Peter Walsh (sports broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Peter Walsh is a sports commentator for ABC Radio Grandstand
and is based in Adelaide, Australia.
and had a passion for sport from a very early age.
His first media job was working in radio at Ballarat station 3BA
, where he covered junior football and was then given the chance to write for the Ballarat Courier newspaper.
He is well known for his love of the Hawthorn Football Club
and has hosted/MC'ed the past three Best and Fairest counts for the club.
.
In 1981, he secured a spot on the football broadcast team at 3GL (now K Rock) and called football with the great Ted Whitten
and was a member of the 3GL team for three years of "bliss" as Peter describes it.
He moved to Tasmania in 1985 after the ABC appointed him to a permanent position where he called Tasmanian Football League
matches on 7ZR as well as cricket and the now defunct Tassie Devils NBL basketball matches and has been based in Adelaide since late 1999.
1990 World Rowing Championships
Tasmania, 1990 Commonwealth Games
Auckland, 1992 Summer Olympics
Barcelona, 1994 Cricket tour of Pakistan, 1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, 1998 Commonwealth Games
Kuala Lumpur, 1999 Cricket tour of Zimbabwe, 2000 Olympic Games Sydney, 2000 Paralympic Games Sydney, 2002 Commonwealth Games
Manchester, 2004 Olympic Games Greece.
This also includes countless Australian rules football
matches at VFL
and AFL
level, as well as calling international and state cricket
.
and shares this role during the summer, with Sydney based ABC sports broadcaster Tracey Holmes
. Walsh formally hosted alongside Simone Thurtell
, although she now works for 1233 ABC Newcastle
as a Drive presenter.
He is also known for his "loud shirts" and can often been seen chasing international cricketers around the Adelaide Oval
during Test cricket
matches offering them an opportunity to photographed wearing one of the shirts.
Walsh also commentates on National Basketball League
home matches for the Adelaide 36ers
. He is known for his rowdy and excitable style of commentary akin to the manner of a boxing announcer, particularly after a player has made a flamboyant or attacking action.
ABC Radio Grandstand
ABC Radio Grandstand is a live radio sports focused commentary and talk-back program which runs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation local radio network across Australia. The program runs on Saturdays and Sundays, typically from noon or an hour before, until 6 pm...
and is based in Adelaide, Australia.
Early life/career
Peter grew up in Ballarat, VictoriaBallarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
and had a passion for sport from a very early age.
His first media job was working in radio at Ballarat station 3BA
3BA
3BA is a commercial radio station in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia broadcasting on the FM band on a frequency of 102.3 MHz.Together with its sister station Power FM, it is owned by Grant Broadcasters...
, where he covered junior football and was then given the chance to write for the Ballarat Courier newspaper.
He is well known for his love of the Hawthorn Football Club
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
and has hosted/MC'ed the past three Best and Fairest counts for the club.
Sport coverage
He covered sport in Ballarat and Bendigo for five years, before being approached by the ABC to cover VFL football in Melbourne and called his first match during the season of 1978 Fitzroy v South Melbourne at the Junction OvalJunction Oval
The Junction Oval is an historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its location near the St Kilda Junction gave rise to its nickname...
.
In 1981, he secured a spot on the football broadcast team at 3GL (now K Rock) and called football with the great Ted Whitten
Ted Whitten
Edward James "EJ" Whitten was an Australian rules football player and media personality. He played a then-record 321 Victorian Football League games for the Footscray Football Club between 1951 and 1970...
and was a member of the 3GL team for three years of "bliss" as Peter describes it.
He moved to Tasmania in 1985 after the ABC appointed him to a permanent position where he called Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
matches on 7ZR as well as cricket and the now defunct Tassie Devils NBL basketball matches and has been based in Adelaide since late 1999.
Major events
Some of the major sporting events he has covered include:1990 World Rowing Championships
1990 World Rowing Championships
The 19th World Rowing Championships were held between 31 October and 4 November 1990 at Lake Barrington in Tasmania, Australia.-Medal summary:- Medals table :...
Tasmania, 1990 Commonwealth Games
1990 Commonwealth Games
The 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January-3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, judo,...
Auckland, 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
Barcelona, 1994 Cricket tour of Pakistan, 1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, 1998 Commonwealth Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
Kuala Lumpur, 1999 Cricket tour of Zimbabwe, 2000 Olympic Games Sydney, 2000 Paralympic Games Sydney, 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
Manchester, 2004 Olympic Games Greece.
This also includes countless Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
matches at VFL
VFL
VFL can refer to:Sport* Victorian Football League, an Australian rules football league formerly known as the Victorian Football Association prior to 1996....
and AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
level, as well as calling international and state cricket
Pura Cup
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
.
Today
Walsh has hosted the National Grandstand program on ABC Local RadioABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites...
and shares this role during the summer, with Sydney based ABC sports broadcaster Tracey Holmes
Tracey Holmes
Tracey Holmes is an Australian television and radio presenter, specialising largely in sport. She began working as a journalist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1989, and was Australia's first female host of a national sports programme. Grandstand. From 1996 to 1998, she worked as a...
. Walsh formally hosted alongside Simone Thurtell
Simone Thurtell
Simone Thurtell is a presenter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Local Radio's Grandstand program.She formerly shared the hosting of the summer Grandstand program with Peter Walsh and is also the ABC's around-the-ground reporter during international cricket matches played at the SCG...
, although she now works for 1233 ABC Newcastle
1233 ABC Newcastle
1233 ABC Newcastle is an Australian radio station. It is the Newcastle station of the ABC local radio network, and is licensed to, and serving Newcastle and surrounding areas. It operates on the AM band at 1233 kilohertz...
as a Drive presenter.
He is also known for his "loud shirts" and can often been seen chasing international cricketers around the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
during Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
matches offering them an opportunity to photographed wearing one of the shirts.
Walsh also commentates on National Basketball League
National Basketball League
National Basketball League may mean:* National Basketball League , the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia* National Basketball League * National Basketball League of Canada...
home matches for the Adelaide 36ers
Adelaide 36ers
The Adelaide 36ers are Adelaide's men's professional basketball team, established as the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the National Basketball League in 1982. The Adelaide 36ers tally of four championships is equal with the Melbourne Tigers and second behind the Perth Wildcats as the most...
. He is known for his rowdy and excitable style of commentary akin to the manner of a boxing announcer, particularly after a player has made a flamboyant or attacking action.