Colemanballs

The name was coined by Private Eye magazine and is derived from that of the BBC sports commentator, David Coleman[?]. An example of the great man's work in this field is the classic: "And here's Moses Kiptanui[?] - the 19 year old Kenyan, who turned 20 a few weeks ago". Another regular contributer to the section, up until his retirement from racing commentary, was Murray Walker[?], who would frequently mis-identify drivers and mangle metaphors (e.g. "We've had cars going off left, right and centre" and the classic "Unless I'm very much mistaken...... I AM very much mistaken!").

The column also includes quotations from sportsmen themselves (e.g. "That's cricket Harry, you get these sort of things in boxing." - Frank Bruno[?]), politicians ("When your back's against the wall it's time to turn round and fight." - John Major), newsreaders and celebrities.

In late 2001, a subsection of Colemanballs was introduced. Called "Warballs" it records bizarre references to "9/11", often taken from specialist magazines explaining the effect of the attacks on things as unconnected as model trains[?] and fast-food.

Similarly gaffe-prone sports personalities can be found throughout the world, such as Yogi Berra of the United States.

Compare damaging quotations