Sir Andy Murray second in vote for greatest ever sports personality

Andy Murray has finished second to England's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore in a poll conducted by the Radio Times to find the greatest sports personality of all time.

Andy Murray is a three-time winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Picture: Josh Ritchie/BBC/PA Wire

The poll, which received over 11,000 votes, was held to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award.

Radio Times readers were asked to vote for their favourite winner, from Sir Chris Chataway’s inaugural triumph in 1954 through to fellow athlete Sir Mo Farah’s 2018 win.

Moore, who died in 1993 at the age of 51, won the award in 1966 after England’s 4-2 World Cup final defeat of West Germany at Wembley.

His daughter Roberta, speaking in the new issue of Radio Times, said: “It makes me incredibly proud to think that after all this time he is held in such high esteem.

“It really is very touching and is of huge comfort to all our family. He was extremely proud and the trophy was in pride of place to reflect that.”

Murray, the double Olympic and Wimbledon champion – and the only sportsperson to lift the coveted sports personality trophy on three occasions – came second in the poll, with Lewis Hamilton, the 2014 winner, third.

Sir Steve Redgrave, Great Britain’s most successful rower in Olympic history with five consecutive gold medals, was named fourth.

Britain’s joint-most successful Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy, completed the top five with Farah sixth, double Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson seventh, and David Beckham eighth.

Greatest Sports Personality of all time, as voted for by readers of the Radio Times

1 Bobby Moore (1966)

2 Sir Andy Murray (2013, 2015, 2016)

3 Lewis Hamilton (2014)

4 Sir Steve Redgrave (2000)

5 Sir Chris Hoy (2008)

6 Sir Mo Farah (2017)

7 Daley Thompson (1982)

8 David Beckham (2001)

9 Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (1984)

10=Paul Gascoigne (1990)

10=Sir Ian Botham (1981)

12 Jonny Wilkinson (2003)

13 AP McCoy (2010)

14 Sir Henry Cooper (1967, 1970)

15 Paula Radcliffe (2002)

16 Andrew Flintoff (2005)

17 Sir Bradley Wiggins (2012)

18=Joe Calzaghe (2007)

18=Dame Kelly Holmes (2004)

18=Lord Sebastian Coe (1979)

18=John Surtees (1959)

The full results of the poll are available on RadioTimes.com