My Favorite Olympic Torchbearer - Octogenarian Paul Zetter CBE

photo: Adam Zetter

Longtime family friend Adam Zetter's darling Dad, Paul Zetter, CBE carried the Olympic Flame through Duncton, West Sussex, as one of 8,000 specially selected, inspirational Brits to bear the torch across the length and bredth of the United Kingdom, this summer.

89-year-old Paul Zetter was nominated by his grandaughter, Keely Wells and selected by Lloyds TSB for his services to sports.

"My grandpa, Paul Zetter was instrumental in putting numerous sports athletes in to the position of enabling them to compete in the Olympic Games," wrote Keely in her nomination, adding: "Paul set up 'Sports Aid Foundation'. Sports people were funded by this organization. Some of the recipricants of his work are Sebastian Coe, Torvill and Dean, David Wilkie to name but a few. I feel this is a very fitting nomination, for someone whose passion has helped young sports athletes to achieve their goal. He would love to be a part of this history because he has done so much for other people. He really really deserves this."

Sports Aid Foundation was established in 1976 and has since helped thousands of young sports people on their way to international success.

Adam Zetter flew to the UK from his home in Southern California this week to witness this monumental moment in his distinguished (and most delightful) father's life.

Honored by the Queen as A Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), Paul Zetter was longtime chairman of one of the three most famous British Football Pools companies, family-owned Zetters Pools, established in London in 1933. Zetter gave up his executive duties when he retired as Chairman, in 1997.

Since retiring to Sussex, Paul Zetter has penned several books, including his compelling autobiography, Bow Jest.

The old brick Victorian warehouse building in Clerkenwell that was home to Zetters Pools for so many decades of football pools history was purchased by restaurateurs Michael Benyan and Mark Sainsbury and transformed into a much acclaimed, 59-room Zetter's boutique hotel and restaurant, in 2004.

Football Pools companies, Zetters, Vernons and Littlewoods were known for their charitable donations of an estimated £1.1 billion plus to sports-related causes since the 1920s. The UK National Lottery, established in 1994 put a serious dent in the popularity of football pools. European gaming company giant Sportech PLC, subsequently bought Littlewoods back in 2000, Zetters in 2002 and Vernons in 2007. In 2009 Littlewoods, Vernons and Zetters Football Pool companies were merged by Sportech to form The Football Pools.

Football (soccer) pools are cheap to play and have the potential for huge wins. Based around 49 numbers, pools are like the lottery, though in this case, each number corresponds to a match to be played on the coming Saturday. To win the jackpot prize, a pools holder must correctly predict eight matches that end in a score draw. Smaller prizes are won for selecting six or or seven score draws combined with one or more no-score draws.

The look on his face, here in Adam Zetter's super shot of his Dad, says it all. An Olympic Champion in his own right!