Step aside Luke Littler: Here are the most bizarre sporting honours
Some earn a title for achievements of indisputable brilliance. Some lobby tirelessly for recognition and attempt to fast-track the process, ironically by joining a long queue. Some are simply talented at mental arithmetic and tuning out the noise of crowds, many of whom are dressed as Papa Smurf and singing a song about Kolo Touré.
Congratulations, then, to Luke Humphries and Luke Littler, given MBEs in the King's Birthday Honours List. Huge reward for their years of toil to reach the top of their sport, all 18 of them in Littler's case. 'For services to darts' is not a justification which has appeared often in the history of the honours system, although knighthoods were introduced by the Normans. Every chance they rewarded similarly impressive work with the arrows to the chap who saw off King Harold.
Litter said: 'This is an amazing and unexpected honour but one which I am very grateful for. To receive a recognition like this is something I had never thought would be possible, and it is a proud moment.
'It's unbelievable what I've done for my sport; I'm happy, my family is happy and I can't wait to receive it. Congratulations to Luke Humphries on receiving an MBE, too – he's a fantastic ambassador for darts, and although he's a rival, I can't wait to partner him in the World Cup this weekend.'
The Lukes join fellow darts stars Fallon Sherrock, awarded the MBE two years ago, Trina Gulliver, Keith Deller, Eric Bristow and John Lowe, recognised with the same in 2018 for his achievements in darts, charity work and walking on to Whitesnake's Here I Go Again. There are a few other surprising names when perusing the list of honoured sportspeople.
Of course we all share fond memories of John Beresford's role as the only sane member of Kevin Keegan's entertainers, does that merit an MBE? Perhaps not, but it was his anti-racism work which was being recognised. Cricketer Sir Neville Cardus never played in a first-class match but was an era-defining journalist of his sport. Good news for Nick Hoult. And there is still some minor rancour about Sir Gareth Southgate's knighthood from those who disliked his England reign, although Thomas Tuchel is doing his best to place his achievements into context.
But who are the most unusual honour recipients in sporting history?
Ronald Ross
You deserve recognition for being the best at your sport, without question. But just how far down the list of popular sports are we going with honours these days? Ross, as you are no doubt aware, is a pretty big deal in the world of shinty, even described as the 'Ronaldo of the Glens'. His Messi equivalent is seething.
Norman Hunter
For services to leg-biting. Actually made an MBE in 1967 along with every other member of England's victorious World Cup squad of 1966, despite not playing a minute. Has that in common with Peter Bonetti, Ron Springett, George Eastham and Ron Flowers. Hunter was unquestionably brilliant, but from an era of football quite at odds with the genteel world of the British establishment.
Pat Partridge
Beloved football referee in a time before that was a contradiction in terms. Worked as a farmer when not wearing the traditional all-black kit with an inexplicably massive collar. One of several from his era to receive recognition, in his case a British Empire Medal. Norman Burtenshaw and Jack Taylor are among the other honoured refs, given OBEs. Feels like the moment has passed. Difficult to imagine Mike Dean with a sword on his shoulder, although Howard Webb is also an MBE.
Paul Collingwood
Cricket has an uneasy relationship with the honours system. When given a CBE in 1992, Alec Bedser, England's best fast bowler of the Forties and Fifties, said: 'A knighthood? They're for fancy dan batsmen.' He had one five years later anyway. Paul Collingwood's MBE for his part in the 2005 Ashes victory was cut down to size by Shane Warne. Collingwood had only been drafted in for the final Test and Warne said later: 'You got an MBE, right? For scoring seven at the Oval? That's embarrassing.' It was 17 in fact, across both innings, but the point stands.
David Moyes
An OBE as of this year, so there is hope yet for Erik ten Hag and the many other post-Sir Alex Ferguson failures at Manchester United. Clearly Buckingham Palace puts a high value on the Europa Conference League and steadying the ship at Everton.
