DAVID WRIGHT is the 2020 winner of the Graham Wilson Memorial Award for outstanding service to hockey journalism.

The award is in memory of the former Daily Express journalist and former Hockey Writers' Club chairman who died in 2016.

Wright was the first winner of the Chris Moore Memorial Award for hockey journalism in 1996 and his career has lasted 58 years since joining the Wokingham and Bracknell Times as a 16-year-old.

After a decade there he worked in London for three years on the weekly soccer magazine Goal before joining the Reading Post in 1974 where he lasted 40 years before it went online.

During his time at the Post he also had 22 years of Saturday shift work on the News of the World sports desk.

Since 2014 Wright has been with the Reading Chronicle, Bracknell News and Slough Observer covering football, cricket and ice hockey as well as hockey for the Reading and Sonning clubs in the Chronicle plus Slough in the Observer.

On learning of his award Wright said: "l sincerely thank members of the Hockey Writers' Club for this award. Even just to be nominated is a real honour, so I’m absolutely delighted to be named the winner."

"It’s extra special as Graham Wilson was a fellow journalist I fully admired, and I always enjoyed reading his articles and talking to him.

“We’ve both been fortunate enough to work in a sport where there’s a great camaraderie from the very summit of England Hockey down to the most junior of teams - that's players, coaches and supporters. That makes a journalist's job so much easier."

Wright received his award at the Hockey Writers' Club Awards Lunch from Graham Wilson's widow Lisa.

Previous winners of the Graham Wilson Memorial Award include George Brink in 2017, Patrick Rowley in 2018 and Barry Davies last year.