James Riordan (10 October 1936 – 11 February 2012)[1][2][3] was an English novelist, broadcaster, sports historian, and Russian scholar.
[5] There are, however, no documents, match reports or eyewitness accounts that support his claim, and many details in the story were inaccurate.
[6] Born in Portsmouth in 1936,[7] James Riordan learned to speak Russian during National Service training in the Royal Air Force from 1955 to 1957.
In 1960, he graduated in Russian Studies at the University of Birmingham, before qualifying as a teacher at the London Institute of Education.
He held an honorary doctorate of Grenoble University and was President (2003-5) and later Fellow of the European Committee for Sports History.