Naseem Hamed
Having prince in your name is usually a good route towards preferential treatment from the royals, unless it is followed by Harry. Bit of a grey area if you have added it yourself in inverted commas to make yourself look hard. A star in his heyday, less heralded these days and was also stripped of his MBE after serving 16 weeks of a 15-month prison sentence for dangerous driving.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Lando Norris swatted away Nico Rosberg's 'mentality' comments that went down like a lead balloon at McLaren but the Sky pundit is correct, writes JONATHAN McEVOY - and failure to beat Oscar Piastri this year may threaten to undermine his career
Outside, sun shines on the rowing lake from the 1976 Olympic Games that condemned Montreal to penury. It took a broken city 30 years to pay off the wastefulness of corruption, a billion-pound bill coming in 13 times over budget. Inside, Lando Norris is grappling with a rising deficit to his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, 10 points with nine rounds gone and 14 remaining, accumulated by the Australian's five wins to his two. Heading into the Canadian Grand Prix – and speaking before he qualified a distant seventh on Saturday – he is guarded and, deep down, would rather be undisturbed as he watches the US Open golf on his phone. He likes golf but the phone serves a second usefulness, as a device of self-protection. It is deployed so he can occasionally look at it and shrug as if distractedly with (real) boredom and (profound) irritation at what he considers the most tedious question of all time: essentially, whether he possesses the mental fortitude to convert his brilliant talent into the hard currency of world champion status. The query recurs as he honours a long-observed courtesy of speaking to the travelling pack of British daily newspaper reporters. Small and a young 25, it is difficult at moments not to feel for him and his predicament. But these are the standards by which elite sportsmen are judged, whether they like it or not. And the only credible answer they produce comes down to results, and how they obtain them. If Norris were to beat Piastri, and Max Verstappen, who is 49 points off the leader, he would be transported to a new level of respect. If he fails, it would threaten not only to harm his psychology but undermine his career. He eschews the notion of momentum in sport being important. Even trying to be polite, you have to dismiss this as a nonsensical proposition. If he managed to obtain momentum he would have strung together back-to-back wins and be leading the title standings. The question of perfection and the pursuit of it came up, incidentally in the city where Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, aged 14, scored her immortal and unbeatable 10. Does Norris believe he needs the same immaculate standard to beat Piastri, who has shown a cool composure in the heat of battle? In recent weeks, Norris was superior in victory in Monaco, where Piastri struggled for rhythm. Otherwise, Piastri has set the standard, and crucially so in qualifying. Piastri's edge in speed over one lap must be a near-incalculable dent to Norris, for he started the season believing this area was his crucial advantage. 'I don't feel I need perfection to beat Oscar,' declared Norris. 'I'll need to be very good. I always want to achieve perfection, but I don't think that's ever possible.' One sensed him diluting stress in this assessment. Tell yourself you can only do your best, and you relax a bit. Coping mechanisms are a key ingredient. Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, suggested in Barcelona a fortnight ago, when Norris made a damaging error in qualifying, that the Briton should engage a psychologist, as he did for a couple of hours a day several days a week when he was up against Lewis Hamilton. 'It was in the head at the end,' said Rosberg, commentating on Sky of the mistake. 'Lando was overdriving from Turn One onwards. You could see him snapping the car and overcooking it, and on the exit always coming off line. 'Piastri is so solid. He always delivers, no mistakes, whereas Lando is a bit the opposite.' Rosberg's comments – specifically about getting a psychologist – went down badly at McLaren. They privately suggested that the German was trying to 'make a name for himself' by saying things more outlandish than he really believed. No, he was just offering an honest opinion, and the TV coverage was all the richer for it. He is back with Sky in Montreal this weekend. Asked about Roberg's views, Norris said, slightly unconvincingly: 'I don't know what he said. I mean, I do all of those things (working on his mindset). He doesn't know what I do. I do stuff to make me better.' He declined to elaborate on what precisely his routine encompassed. Again, on the question of pressure, Norris spoke of trying to cope in the Formula One limelight, in contrast to the lower series where he made his name in relative tranquility. He said: 'I try not to think about it (F1's bright lights). Part of me in the early part of my career was thinking about it too much because it was a cool situation to be in, but you shouldn't let it change anything. 'But you are going to get judged more, whether good or bad, but it shouldn't alter the output of what you are trying to achieve. 'Now I am better, not in an arrogant way, of not caring about who is watching and what people are thinking, especially those on the outside. The only opinions I care about are those of my team because they know me. 'I never really know what I am feeling. Same as old. I am excited about going to drive – nothing different from normal. 'Montreal is a fun track to drive. It's tough because of some of the walls on the exits. It takes good commitment. Not the same as Monaco but a lot of it. Because of the kerbs. They are not small, easy ones. It's more of a hit. You have to get the timing right. And you get punished if you don't. It's a challenge.' As we were saying, it is one of many challenges in a season that will shape Norris's life and times.
