My colleague and friend Nick Mason, who has died aged 81, became deputy sports editor of the Guardian after the demise of Robert Maxwell’s ill-fated 24-hour
London Daily News in the summer of 1987.
![Nick Mason obituary](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/faf8845e530b5ba8d21c697f808c0d98efba560e/0_303_5400_3241/master/5400.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=7ea2fef84cb3b8ef4e4ae4fe911487a4)
Like Nick, I had worked on the sports desk of the LDN, which survived barely six months. I began working as a freelance subeditor at the Guardian and the then sports editor, Mike Averis, asked me if he should take on Nick as his deputy.