
He dedicated his life to sports journalism and was just as comfortable behind the microphone producing radio reports or in front of the camera hosting the Cover Point TV sports show as he was at the typewriter writing cricket, football, boxing or basketball reports for the newspapers.
There is no doubt in my mind that even if many of today’s young sports journalists have never heard him commentate or had contact with him on the sidelines when he was reporting, they still owe him a lot.
I say this because I know that as the first sports editor of the then-fledgling Nation, he set a bold new standard for sports coverage for the citizens of our newly independent nation. Sam did for sports and sports fans what Harold Hoyt and Ridley Green (sadly, both no longer with us) and Al Gilkes did for journalism.
As we prepare for Saturday’s ICC T20 World Cup final at Kensington Oval, we realise that Sam Wilkinson stands out among a group of respected voices in the Caribbean when it comes to commentary and informed opinion on local, regional or international cricket. Sam’s life as a sports journalist has been as groundbreaking in many ways as the events taking place at the Oval this weekend.
On behalf of the Government and people of Barbados, I extend our sincere condolences to his wife of 54 years, Judy, and their two children, Samantha and Barry.
May his soul rest in peace.
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