On This Day – 5th February
John Motson made his debut on our television on this day back in 1972 and it was such when he commentated on Hereford United’s giantkilling of Newcastle United in the Third Round of the 1972 FA Cup.
He commentated on his first FA Cup Final five years later for the BBC in the 1977 as Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1. Motson and colleague Barry Davies would alternate on the BBC commentary for the Cup Final. He would go on to commentate on 29 FA Cup Finals in his career.
As well as the Cup Finals, Motson would commentate at ten World Cups and ten European Championships. His excited high voice and encyclopedic knowledge of football statistics endeared himself to the British public.
One things that Motson was notorious for was his love of sheepskin coats. These were as much a part of Motson’s character as his fantastic football knowledge.
Motty as he was later affectionately known, commentated on live games for the BBC until 2008 but still commentated on Match of the Day highlights and on BBC Radio 5 Live until he retired at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Motson could hardly stay away from the microphone for long and in July 2018 he announced that he was going to start working for Talksport Radio!
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