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Gladiators star 'signs up for Strictly Come Dancing' after impressing BBC bosses during Christmas special
A Gladiators star has signed up for this year's Strictly Come Dancing, after 'impressing' BBC producers on the Christmas special. The superhuman, 36, took part in last year's festive edition and was paired with professional dancer Nancy Xu. Nitro, whose real name is Harry Aikines Aryeetey, has reportedly agreed to appear on the regular series this autumn. A show insider told The Sun how the ex-Olympian had been on bosses' wish list for some time now. The said: 'Bosses have been desperate to get Nitro on the series for a while. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'They were in talks last year but couldn't get the timings to marry up with his work. 'He was a huge hit at Christmas prancing around in lycra and showing off his biceps. Producers were also impressed with his dancing. 'The Gladiators' fanbase is growing and kids love them so he'll be a hit with younger viewers, too.' MailOnline has contacted Nitro's rep and the BBC. Nitro previously hinted at a role in the main series when he revealed he would be taking part in the Christmas special with an injury. He told The Mirror: 'I am carrying an injury to some degree. It's been quite tough. I'm not my full self. Hopefully that's taken into consideration. But at the same time, I'm just here for a good time. I can dance, I can enjoy myself, that's the most important thing. 'Although I think we're going to do well and although I think we're going to have fun with it, it would be nice to do myself 100% justice by competing another time on the main series. 'It would be good to be in a position where I can show my ultimate self. I've got the bug. If the opportunity arises… it's abut being in an arena and learning a new skill. If the opportunity arises, I would jump at it, literally because I'll be able to jump by then.' Earlier this year Strictly Come Dancing confirmed the professional lineup for 2025. Dianne Buswell, who lifted the glitter ball in December with Chris McCausland, will be joining Nadiya Bychkova, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk and Jowita Przystal in returning to the dance floor this September. Amy Dowden, who pulled out in the opening weeks of last year's show due to a foot injury, will also be back on Strictly for 2025, as will Carlos Gu and Kai Widdrington, who didn't have a celebrity partner last year. Despite rumours that he might be making a return after missing out on last year's series, Giovanni Pernice will not be heading back to the ballroom this time around. Sarah James, Executive Producer, BBC Studios said : 'The excitement is already building ahead of the new series and in addition to welcoming back our fantastic returning Pros, we are looking forward to welcoming two brand new Professional Dancers to the line up who will help bring another unforgettable series of dazzling dance and loads more besides to viewers later in 2025.'
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Seven BBC women alerted bosses over Wynne Evans' conduct... So why did he tell TV's Cat and Ben: 'There have been no complaints about me. Ever'
The BBC received seven complaints from women over Wynne Evans ' conduct towards them, including one claim he made an inappropriate comment about a pregnant woman's breasts during a Zoom call. The Mail on Sunday's revelations come just days after opera singer Evans, axed from his BBC Wales breakfast radio show last month, protested on ITV 's This Morning that there had been no allegations made against him. He appeared on the show last Wednesday to tell hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard: 'There has never been any complaints about me. Ever!' The MoS can instead disclose that BBC Wales staff raised the seven separate grievances between July 2023 and August 2024, including a period after Evans, 53, was approached to appear on last year's Strictly Come Dancing. Four of the complaints were made before he joined Strictly, raising questions over why the dance show's producers signed him up. Three more were made after he had been chosen for the show. A report into his behaviour was prepared in January for a disciplinary hearing which he said he could not attend, citing mental health issues. The Go Compare frontman's time on Strictly was mired in controversy. The Mail on Sunday told in January how he was filmed using the vile term 'spit roast' – a three-way sex act – to his co-star Jamie Borthwick in relation to professional dancer Janette Manrara during the launch of the Strictly Live Tour. He apologised and left the tour. Evans had earlier been caught up in a 'wandering hand' incident with his Strictly dance partner, Katya Jones. One source said of the BBC Wales complaints: 'Some of the comments he made were awful. 'Imagine making a comment about a pregnant woman's breasts. His behaviour left many women feeling uncomfortable.' A former colleague, who wants to remain anonymous for fears of career repercussions, told the MoS the complaints were well known among staff at the Welsh broadcaster but 'everyone was afraid to speak out' because Evans was seen as 'untouchable'. She said: 'That's why he got away with it for so long and why he will get away with it.' The woman revealed how the father-of-two's inappropriate behaviour 'built up over the years'. She said: 'At first, he was known as an idiot and a clown but it turned into something more sinister and tipped into being inappropriate and uncomfortable to be around and work with. 'These complaints are real. He is not just someone who has made a few rude jokes. There are women who have made complaints and he was warned time and time again and just kept going. 'The argument that he has of 'Oh, I'm just a product of my time. It's just a joke'... well, those times are gone and you can't act that way, especially if you have been warned about it.' A BBC spokesman said: 'We take any issues raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.' A spokesman for Evans declined to comment.
