George Hamilton’s You Had To Be There! - World Cup Special! | OFF THE BALL BREAKFAST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Off the ball. Rugby.
No, I probably apologized for the first one. I think that's where you have to get rid of that in rugby. You got to tuck the shoulder to the head. But yeah, because then guys aren't going to jack calls. So, you know, that's just my only thing for me now is to say sorry for that.
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Off the ball breakfast. With Viagra Connect 50 milligram film coated tablets. Contains sildenafil for adult men with erectile dysfunction. Maximum dosage 150 milligram tablet per day. Always read the label. Buy online at ViagraConnect.ie. Subject to suitability following pharmacist consultation. Now then, the World Cup kicks off this evening. A massive occasion in the US, Canada and Mexico. And we are going to look back on many of World Cups with a man who has been at many of them. This is You Had To Be There. And I'm delighted to say our guest today is George Hamilton. George, hello.
Hello and thank you very much for having me. It's lovely to get the chance to reminisce.
Yeah, it always is. And I mean, you've sent me over your picks. We're going to reminisce on quite a bit here, I think.
Yeah, well, my World Cup goes back as a Belfast boy to 1958. It was the first one I remember and Northern Ireland were in it and it was a small time tournament. And I was overwhelmed with excitement at the prospect of the team that I had actually seen in the flesh was actually going to be at a World Cup. Of course, we couldn't see it on TV. So everything I knew about the World Cup came through the lens of Malcolm Brodie, the sports editor of the Belfast Telegraph. The newspaper came in our door every night. And I avidly read. And that probably started me off wanting to become a sports reporter, commentator. But that was where the World Cup started for me. And then there was Chile in 1962, which was on the box.
There was the England World Cup. And they think it's all over.
What is the significance of the World Cup for George Hamilton?
The wonderful Kenneth Wilson, who was my inspiration. 1970, the Gordon Banks saved. 1974, I'd lived in Germany as a student. And now I was back there looking at the... in my mind's eye I was back there but seeing it all on TV in the final where the kick-off was held up because they didn't have the flags on the halfway line you might recall Jack Taylor the Wolverhampton butcher was the referee and then 78 I was actually there my very first World Cup for RTE they were short a commentator they had two of their own Jimmy McGee And Philip Green, they hired Billy George from what was then the Cork Examiner, and the late, great Mike Horgan, a very good friend of mine, sports editor at the time, said, we need a fourth commentator.
What about the guy who does it for BBC in Belfast? That's where it all began. Magic. Magic is right. What's your feelings when you get the call-up? Well, it came in the form of a letter from Fred Cogley, who was the head of sport at the time, who was kind of, Not really saying, please come with us to Argentina. We were considering asking you. This was how the letter was couched. And I was right back to the post box with the letter back saying, consider no more, I'm on board. It went from there.
You were around 28?
28 exactly, yeah. So you're still pretty young to be getting a call-up for commentary for a World Cup. Absolutely. I mean, my commentary experience was Northern Ireland-based. My big match had been a World Cup qualifier, funnily enough, and the kind of serendipity in that, that Northern Ireland were in the same group as the Netherlands, who ended up playing in the World Cup final. And Northern Ireland's first match was against the Netherlands. Danny Blanchflower was a new manager. He recalled George Best from the International Wilderness. Best, of course, had retired and then come back and was playing for Fulham at the time. And
How did George Hamilton start his journey in sports commentary?
BBC Northern Ireland, their head of sport wasn't there at the time. She was on holiday, Joy Williams, and her deputy did something that Joy I don't think would ever have done. He suggested that we show the match live on TV from Rotterdam.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:49
2
What is the significance of the World Cup for George Hamilton?
1:49–3:36
3
How did George Hamilton start his journey in sports commentary?
3:36–7:38
4
What memorable moments does George recall from the 1978 World Cup?
7:38–14:55
5
How did the 1986 World Cup final impact George Hamilton's career?
14:55–20:16
6
What unique experiences did George have during the 1998 World Cup?
20:16–24:16
7
What are George's thoughts on the future of the World Cup?
24:16–24:58
8
How has the role of a commentator changed with the introduction of VAR?
24:58–1:05:57
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from OTB Football
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