Former Birmingham Post sports reporter Mike Ward, who has died at the age of 65, was an "old school journalist" even among old school journalists.

He was a fine writer who never shirked the often thankless task of extracting proper, quotable responses from those reluctant to answer questions.

Two years of army service back home in his native Rhodesia had prepared him to encounter opponents a lot more awkward than he ever had to deal with in print, here in the Midlands, where he eventually made his home.

Born on February 22, 1951, in Kwekwe, he was educated at Falcon College in Bulawayo and the University of Rhodesia, before rising to serve as a platoon commander in the Rhodesian Army.

He served alongside former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar in the years just before Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980 in what had become Zimbabwe.

After starting his journalistic career at the Rhodesia Herald, his first newspaper when he came to England was the Hereford Times , before long-time native friend and squash partner Rob Shay got him a job at the Birmingham Post in 1977.

Mike Ward covered West Bromwich Albion for the Post
Mike Ward covered West Bromwich Albion for the Post

In that time, he played a lot of squash at the Priory Club in Edgbaston, covered a lot of football matches and proudly served as the Post's tennis correspondent, being granted the rare luxury of a Centre Court press box seat - a privilege granted to very few journalists on regional papers.

Most importantly of all, in August 1990, he married Rachel, with whom he had two children, Olivia (22) and Henry (21), to whom he was always a devoted and loving dad.

He retired, after 25 years of service at the Post in 2002, to the family's idyllic home, overlooking the Teme Valley in the Worcestershire countryside where his all too rare but still beautifully crafted efforts in latter years were penned as a freelance.

'Wardy' wrote, on occasions, about all the West Midlands' top teams.

But, apart from his tennis, he was most celebrated for his coverage of West Bromwich Albion, for whom he had a particular fondness.

Having been taken prematurely just six days before what would have been his 66th birthday, the irony will not have been lost on him that he departed this life with the Baggies as the West Midlands' top football team - just as they were when he first arrived in England 40 years ago.

Mike's funeral date is yet to be confirmed subject to an inquest following his sudden death in hospital after developing septicaemia in an infected hand wound.