As soon as I heard the sad news this morning that John Motson had passed away, I immediately started writing this tribute. He was a football legend (an oft-used but rarely warranted expression, but more than necessary in this case) and a top broadcaster.
When I grew up in the 1990s, sports commentary was simple. In athletics it was David Coleman, in Formula One it was Murray Walker and in snooker it was Clive Everton.
But football has had more than one commentator. The BBC had John Motson or Barry Davies, ITV had Brian Moore and Sky’s reporting voice was Martin Tyler.
Motson’s BBC colleague, Davies, was a man of many talents. As well as football, he also commented on boat racing and took part in the Wimbledon fortnight. Motson’s forte was purely football.
Affectionately known as ‘Motty’, he probably has statistics on nuggets of information about everything. His passion for the game was very evident, and his voice rose even higher when he was very excited. He will not hesitate and sound like a child, excited and excited. He was really lovely.
Motty was one of the contestants on Fantasy Football League, a football-based comedy show that aired in the mid-1990s. David Baddiel and Frank Skinner took the lead and brought together celebrities to create fantasy football teams, discussing the goings-on of the competition between football-related comedy sketches.
There were several participants in the competition who clearly had no interest in football or had little idea how the concept worked. I recently discovered all the old episodes and it seemed like Motty took the league very seriously and when he was one of the guests on the show it got a bit rowdy and lazy and some of the jokes almost went over his head. Motty’s colleague Des Lynam heard the joke and lightly ribbed Motty.
Motson’s big break came in 1972. He was sent to Hereford United v Newcastle United for the FA Cup rematch. He wasn’t expecting much, as the match was originally scheduled to be shown for five minutes on Match of the Day.
The game became one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history and was featured as the main game on the show, with Motty proving his mettle on the BBC.
Ronnie Radford scored Hereford’s first goal of the game that day, and Motty’s voice in the background is the soundtrack to Slaying the Giant. Hereford United fans running onto the Edgar Street pitch to celebrate both of their team’s goals remains an iconic and enduring moment in 1970s football.
Motty could, and often did, cover the quieter spells of the game with quirky facts and statistics from his vast knowledge. He loved telling viewers about Davies with his encyclopedic knowledge, was better at explaining what was going on around the game and had a great way of staying calm and letting the crowd’s reaction to events do the talking. .
Motty was also famous for wearing a sheepskin coat, which became his trademark. He famously wore this during his snowstorm during a broadcast from Adams Park, home of Wycombe Wanderers. Leaning forward, wearing a hat, clutching a microphone, and continuing to write reports, Motty presents himself as the ultimate professional, if cold.
In 2017, Motty announced that he would retire at the end of the 2017/18 season. He was welcomed by cheering crowds at every match he played during his final season. He has been the voice of football for nearly half a century and has become a football legend.
The commentary box was Motty’s second home and he couldn’t stay away. After retiring from the BBC, he picked up the microphone and joined radio station TalkSport after just two months.
If players like David Attenborough and Stephen Fry can be described as ‘national treasures’, there’s no reason why John ‘Motty’ Motson can’t be firmly on that list. Such is his love of the game, although I’m sure he’ll see a list of national treasures in the form of league tables!
In true Motty style, I will conclude this tribute with some statistics and facts about this great man.
Commentary on the FA Cup Final: 29
The World Cup finals are: 10 (including 1974-2010)
European Championships covered: 10
First radio commentary: Everton v Derby County, December 1969
First television commentary: Liverpool v Chelsea, October 1971
Total matches with comments: 2000+ years
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