Roger Bannister died peacefully over the weekend and Off the Ball paid tribute to the man who ran the first sub-minute mile.
Writer Harry Wallop knew Bannister well and speaking to Joe, he said: "Yeah, its very sad though he had been quite ill. He had Parkinson's that's diagnosed a few years ago and he lived to a ripe old age so yes indeed, very sad but, in his own words, he said he'd "had a good innings".
"He was a neurologist by training and he spent far more years as a doctor - a very distinguished doctor and he felt that the three minutes, fifty-nine point four that he was so famous for rather overshadowed the decades he worked as a successful academic and doctor."
Bannister's expertise as a neurologist eventually saw him return to the scene of his famous run where he ended up as the master of an Oxford college.
"He was rather tickled by (that) as it was Oxford where he broke the world record and it was sort of a short walk from the ground which has been re-named "Sir Roger Bannister Running Track" because it used to be Iffley Road.
"It's a very undistinguished athletics track - it wasn't anything special but there history was made back in 1954," he added.
The full tribute can be heard here:
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