Sports Commentator Hall of Fame

[Ein Heldenleben]

A recent debate on the difficulties of TV and Radio sports commentating induced me to compile this personal list of the greatest exponents partly driven by nostalgia. I’ve also included those who I think are the current best. All up for debate. I’m not including summarisers like the peerless John McEnroe - only those who directly follow the action as it’s happening.



Football
Past Ken Wolstenholme. “they think it’s all over.”
Motty aka John Motson
Hon mention Brian Moore

Current - vacancy


Rugby
Past Bill McClaren “they’ll be dancing in the streets of Howick tonight .”
Cliff Morgan “brilliant …oh brilliant …..a dramatic score.”


Current Nick Mullins

Motor Sports
Past - Murray Walker “excuse me while I interrupt myself.”
“And the great thing about John’s new Ford is it’s superb all round visibility “ Said car immediately crashes into vast highly visible earth bank

Current : Vacancy

Horse Racing
Peter O’Sullevan
Micheal O’Hehir (also hon mention for GAA sports)

Tennis
Dan Maskell

Current - vacancy


Cricket
TV
Past Richie Benaud - see post below
Hon mention Jim Laker “four from the moment it left the bat.”

Current Nasser Hussain

Radio John Arlott
Current - Aggers but up for debate

Athletics
David Coleman “quite remarkable.”
Ron Pickering

Current - up for debate

TV Sports presenter and links
David Coleman - for all the Colemanballs - one of the TV greats

Hon Mention Des Lynham “so ..how do you feel? “( England just lost to Germany on penalties)

[Roger Webb]

Colemanballs......as a forward jumped to head the ball from a corner, he exclaimed '....well, he's well over six feet one and a quarter'

[LMcD]

Colemanballs......as a forward jumped to head the ball from a corner, he exclaimed '....well, he's well over six feet one and a quarter'

Rugby Union: Andrew Cotter and Miles Harrison

[cloughie]

Football - ANYONE WHO RECOGNISES THERE IS NOT JUST THE PREMIER LEAGUE!

[Historian]

Cricket
Television

Richie Benaud

(Met him once on a train and he was incredibly polite and friendly)

[Ein Heldenleben]

Cricket
Television

Richie Benaud

(Met him once on a train and he was incredibly polite and friendly)

Yep you’re right . Can’t believe I forgot. The best …arguably in any sport.

[Historian]

Yep you’re right . Can’t believe I forgot. The best …arguably in any sport.

Don't be too hard on yourself. That's the joy of this type of question: who else would you include?

Benaud was very good at not wasting words and making what he did say count.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Don't be too hard on yourself. That's the joy of this type of question: who else would you include?

Benaud was very good at not wasting words and making what he did say count.

The greatest reader of a game I’ve ever encountered - only McEnroe in tennis comes close. I don’t know why but I find all the soccer summarisers pretty average.

[smittims]

My favourite Murrayballs was just before the hair-raising end of a thrilling formula one race when suddenly the camera cut away to show a man climbing a gantry. Murray, exasperated in mid-flow, said 'I can't think why they're showing us that idiot' .

'I think that's the guy with the chequered flag, Murray'.

'Oh, I do apologise...'

[Roger Webb]

Colemanballs......as a forward jumped to head the ball from a corner, he exclaimed '....well, he's well over six feet one and a quarter'

Colemanballs II. On another occasion, similar situation, he enthused '.....the way he headed that ball, it's as though he's got a boot between his ears'!

[LMcD]

Yep you’re right . Can’t believe I forgot. The best …arguably in any sport.

[teamsaint]

Benaud was quite outstanding.

Although John Arlott was worth a listen, in a very different way.

liked ” Clarke……1-0” David Coleman
favourite colmanballs….” This boy swims like a greyhoud”
and

” And there was Keegan, like a surgeon’s knife…….bang “.

[LMcD]

Benaud was quite outstanding.

Although John Arlott was worth a listen, in a very different way.

liked ” Clarke……1-0” David Coleman
favourite colmanballs….” This boy swims like a greyhoud”
and

” And there was Keegan, like a surgeon’s knife…….bang “.

John Arlott once described Fred Rumsey's run-up to the wicket as 'aldermanic'. I'm pleased to say that FR is still with us (aged 88).

[Ein Heldenleben]

John Arlott once described Fred Rumsey's run-up - well, approach- to the wicket as 'aldermanic'.

Excellenf.

Brian Johnson once said “and here come Umpires X and Y looking in their white coats for all the world like a pair of dentists .”

Arlott thought a bit and said “ it occurs to me that the one thing umpires have in common with dentists is that they both draw stumps.”

..and that is commentator genius.

[LMcD]

Ted Walsh: 'This is really a lovely horse, I once rode her mother'.