Wimbledon: Who Is The Man In The Hat?
Locker Room
July 4, 2014
Every year, one man enjoys an unbeatable view of Wimbledon from a seat that’s off limits to most: the player’s box. His trademark black cowboy hat has made him a fan favourite, earning nicknames like Colonel Sanders and the King of Wimbledon.
Who is this mysterious man in the hat that seems to score the best seat in the house every year? Is he friends with all the players and somehow able to spend the entire fortnight on Centre Court, or is he an important part of the event itself?
The mysterious man in the hat is none other than David Spearing – a resident of the United Arab Emirates who, over the last 36 years, has managed to make friends with almost every famous character to frequent Wimbledon. Today, Spearing, 78, is Wimbledon’s chief steward and holds the important (and highly coveted) job of helping players find their seats. After guiding them to their seats to the side of the Royal Box, he enjoys a world class view of each Centre Court game.
Spearing might be best known to Wimbledon spectators as the man in the cowboy hat, but the event’s organisers know him for much more. For 40 years, Spearing has served as one of Wimbledon’s most popular stewards with both fans and players.
His friends include Andre Agassi, the Williamses, Roger Federer, and other famous players. His networking secret is simple: remain completely and utterly neutral and unbiased, no matter who’s playing on the court.
In a 2010 interview with The National, Spearing mentioned the single moment that he almost let his neutral outlook on the tournament slip. It was 1993, and his strict neutrality was threatened by the presence of Barbara Streisand.
A fan of Streisand – who was at the time Andre Agassi’s girlfriend – Spearing felt, for the first time in his career as a steward, slightly star-struck. In the interview, he said: “I wanted Agassi to win all his matches so that she would keep coming back.”
As Wimbledon’s audience grows, so has Spearing’s role in the tournament. With the newly expanded box allowing players to invite up to 20 of their friends, the famous chief steward has made friends with the entourages of Roger Federer, Andy Murray and numerous other Centre Court favourites.
At 78 years of age, Spearing isn’t just one of Wimbledon’s best known stewards – he is also one of the oldest. Spearing’s exhausting Wimbledon schedule begins at 7:30 every morning and extends long into the evening and night as the games go on.
Spearing isn’t planning on retiring soon, saying: “I know I will have to retire one day, but I have no plans to stop yet.” He has joked that he won’t be leaving the player’s box unless he’s laying horizontally in “a different kind of box.”
His famous hat has made him a curious topic for many Wimbledon spectators, with radio host Terry Wogan comparing him to General Custer, Colonel Sanders and, in a slightly scarier comparison, the infamous London gangster Jack ‘The Hat” McVitie.
Be on the lookout for David Spearing’s iconic Stetson hat at this year’s Wimbledon, sitting as he always does in one of the best seats in the house alongside some of the tournament’s highest ranked players.