Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Before TV: South Africa’s legendary sports commentators
Before South Africans had television, they relied on live radio broadcasts of important sporting events. Graham Jooste recalls the two greatest sports commentators of their era: Charles Fortune and Gerhard Viviers.
In years past, international cricket and rugby tours were awaited particularly keenly by fans in the host country, and South Africa was no exception. One reason for this is that these events tended to last for many months, with the visiting team travelling around the country playing against provincial sides. There were after-match dinners and dances and many visits to places of interest. It was a wellknown fact that overseas players loved touring South Africa.
In those days, of course, there was no television coverage. If you couldn’t make it to the match, you had to listen to it on the radio. And many commentators became muchloved celebrities in their own right. Two of the greatest in South Africa were Charles Fortune and Gerhard Viviers. Fortune was born in Wiltshire in 1906 and gained a BSc at the University of London. Emigrating to South Africa in 1935, he taught English and science at St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown.
He was spontaneous in his reactions to the passage of play
Cricket was hugely popular in this region. The Pineapple Week was a highlight for cricket sides and many upcountry teams toured the area in the summer. Local farmers would down tools and play cricket against the visitors. Because of his eloquence, Fortune was asked to send in reports of important cricket matches to the SABC. His natural ability soon saw him switching to cricket commentary full-time.
Today’s commentators have a slew of statistics available at the tap of a keyboard; Fortune had nothing but his prodigious memory, and regularly astonished listeners with his knowledge of cricket statistics.
vivid descriptions
He also became famous for his descriptive powers in setting the scene at the Test ground. Listeners felt as if they were there as he painted word pictures of the sky, clouds, trees and birds.
Once, at Wanderers Cricket Ground in Johannesburg, he got carried away describing the antics of an ice-cream seller, before casually announcing that another Australian batsman had been run out!
At one after-dinner speech, he explained why he had to improvise on many occasions: “You have Pollock bowling from one end and Procter from the other. Both bowlers take a run-up of over 22 yards each. At that time, there’s nothing else going on of cricketing interest, like this!” He then stopped talking for a full minute.
“Now, that’s not fair to my listeners, is it?” he asked. Hearty applause swept around the banquet hall.
During a tour of Australia, a reporter asked him why he mentioned seagulls and other extraneous matters in his commentaries.
“Others give a minute-byminute score,” explained Fortune. “But I feel it’s up to me to try to tempt housewives to listen to cricket so they can pass on their enthusiasm to their sons!”
Interestingly, he is remembered as the first commentator to note the number of balls a batsman faced for the number of runs scored. Previously, it had been the practice to mention how long the batsman had been at the crease while scoring his runs.
During Test matches, he was usually accompanied by John Arlott (England) and Alan McGilvray (Australia), who travelled with their respective sides on tour. John Landau was his scorer and always close on hand to provide any information required from notes – or memory!
Fortune served as secretary of the South African Cricket Association for 12 years. His office was at his beloved Wanderers.
He died peacefully in 1994, aged 88, and is honoured at Wanderers by having a media centre named after him.
breathless excitement
If ever a voice was synonymous with South African rugby it was that of the incomparable Gerhard Viviers, or ‘ Spiekeries’, as he was fondly known. His colourful expressions and breathless, flowing style of commentating were legendary in his own lifetime. On many an occasion he turned a dull game into an exciting encounter for his listeners!
Viviers was spontaneous in his reactions to the passage of play and brought it alive with vibrancy and voice modulation. He got carried away by brilliant play and this was reflected in his inventive commentary and phrasing. Here are some examples:
• “Die lynstaanbal dobber op die vingerpunte van die springmanne rond.”
The image here is of the lineout ball lightly touching the jumpers’ fingers and being moved on like a floating balloon.
• “Hy sit hom neer soos
’n sak mielies!”
“He drops him like a bag of mealies,” which is to say casually but hard!
• “Hy word uit die aarde geduik!” Literally, he was “tackled out of this world”.
• “Hy trap hier, en hy trap daar, en hy is weg! Hy is weg!”
“He steps here, he steps there, and he’s away! He’s away!” • “En daar swaai die Franse appels!” This refers to the French players swinging their ‘apples’, meaning their fists.
• “Met dieselfde ou storie sak die voorry in duie in!”
‘ Duie’ are the segments of a wooden vat held together with hoops. If the hoops come loose, the segments will collapse in a heap. In this case, the front row collapsed like a vat falling apart.
• The Syd Nomis try against the All Blacks in 1970 at Loftus: “Nomis onderskep die bal, hy’s half deur ’n gaping! Hy skop vorentoe en hy jaag agterna! Die bal spring reg vir hom! Sydie, Sydie, Sydie, Sydie! Hy duik oor die lyn met twee All Blacks om hom!”
“Nomis intercepts the pass and is halfway through a gap! He kicks ahead and the chase is on! The bounce favours him. Sydie, Sydie, Sydie, Sydie! He dives over the line with two All Blacks all over him!” • The Jaco Reinach try against the All Blacks in 1986 at Kings Park: “Die bal is in die hande van Reinach! Hy stamp ’n verdediger af! Daar trek hy! Daar trek hy! Hier is spoed! Hier is spoed! Hier is spoed! En hy duik oor vir ’n pragdrie!” “The ball is in the hands of Reinach! He bumps off a defender! There he goes! There he goes! This is speed! This is speed! This is speed! And he dives over for a beautiful try!”
Viviers, the doyen of rugby commentators, died in 1998 at the age of 72.
An associate summed up his legacy by saying: “Gerhard is gone, but his voice lingers on in our memories forever.”
• Sources: Martin-Jenkins, C. 1990. Ball by Ball: The Story of Cricket Broadcasting (Grafton); Le Roux, H: Sportpourri (JL van Schaik). • Graham Jooste is an author and historical researcher. Email him at farmersweekly@caxton.co.za Subject line: Great tales.