Late-night, extra blog post tonight, because I've just heard that Creighton Carvello has died, aged 64, after his stroke earlier this year. Creighton is an extremely important figure in the history of memory sports - he could be regularly seen on TV in the eighties memorising cards and numbers, and it was watching him that inspired Dominic O'Brien to give it a go. If not for the two of them, there probably wouldn't have been a world championship in 1991 (or if there had, it probably wouldn't have caught on) and the whole world (or my whole world, at least) would have been a very different place.
I never got the chance to meet Creighton, it was on my must-do-that-some-day list for years - he competed in the world championships until 1997 before retiring, so we were at least in the same building at the Royal Festival Hall MSO that year - but I'm very sorry to hear he's no longer with us. Some kind of memorial trophy is in order, I think.
Oh no... really sorry to hear it. I had very idly hoped to bring the two of you together in this neck of the woods some day.
ReplyDeleteOur local paper announced his death yesterday and had a wider tribute today. You are invited to leave tributes here, and yours would be an extremely welcome one.
What saddening news. :-(