JOHN M OTS O N
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T H E SPECI A L AWA R D Words by Toby Weidmann Portrait by BAFTA/Hannah Taylor ¥ Photos from Alamy, BBC Photo Library
here aren’t that many people working in television whose voice is perhaps better known than their face. Or whose voice is so distinctive, so synonymous with a sport that a well-known phrase, or even a chuckle, are enough to instantly know who’s speaking. But that’s, ahem, “very much so” the case with BBC football commentator John Motson obe. Maybe that’s not such a surprise. Motson, or Motty as he’s affectionately known by just about anyone with a love of football, will reach an incredible landmark at the end of the 2017-2018 season: 50 years commentating for the BBC. He has been the voice of football for generations of fans, who have grown up listening to his voice, both on BBC radio and television, covering everything from league games and FA Cup draws to England internationals and World Cups. (Tennis, racing, boxing and a few other sports were also covered during Motty’s fledgling radio commentary career, too.) “I think the thing I’m most pleased about,” Motson says, reflecting on his indelible career, “I managed to do 50 years of unbroken service to BBC Sport. I was really chuffed when the BBC gave me my last contract, because it was for two years and not one, which took me up to 50 years. I suppose that longevity, and that I’ve never been off the air during that period, is the thing that gives me the greatest satisfaction.” It’s interesting to note that Motson actually started out in print journalism, spending four years as a trainee reporter on his local weekly, the Barnet Press, before joining the sports desk on the Morning Telegraph in Sheffield in 1967, where he did a little bit of everything, reporting, writing, subbing, you name it. A major turning point came
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