Sam Wallace (journalist)
Sam Wallace | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Sports journalist |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Known for | Chief Football Writer at the Daily and Sunday Telegraph |
Sam Wallace is a prominent British sports journalist who has held the position of Chief Football Writer at the Daily and Sunday Telegraph since 2015. In 2021, he earned several prestigious accolades including Scoop of the Year and Football Journalist of the Year at the SJA Awards, alongside winning the Hugh McIlvanney Sports Journalist of the Year and Sport News Story of the Year at The Press Awards.
Early life and education
Originating from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Wallace completed his studies in English literature at Robinson College, Cambridge. His father taught English at The Barclay School, Stevenage. During his school years, Wallace played football with professional golfer Ian Poulter, who mentioned their shared experiences in his autobiography No Limits: My Autobiography. Additionally, Wallace contributed match reports for their team, some of which remain displayed at their school.
Wallace also served as a ball boy during the England versus Brazil match at Wembley Stadium in March 1990, a fixture England won 1–0 thanks to a goal by Gary Lineker.
Career
Wallace began his journalism career by joining the Telegraph graduate training program in 1999. Apart from a six-month period at the Evening Standard, he stayed with the Daily Telegraph for over five years. Starting January 2002, he worked as the north-west football correspondent based in Manchester. In December 2004, he transitioned to The Independent, where he eventually became Chief Football Correspondent. Returning to the Daily Telegraph in mid-2015 as Chief Football Writer, his final articles for The Independent were published in October 2015. Since rejoining, Wallace has participated in Telegraph podcasts such as Total Football and Audio Football Club.
Throughout his career, Wallace has garnered numerous industry recognitions: nominated as specialist correspondent at the 2009 British Sports Journalism Awards, named Writer of the Year at the 2014 Football Supporters Federation Awards, and awarded Football Writer of the Year at the 2015 Sports Journalist Awards. He received high commendations in 2016 and was shortlisted for Football Journalist awards in both 2018 and 2019, earning highly commended distinctions each year. In 2020, he secured a Bronze award following another nomination. He was also shortlisted for Best Writer at the 2021 Football Supporters' Association awards.
As a frequent contributor on Sky Sports' Sunday Supplement, Wallace was involved in a notable incident in May 2020 when an inadvertent broadcast of a private discussion occurred during remote recording amid the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting an official apology regarding remarks made about singer Morrissey. He has further appeared as a football analyst on BBC Sport television, BBC Radio 5 Live, and featured on the official podcast for Premier League club Crystal Palace F.C..
On 2 March 2021, Wallace was nominated twice at the Society of Editors’ “The Press Awards”: for The Hugh McIlvanney Award as Sports Journalist of the Year and for Sports News Story of the Year, recognizing his Telegraph scoop on ‘Project Big Picture’, an initiative designed to tackle inequalities between the Premier League–Football League gulf.