Eddie Waring - Why?

[SuffolkTiger]

Just watching a rerun on YouTube with my old dad. Trinity Vs Fartown.

It's brought up the old question again in conversation: How the hell did EW ever get a gig as commentator? At least half of what he said was impossible to understand. Complete embarrassment.

The decision to give him that job has to go down as one of the great mysteries of our time. Persisting with him did to be game much damage.

The BBC then compounded that circus style farce by appointing Ray French as his successor.

Baffling.

[MerchantNavy70]

I was brought up with Eddie Waring ,back in those days (60s) he was Rugby League , you are right,when he got over excited you had a job understanding him but he loved the game, no politics just Rugby,give it a few years and these modern commentators will be forgotten. But not Eddie.


e was Rugby League

[SuffolkTiger]

I understand what you state about his affection for the game but my dog loves watching the game with me when it's on telly. I wouldn't, however, think about giving him a microphone & asking him to commentate on it for a nationwide audience.

[Spanishtiger]

Perhaps because he was one of the best rl journalists when the BBC started to televise rl?

[SuffolkTiger]

Perhaps because he was one of the best rl journalists when the BBC started to televise rl?

Maybe he should have just been in charge of the Teletext pages then.......!

[Derbyshiretiger]

Cant believe what i read in here sometimes. Eddie waring was a legend. THE VOICE of rugby league imo and ti say he did the game no good is total rubbish. May be its an age thing but i grew up with him at the helm and would welcome him back above any if the numpties pretending to know how to commentate these days

[tigerfeat]

He made the game more popular he became a well known tv celebrity Mike Yarwood used to mimic his voice on prime time tv he was very popular on Its a Knockout... the game of rugby league was booming
At that time there was some all time greats commentating on sports and a lot of rugby league fans didn't like his stereotypical flat cap and wippets approach
In his latter years he became ill but continued working and used to make a lot of mistakes the BBC brought Alex Murphy in to help him and the two had a great relationship that lasted till Eddie died
All though he was seen as a joke broadcaster by some he clearly loved Rugby League and his commentary on the Water Splash final a few years ago was in the top ten of sporting broadcasts in this country

[SuffolkTiger]

Cant believe what i read in here sometimes. Eddie waring was a legend. THE VOICE of rugby league imo and ti say he did the game no good is total rubbish. May be its an age thing but i grew up with him at the helm and would welcome him back above any if the numpties pretending to know how to commentate these days

Really?

A large proportion of what he said was incomprehensible. It was just garbled noise. The basic requirement for any commentator is clear diction. Hd simply didn't have that. Quite the opposite.

Any neutral tuning in during EW's ramblings must have thought a game was being covered by a foreign channel.

In what respect was he a legend - other than giving Mike Yarwood hours of comedy material?

[SuffolkTiger]

Cant believe what i read in here sometimes. Eddie waring was a legend. THE VOICE of rugby league imo and ti say he did the game no good is total rubbish. May be its an age thing but i grew up with him at the helm and would welcome him back above any if the numpties pretending to know how to commentate these days

Really?

A large proportion of what he said was incomprehensible. It was just garbled noise. The basic requirement for any commentator is clear diction. He simply didn't have that. Quite the opposite.

Any neutral tuning in during EW's ramblings must have thought a game was being covered by a foreign channel.

In what respect was he a legend - other than giving Mike Yarwood hours of comedy material?

[Tamworth Tiger]

Eddie Waring was as I remember it ( in terms of what I have read, not being there) really important to the game, firstly for helping to keep it going during the war as manager of Dewsbury when they won the Cup in the early 1940s and secondly when after meeting Bob Hope he saw how important it was to get Rugby League on TV and lobbied the BBC until it was.
I know that he is remembered as a buffoon now but he was really important to the development of the game nationally e.g. Cas became known nationally in the 60s due to his involvement in the Floodlit trophy which was showcased on the fledgling BBC2 Channel and won for the first three seasons by Cas
Credit where it’s due.

[casjunction]

Nice history lesson Tamworth.
I can see Suffolks point of view.
However back then l was a football fan and had never seen a rugby game live.
Eddie's commentary style was a bit of a conundrum as it was distinct and totally different to anything else and although perpetuating an imagery it to me seemed apt.
I doubt if we will be talking of Eddie and Stevo decades on.
The imagery they conjure up is far less flattering.
Eddie was the right man for the time.
But like many topics up for debate.
Happy Holiday.

[Ken Smith]

Eddie Waring at the time was Mr Rugby League and an institution on Grandstand. I myself not living in the traditional Rugby League areas used to enjoy his commentaries and he got me interested in Rugby League long before I became a Castleford fan. I didn’t even know the laws of the game when I started watching Rugby League but soon learned them from his commentaries as I imagine did people from all over Britain when the only alternative to Grandstand was Wrestling on 1TV. The BBC recognised him as a character in
‘It’s a Knockout’ and even in the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show as one of the participants of ‘There is nothing like a dame’ . Ok he represented Rugby League as mainly a northern sport but much more preferable to wrestling or indeed Rugby Union which I hated at school. Can anyone say with hand on heart are any of the Sky commentators any better with their self-opinionated blabber? In fact has the sport moved on from the days of 80 minute players with no interchanges? I’m not so sure. Just like football some folk seem to forget that Rugby League and Football actually existed before the advent of Super League and the Premier League. Eddie was a blast from the past who knew more about Rugby League than any of today’s commentators or reporters, and in my opinion did more to spread the gospel of the best Sport in the country than any of today’s administrators have been able to do.

[tigerfeat]

The sky commentary team are shocking not a patch on Waring ,someone needs to tell them commentating for television not radio ....

[Piquad1]

I can't believe what I'm hearing Eddie Waring was a supporter's commentator. And a legend of the game.

[Derbyshiretiger]

I can't believe what I'm hearing Eddie Waring was a supporter's commentator. And a legend of the game.

This :clap: :clap: :clap:

As I always say. Dont let facts ring a good debate on here. EW did more for rugby league than any other commentator of our great sport

[Brummietiger]

If it wasn't for the BBC coverage of Rugby League in the 60's and that legendary voice of RL Eddie Waring, I would never have grown to love this great sport and I would never have got to chose Cas as my RL team for life.

He's a legend to the sport.

[lurcher]

i went to my first wembley final age 17. we went in a pub near kings cross and got talking to some locals. they didn't believe rugby league was a real sport and thought it was a put up job like the saturday afternoon wrestling because of eddies commentary. i'd never thought of it like that before but every time i watched a televised game after that i could understand what they meant. i suppose he was ok for the heartland viewers but not others.

[Fumper27]

i went to my first wembley final age 17 and travelled down on ‘os n cart, took 4 days to get there...

Updated for accuracy!!

[lurcher]

i went to my first wembley final age 17 and travelled down on ‘os n cart, took 4 days to get there...

Updated for accuracy!!

you're getting confused with my other post. i said the last time i went to bridlington i went on a donkey.
it took me 5 days.

[fast hands]

Always remember a quote from Eddie commentating on a Cas game.
' Keith Hepworth races pigeon, think the lad should play on the wing '
Non of these commentators have a sense of humor like Eddie did .