Jeff Collerson Inducted Into Hall of Fame

REVERED racing journalist Jeff Collerson has been bestowed with greyhound racing's highest honour with induction into the Australian Greyhound Racing Hall of Fame.

Collerson was ushered into the Hall of Fame on Tuesday night where his decorated career as a greyhound racing journalist was celebrated on a special edition of Sky Racing's The Catching Pen program.

His induction sees the man best known as ‘pigeon' join fellow luminaries of the sport who have made a profound contribution to the industry and left an indelible mark in greyhound racing folklore.

Collerson began his journey as a greyhound racing scribe way back in 1962 with the Daily Mirror before going on to forge a hugely successful career with News Corp and The Daily Telegraph – stretching all the way until his retirement in 2012.

But in a further illustration of his love for the sport and insatiable appetite to deliver news, Collerson has maintained an involvement post retirement with Greyhound Racing NSW.

Collerson's Hall of Fame entry has been met with universal praise including that of retired legendary racecaller Paul Ambrosoli, an inductee himself in 2008.

"Jeff and I first crossed paths in the late 1960s which seems a lifetime ago now," Ambrosoli said.

"When people ask me what it is about Jeff that makes him so great I go back to his relatability with his audience.

"In all his years at News as a wine reviewer and greyhound scribe he could relate to both audiences and let's be honest two very different audiences.

"When he wrote you understood and that carried through to the way he assessed form and depicted stories.

"His nose for a story is second to none.

"But he's always carried himself in a respectful way and his love for the industry and the animals and people in it has always been paramount to Jeff.

"There's no one more fitting of this Hall of Fame honour than Jeff. His mark on greyhound racing will last generations."

In 2005, Collerson launched his book ‘Getting Paid to Drink and Gamble: Memoirs Of A Greyhound Writer' in which he included stories of how he used to tip on the dogs to billionaire and legendary punter Kerry Packer.