A life well lived: Eamonn McCabe
Great Britain’s season of sad goodbyes continued this month as sports photojournalist Eamonn McCabe, who had a talent worthy of a knighthood, passed away suddenly at his home in Suffolk at the age of 74.
If his craft had been music, he most certainly would have sold out the Royal Albert Hall on multiple occasions.
Those who knew him best marveled at the ease at which he went about delivering amazing images. Tim Adams of The Guardian wrote, “He was that rare thing: an instinctive newspaper photographer whose work to daily and weekly deadlines was timeless enough to hang on gallery walls.”
His shots put him in contention for the unofficial Mt. Rushmore of Sports Photography, alongside the likes of Leibowitz, Iooss and Leifer. While the aforementioned, took hours or days to plan a single click of the shutter, McCabe had only a single heartbeat. And more often than not, what he came back with left a lasting impression on readers, and made them feel as if they had been in attendance.
The accolades and awards are many, but winning Sports Photographer of the Year four times was just the beginning. McCabe has 29 of his images included in the collection at the National Portrait Gallery.
For reporters lucky enough to have him providing the “art” to a story they were covering, their mission was simple yet complex: Pen something worthy of running alongside a McCabe image.
Eamonn McCabe’s photographs took the reader to the event without ever leaving their home.
Legendary Observer reporter and friend, Hugh McIlvanney wrote that “working with Eamonn McCabe can be hazardous to a reporter’s ego. McCabe’s photographs often convey the essence of an event or a performer with such dramatic succinctness that the writer assigned to the same job is left with the feeling of having turned in a 1,500-word caption.”
What Ansel Adams did for landscapes in black and white, Eamonn McCabe was on par in the world of sports photojournalism. Giving texture and feeling to the critical moment of the match. As an American and recent new resident in London, I was immediately drawn to his style and simplicity. Regardless of your interests McCabe’s skill transcends the topic and subject., his images just speak to you.
A tragic turn of events made Eamonn McCabe a household name when his image so accurately and completely encapsulated a moment of terror and loss. With one click of the aperture McCabe became synonymous with the tragedy of Heysel. In 1985 he was assigned to shoot the European Cup Final in Brussels between Juventus and Liverpool.
He captured a chilling image that would eventually claim the lives of 39 people who were crushed to death. That tragedy left an indelible mark on his life. He would go on to win News Photographer of the year for his work. He would later say. “I won News Photographer of the Year for those pictures; an award I wish I’d never won. I walked into that stadium a sports photographer and I left a news photographer.”
In a nation with a religious fervor-like obsession with sports, McCabe’s work generated more than a few “OMGs” without ever saying a word.Being able to clearly document an event is a skill. Capturing the emotion of that moment is an art form. Eamonn McCabe was a virtuoso with a camera.
He leaves behind a wife, fellow former Guardian journalist Rebecca Smithers, and his two children, Mabel, and Ben. Plus, a country and an industry that will sorely miss his wisdom and talents.
To experience some of Eamonn McCabe’s images for yourself click this link.
