VOICE OF F1 UP WITH THE GREATS NOW
UNLESS he is very much mistaken, Murray Walker’s ascent to the great commentary box upstairs completes the full set.
In the pantheon of sport’s definitive voices, Walker goes straight into the celestial dream team.
Richie Benaud told us not to bother looking for Ian Botham’s six at Headingley because it had gone straight into the confectionery stall and out again.
Sir Peter O’Sullevan identified silks miles away at Epsom, Aintree or Cheltenham.
David Coleman took Italy and Chile to task for their Battle of Santiago at the 1962 World Cup.
‘Whispering’ Ted Lowe’s soundtrack at the Crucible, Sid Waddell’s dottiness at the darts, the glorious baritone of Peter Alliss on the golf course and Dan Maskell’s plums in his mouth at Wimbledon were part of a sporting landscape. When Harry Carpenter wasn’t ringside, commentating on world title fights, he was on firstname terms with the pugilists themselves.
Bill McLaren’s mellifluous tones turned brawling prop forwards into “a little argybargy” or elusive half-backs into fugitives who were “as quick as a trout up a burn.”
With Murray Walker, who has died at 97, the curtain has fallen on a golden age. We enjoyed his foot-in-mouth moments as he’d the good grace to laugh at himself.
“As you look at the first four, the significant thing is that Alberto is fifth.”
“Do my eyes deceive me, or is Senna’s Lotus sounding rough?”
“With half the race gone, there is still half the race to go.”
Like his compadres in that commentary box dream team in the stars, his voice will be synonymous with the chequered flag he took three years short of his century. Godspeed, Murray, the privilege was ours.