Farewell to the last of the great larrikin columnists

It’s often said when a great journalist dies they were one of a kind – but with Mike Colman it was true.

Courier-Mail columnist Mike Colman died of cancer on Friday night surrounded by his wife Linda and three children.

Just two weeks out from the Olympic Games which were his greatest sporting passion, gifted columnist Mike Colman has died after a lengthy illness.

Colman, 68, died with his wife Linda and three children around him in Brisbane at 9pm on Friday night after a brutal health battle with a rare lung disease in which he showed the sort of spirit he displayed for decades as one of Australia’s most entertaining sports columnists.

Mike in storytelling mode was the best company journalism had to offer, often telling yarns against himself like the day he got a tip off that Don Bradman was on his deathbed and the paper then ran a huge front page headline saying as much the next day.

Mike Colman had a memorable 47 year career as journalist, the final 23 as a columnist for The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail.

“When I switched on the television the next day I saw Bradman driving through a wall of cameras to get to his driveway,’’ Mike said.

“He said “what’s this all about?’’ They said “we heard you were dead’’ and he replied “I’ve just played 18 holes of golf … leave me alone.’’ But I was right. He did die … nine years later. I was first with the news.’’

Colman had a memorable 47 year career as journalist, the final 23 as a columnist for The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail after he moved to Brisbane following successful stints with Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph and Sun-Herald.

Cheeky, clever and proudly irreverent, Colman was one of a kind, that rare breed of piss-taking sports columnists who could made you choke on your croissant or laugh out loud. There were many readers who didn’t even love sport but loved reading Colman.

If you saw – as you often did – someone giggling as they read the back half of the paper on a bus or train you never had to check the author.

Colman had struck again.

“I was always a bit of a smart arse at school – the kid who tried to make everyone laugh and that included writing funny essays and school plays,’’ told me in an interview on his final day at The Courier-Mail.

“When Bill Casey died I wrote that he was one of a breed of columnists who could make you laugh on Wednesday and cry on Saturday. That’s what I wanted to be.’’

The Olympics brought out of the best in Colman to the point where his entire demeanour changed at Games time.

In the office in Brisbane he was often relatively quiet and private but at the Games – because of the incredible energy and excitement it generated within him – he was far more animated and outgoing and his copy, which had this upbeat vibe pulsating through it, was simply outstanding.

Mike Colman with Robert Craddock and Karl DeKroo at the airport before the Rio Olympics.

He loved the Olympics so much that in the last conversation I had with him, even though his health was in severe decline, he said he would have loved to have gone to the Paris Olympics to do a column on the fact its 100 years since Johnny Weissmuller – the first Tarzan – won three gold medals at the 1924 Paris Games.

Colman on Tarzan. Can you imagine the puns? The world is a poorer place for that column not been written.

I refuse to believe Australia has had a better Olympics writer than Colman.

Mike Colman at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

He saw all of Usain Bolt’s gold medals and had such a keen eye that in Beijing was the first scribe to notice Bolt had scorched to victory with one of his shoelaces undone.

Mike’s great hero was the iconic Sydney columnist Mike Gibson whose ability to pen a readable column about every day events touched Colman deeply (“No-one ever wrote a column about finding a stray cat on the way home from the pub better than Gibbo’’).

Often if Mike disagreed with the conduct of a big name coach or player he would take them down with subtle yet searing sarcasm rather than front foot fire.

Once when a Broncos player recklessly criticised his own club at an interview after a pool session, coach Wayne Bennett tried to deflect the blame by saying the player was “unfairly press ganged at a pool.’’

A bewildered Colman responded by writing “Bennett objects to the fact the player was press ganged at a pool and I’m with Wayne on this one – my information is the player actually had his head placed under the water by the media, arms tied behind his back and was not released until there was no sign of bubbles.’’

One of the many sad elements of Mike’s passing was he did not get to see the return of his beloved North Sydney Bears.

Along with Sydney’s Northern Suburbs Rugby Club where he used to play on the wing, they were his favourite sporting team, just ahead of the Australian women’s synchronised swimming team for whom he had a quirky, deep-seated affection.

Mike Colman synchronised swimming.

It started when he mildly took the mickey out of that sport and received a phone call from one of the girls who said “well if you think it’s so easy come and try it.’’

So he did – and almost drowned.

“I went down and did a story on them before the 2000 Olympics and they were so sweet and lovely. They were absolute battlers and just beautiful girls. I sort of became their mascot.’’

Mike loved writing about people who were quirky, outgoing, different or just plain big – he enjoyed Aussie Joe Bugner, Fatty Vautin, Anthony Mundine, polarising United States swimmer Gary Hall, the United States basketball dream team, celebrity agent Max Markson, Wally Lewis, Wendell Sailor and many more.

Mike Colman with boxer Evander Holyfield.

He loved drama. Once at a Mundine boxing bout when the stadium lights blew Mike rang his sports editor and said “I’m sitting here and cannot see a thing, the lights have gone out, the crowd’s gone nuts … it’s fantastic.’’

Mike may have loved showmanship yet he once confided his favourite people in the entire industry were talented journalists who did their job “with humility and quiet sincerity’’ – The Courier-Mail’s long time rugby doyen Jim Tucker and The Daily Telegraph’s cricket writer Ben Horne were his two standouts.

Treading on the occasional precious toe didn’t stress Mike at all. In England in 2015 when told a furious Michael Clarke was on the war path trying to find him, Colman burst out laughing when he found out The Australian’s Peter Lalor told Clarke “Mike’s currently in witness protection.’’

Mike Colman roars his approval.

Coming from NSW, Mike found it quite an adjustment to write for a Queensland newspaper at State of Origin time but claimed because his wife Linda was a Queenslander he got there by osmosis.

“It was hard at first but I remember proudly showing Linda a letter I got from someone who wrote, “you are just a typical one-eyed Queenslander Colman.’’ I told her, “I’ve made it, they hate me in NSW.”

Mike was also a successful author with his greatest success Fatty; The Strife and Times of Paul Vautin which was a runaway bestseller.

“Bloody Fatty,’’ he told me. “It was the first book I wrote and it ruined me. It was the No. 1 bestseller in the country and sold more than 80,000 copies and actually made some money. So I thought “how easy is this?’’ I have written another 14 books since and haven’t made a cent.’’

For all of his trademark humour the proudest work project of his life was a serious project triggered by the day he took his kids to play in a park at St Johns Wood. He noticed a plaque on a rock saluting the memory of a World War II navigator Clifford Hopgood, killed when his Lancaster bomber was shot down over France.

Mike Colman marching for his grandfather Cheviot "Charlie" Marshall at an Anzac Day march in London.

Mike became fascinated by the story, won a Walkley Award for a feature on it 10 years later and visited France and England to write a book called Crew detailing the lives of everyone on board.

“It was the most influential story on my life, all from that chance visit to the park.’’

It is often said when well known figures pass away that we will not see his like again but there truly is that feeling with the passing of the last of larrikin columnists.

Mike loved to have the last word so it is appropriate to sign off with the final words he told The Courier-Mail in his last day in the job.

“I’d like to thank the readers, so many of whom have written to me over the years to tell me what they have liked – and not liked. I feel like we’ve all been on a journey together. I dreamt of doing this when I was a kid and it has been better than I could have ever imagined.’’

Not just for you, great man, but all of us who laughed along.