As soon as I heard the sad news of the passing of John Motson this morning, I immediately set about writing this tribute. He was a football legend (a phrase often used but rarely justified, but in this case more than necessary) and supremely conveying.
When I grew up in the 1990s, sports commentary was simple: athletics was David Coleman, Formula One was Murray Walker, and snooker was Clive Everton. However, football had more than one commentator. The BBC had John Motson or Barry Davies, ITV had Brian Moore and the voice of Sky’s coverage was Martin Tyler.
Davies, Motson’s colleague at the BBC, was an all-rounder. In addition to football, he also commentated on the Boat Race and would also contribute during the Wimbledon fortnight. Motson’s forte was purely football.
‘Motty’, as he was affectionately known, would have statistics per nugget of information for everything. His enthusiasm for the game was so evident that, in moments of great emotion, his voice rose higher. He wouldn’t hold back and would almost sound childish and giddy with emotion. He was really endearing.
Motty was one of the contestants on Fantasy Football League, a football-based comedy show that aired in the mid-1990s. Led by David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, they got celebrities to create a fantasy football team and the progress of the competition was discussed between football-related comedy skits.
The competition had several contestants who were clearly not interested in soccer or had little knowledge of how the concept worked. I recently found all the old episodes and Motty took the league very seriously and when he was one of the guests on the show it seemed like some of the jokes almost went over his head in the half raucous and juvenile studio. Motty’s colleague Des Lynam picked up on the pranks and lightly joked with Motty.
Motson’s big break would come in 1972. He was sent to Hereford United vs Newcastle United for an FA Cup replay. He wasn’t expecting much, as the game was originally supposed to be shown for five minutes in Match of the Day.
The game became one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history and was shown as the main game on the show and Motty had proven himself to the powers that be at the BBC.
Ronnie Radford’s first goal of Hereford’s game on that day is played over and over every year and Motty’s voice plays in the background as the soundtrack to the killing of giants. Hereford United fans rushing onto the Edgar Street pitch to celebrate their team’s two goals remain an enduring and iconic moment of football in the 1970s.
Motty could (and often would) cover the game’s quieter moments with wacky facts and stats from his vast knowledge. He had encyclopedic knowledge and delighted in telling viewers that Davies was more descriptive of what was going on around the game and also had a great way of staying quiet and letting the crowd’s reactions to events do the talking.
Motty was also known for wearing a shearling coat and it became his signature style. He was shown wearing it in a snowstorm while broadcasting from Adams Park, the home of Wycombe Wanderers. Hunched forward, flat cap on, clutching his microphone but still taking his report, Motty presented the figure of a cold but supreme professional.
In 2017, Motty announced that he would retire at the end of the 2017/18 season. He was greeted by supporters at every game he commentated on during that final season. He had been the voice of soccer for nearly half a century and became a legend in the game.
The commentary box was Motty’s second home and he couldn’t stay away. After retiring from the BBC, he took the microphone from him and joined TalkSport radio station just two months later.
If the likes of David Attenborough and Stephen Fry can be described as a ‘national treasure’, then I see no reason why John ‘Motty’ Motson couldn’t be placed firmly on that list. Although I’m sure he would see a list of national treasures in leaderboard form, such was his love of the game!
In true Motty fashion, I end this tribute with a handful of statistics and facts about the great man:
FA Cup finals commented on: 29
World Cup Finals covered: 10 (1974-2010 inclusive)
European Championships covered: 10
First radio commentary: Everton vs Derby County, December 1969
First TV commentary: Liverpool vs Chelsea, October 1971
Total commented games: More than 2000
