Sports Media Mourn Over the Death of Paul Malone

Australia loses iconic Sports Journalist

The world of Sports Media in Australia, especially Queensland, has been thrown into mourning with the loss of the renowned sports journalist, Paul Malone.

Fondly known as Scobie, he died at the age of 59 at St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital on Tuesday night. This is 19 months after he became a quadriplegic due to a fall in another hospital.

He had gone to the hospital in May 2019 with the aim of completing some tests before going on a family holiday at Wimbledon. But the accident meant that never came to be.

Malone fought the battle bravely, displaying incredible courage in the face of mental and physical challenges. His spirit and that of his wife, Sharon, earned the admiration of nurses and doctors in the hospital throughout the period.

The legendary tennis player, Rafael Nadal, sent a signed shirt to him the words “keep fighting.” This would serve as the rallying call for Malone as he pushed himself through all the difficult treatment sessions even as his pain levels increased.

Malone lived true to his nature throughout the period as he fought his struggles privately and completely avoided social media. The only company he craved and got was that of his family and some of his old friends.

Even amidst his struggles, Malone still managed to make time for former workmates as he reached out to them during their trying times. With bedside assistance, he called several sports journalists at Courier-Mail who were laid off in June last year.

One of his longtime colleagues, Jim Tucker, said this was exactly what Scobie has always been like, caring about others even with his own problems.

Malone had a glorious career as a sports journalist during which had his own unique style of shrewd analysis with comprehensive newsgathering. He covered over 100 Kangaroo, State of Origins rugby league tours and co-wrote books with the likes of Allan Langer and Brent Tate.

He also covered three Olympics, many tennis Australia Opens, and the Rugby World Cup of 2003. At this tournament, Sir Clive Woodward, the English coach, especially praised him for describing his England side, claiming that to be the best he has seen in a while.

In 2001, his outstanding journalist qualities shone the brightest as he chronicled Lleyton Hewitt’s triumph at the US Open in New York for two weeks and a day after, the 9-11 attack happened. He started covering the impact of the attack immediately, comprehensively writing on the toll of these catastrophes on the city which happened just a few blocks from his hotel.

Malone made a lot of friends during his life which includes Bart Sinclair, the racing guru. Sinclair went to see him over 100 times during his stay in the hospital.  Everyone who had worked with him praised his personality and work ethics with John Hartigan, the former CEO and chairman of News Limited, describing him as one of the giants of Australian sports storytelling.

Everyone remembered him as a loyal, understanding, and special man. He is survived by Sharon, his wife, and Thomas, his son.