Kenneth Wolstenholme

Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar (17 July 1920 – 25 March 2002) was a British football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!^[1]", as Geoff Hurst scored England's fourth goal.

Early life

Wolstenholme was born in Worsley, Lancashire. His family were Primitive Methodists and his brother attended Elmfield College. He attended Farnworth Grammar School, where Alan Ball, Jr. (on whom Wolstenholme commentated in the 1966 World Cup Final) was also a pupil some years later.

Second World War

Wolstenholme started his career as a journalist with a newspaper in Manchester, as a member of the RAFVR he was soon called up. In 1941, Wolstenholme qualified as a bomber pilot and was posted to 107 Squadron, flying Mark IV Bristol Blenheims out of RAF Great Massingham, Norfolk. At the start of 1943 he transferred to de Havilland Mosquito with 105 Squadron, part of Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett's No. 8 Group RAF Pathfinder Group. Wolstenholme completed more than 100 highly hazardous sorties over Occupied Europe and in May 1944 was awarded the DFC. The following year he won a Bar to his DFC for his continual bravery in raids on Germany in a period of exceptionally heavy night fighter activity. He finished the war as an acting Squadron Leader, having spent its last stages working in the RAF's public relations department.

Career

After the war, he became a freelance journalist, working for BBC Radio before moving to television in 1948. He lived in Worcester Park, Surrey. He covered the 1959 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final between Kilkenny and Waterford for BBC Television, an experience which moved him to describe hurling as his second-favourite sport in the world after his first love, soccer.^[2]

1966 World Cup: "They think it's all over"

While most sports commentators gain some recognition if their career is long enough, Wolstenholme is best remembered for his commentary of the 1966 Football World Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, specifically the impromptu words he used with impeccable timing as the match came to a conclusion during injury time, as a small pitch invasion took place just as Geoff Hurst scored to put England 4–2 ahead:

Some people are on the pitch... they think it's all over... it is now!

These have become some of the most famous words in British sport, and a well known phrase in modern English. Wolstenholme always said that it was just a natural verbal piecing together of the situation before him and it took years before he realised just how well it fitted. Although unrehearsed, and spoken in the particular circumstances of the game, the words echoed to an extent those of German commentator Herbert Zimmermann - "It's over! Over! Over! Germany are the World Champions" - when West Germany won the World Cup in 1954.^[3]

Football commentator

Wolstenholme commentated on English domestic football's most famous games of the 1950s and 1960s, including the first ever game featured on Match of the Day in 1964. He covered every FA Cup final between 1949 and 1971, the year of Arsenal's "double".

For the BBC he commentated on the 1960 European Cup Final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park, widely regarded as one of the greatest football matches ever played. Further highlights include his presence in the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon as Celtic overcame Internazionale in the 1967 European Cup Final, at Wembley as Manchester United defeated Benfica to capture the 1968 European Cup and also the BBC's main man at the 1970 World Cup, commentating on the final between Brazil and Italy. He left the corporation in 1971 after David Coleman was installed as the BBC's top commentator, his final BBC commentary being on the 1971 European Cup final between Ajax and Panathinaikos at Wembley Stadium.

Wolstenholme later commentated for Tyne Tees Television in the mid to late 1970s. After this, he went into semi-retirement, but re-appeared on TV to provide reports and occasional features for Channel 4 when they earned rights in the early 1990s to show Serie A games from Italy. He also took on an acting role, appearing in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Lenin of the Rovers as football commentator Frank Lee Brian.

In 1998, Wolstenholme made a special appearance in EA Sports' videogame World Cup 98, as the sole commentator on the game's classic World Cup matches, recreations of historic World Cup finals that included sepia-toned renditions of the 1930 and 1938 editions.

Legacy

His most famous phrase was used as the title for the sports quiz programme They Think It's All Over, on which he once appeared as a guest.

Bill Oddie wrote a song about Wolstenholme for the BBC Radio comedy show I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again which includes the lines: "I'm going Wolsten-home/And you can't get Wolsten (worse than) him!" In another sketch on ISIRTA a lady contestant in a television quiz show was awarded Wolstenholme as a prize.

Bolton Wanderers

Kenneth was a boyhood supporter of Bolton Wanderers and was present as a guest for the final game at Burnden Park in April 1997. As an encore at the club's former home he re-created those words which had made him famous some 31 years earlier only using words which incorporated a Bolton theme.

He also narrated the club's End of an Era video which was released as part of Bolton's move from Burnden Park to the Reebok Stadium.

His famous words "They think it's all over, it is now" are engraved on a flagstone in the Churchgate area of Bolton town centre.

See also

• 1966 FIFA World Cup Final
• They think it's all over

External links

• Frank Malley: Obituary: Kenneth Wolstenholme, The Guardian, 26 March 2002
• Charles Starmer-Smith: Class of '66 pay tribute to voice of football, The Daily Telegraph, 26 March 2002

References