Hugh Johns

Hugh Richard Lewis Johns (September 6, 1923 - June 28, 2007)


(My thanks to BGT for this but, if you find yourself filling up after reading this, click HERE and your nostalgia breakdown will be complete.


First of all, thanks to Betty for tipping me off about this.
Secondly.........dammit to Hell!! Another big chunk of my childhood has become a memory - and nothing more.
Hugh Johns, the legendary football commentator, died on Friday at the age of 83. For me, Hugh Johns was as important a part of the Sundays of my youth as playing football in the park until lunchtime, racing home to listen to Round The Horn, tucking into roast beef and Yorkshire pud and then taping Pick of the Pops after tea.

Hugh and the fantastic ATV Star Soccer match came at 2pm, after lunch and before tea. God, I can't get that tune out of my head now......da-da, da-da-daa-daa-daa, da-da-da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, daaaaa, daaaaa, da-da-da daaaaa! Sorry, I'm losing it.
The games featured Midland clubs and, as my pal Arabella pointed out spookily not so long ago,
every third one had to feature Derby County "live" from the mudbath which was The Baseball Ground. All my footballing heroes featured at one time or another. The genius who was/is Frankie Worthington, Peter Shilton, Cloughie and even Gordon Banks, Henry Newton and Ian Storey-Moore in the early days. They were all there. It was great to be a Midland football fan then as both Derby and Aston Villa as well as, of course, my beloved Nottingham Forest all won the First Division title in those years.
Hugh always used to shout "One nil!!" the moment anyone hit the ball in sight of goal. The shot would invariably fly just past the corner flag but it didn't matter - once in a while he got it right and the effect of shouting that line before the ball had hit the net was tremendous.
Hugh was probably most famed for something he DIDN'T say, however. He didn't say "And here comes Hurst, there's...some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over....it is now! It's four!" That immortal line was spoken by Kenneth Wolstenholme, the BBC TV commentator during the 1966 World Cup Final when Geoff Hurst completed his hat-trick with a crashing shot into the top corner and England beat Germany to lift the coveted trophy for the first and only time to date. No, our Hugh had the misfortune to be commentating for ITV that day. In the face of Wolstenholme's fantastic and memorable commentary, there wasn't much one could say which would even come close. For those who are interested, while Wolstenhome was "it is now'ing" it over on the BBC, Hugh managed: "Here’s Hurst. He might make it three. He has! He has! And that’s it! That’s it!"
God, I LOVED Star Soccer and Hugh Johns was the voice of it. Without him it would have been like....well....like......roast beef without the Yorkshires!
The Doog, although not one of my heroes, died last week and he was part of my childhood. Now Hugh has gone. Jesus, I hope Tinger and Tucker are safe and well somewhere. God bless you Hugh.


Hugh Richard Lewis Johns (September 6, 1923 - June 28, 2007)

First of all, thanks to Betty for tipping me off about this.
Secondly.........dammit to Hell!! Another big chunk of my childhood has become a memory - and nothing more.
Hugh Johns, the legendary football commentator, died on Friday at the age of 83. For me, Hugh Johns was as important a part of the Sundays of my youth as playing football in the park until lunchtime, racing home to listen to Round The Horn, tucking into roast beef and Yorkshire pud and then taping Pick of the Pops after tea.

Hugh and the fantastic ATV Star Soccer match came at 2pm, after lunch and before tea. God, I can't get that tune out of my head now......da-da, da-da-daa-daa-daa, da-da-da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, daaaaa, daaaaa, da-da-da daaaaa! Sorry, I'm losing it.
The games featured Midland clubs and, as my pal Arabella pointed out spookily not so long ago,
every third one had to feature Derby County "live" from the mudbath which was The Baseball Ground. All my footballing heroes featured at one time or another. The genius who was/is Frankie Worthington, Peter Shilton, Cloughie and even Gordon Banks, Henry Newton and Ian Storey-Moore in the early days. They were all there. It was great to be a Midland football fan then as both Derby and Aston Villa as well as, of course, my beloved Nottingham Forest all won the First Division title in those years.
Hugh always used to shout "One nil!!" the moment anyone hit the ball in sight of goal. The shot would invariably fly just past the corner flag but it didn't matter - once in a while he got it right and the effect of shouting that line before the ball had hit the net was tremendous.
Hugh was probably most famed for something he DIDN'T say, however. He didn't say "And here comes Hurst, there's...some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over....it is now! It's four!" That immortal line was spoken by Kenneth Wolstenholme, the BBC TV commentator during the 1966 World Cup Final when Geoff Hurst completed his hat-trick with a crashing shot into the top corner and England beat Germany to lift the coveted trophy for the first and only time to date. No, our Hugh had the misfortune to be commentating for ITV that day. In the face of Wolstenholme's fantastic and memorable commentary, there wasn't much one could say which would even come close. For those who are interested, while Wolstenhome was "it is now'ing" it over on the BBC, Hugh managed: "Here’s Hurst. He might make it three. He has! He has! And that’s it! That’s it!"
God, I LOVED Star Soccer and Hugh Johns was the voice of it. Without him it would have been like....well....like......roast beef without the Yorkshires!
The Doog, although not one of my heroes, died last week and he was part of my childhood. Now Hugh has gone. Jesus, I hope Tinger and Tucker are safe and well somewhere. God bless you Hugh.