Teddy Wakelam
Encyclopedia
Captain Henry Blythe Thornhill (Teddy) Wakelam (May 8, 1893 - July 10, 1963) was an English
sports broadcaster
and rugby union
player.
He played rugby for Harlequin F.C.
and became its captain. On 15 January 1927 Wakelam gave the first ever running sports commentary on BBC radio
, a Rugby International match, England v Wales
(final score 11-9) at Twickenham
. By today's standard it sounded really odd: to give listeners an idea what it actually was they were hearing a picture was published in the Radio Times
of the pitch divided in numbered squares. And as Wakelam described the run of play a voice in the background mentioned the square the play was happening in. It is believed the phrase "Back to Square One" comes from this, long abandoned, practice.
Wakelam was an expert on a wide variety of sports. A week after his broadcasting debut he and C.A. Lewis gave the first football commentary on British radio, Arsenal
- Sheffield United, 1-1. Later in 1927 he would also cover cricket
and Wimbledon
. It was in London SW19 that he would prove to be an unflappable character: in the mid '30s he accidentally set fire to his notes but kept on commentating as if nothing had happened.
The first sports commentator on BBC radio also became one of the first on BBC television
in 1938, when he covered the test match
at Lord's
. He also gave commentaries on boxing
and even non sporting events like Tidworth
Tattoo
, but rugby union always remained his specialty. Only a handful of his commentaries have survived, but apparently Wakelam was quite a good reporter. John Arlott
called him "a natural talker with a reasonable vocabulary, a good rugby mind and a conscious determination to avoid journalese
."
Teddy Wakelam also was rugby correspondent for The Morning Post. He wrote a number of books including 'Harlequin Story' (1954) about the history of his old club. He is namechecked in the title of a sports book, "After Captain Teddy" by Mike Jeffrey.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sports broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player.
He played rugby for Harlequin F.C.
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
and became its captain. On 15 January 1927 Wakelam gave the first ever running sports commentary on BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, a Rugby International match, England v Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(final score 11-9) at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
. By today's standard it sounded really odd: to give listeners an idea what it actually was they were hearing a picture was published in the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
of the pitch divided in numbered squares. And as Wakelam described the run of play a voice in the background mentioned the square the play was happening in. It is believed the phrase "Back to Square One" comes from this, long abandoned, practice.
Wakelam was an expert on a wide variety of sports. A week after his broadcasting debut he and C.A. Lewis gave the first football commentary on British radio, Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
- Sheffield United, 1-1. Later in 1927 he would also cover cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
. It was in London SW19 that he would prove to be an unflappable character: in the mid '30s he accidentally set fire to his notes but kept on commentating as if nothing had happened.
The first sports commentator on BBC radio also became one of the first on BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
in 1938, when he covered the test match
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...
at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. He also gave commentaries on boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and even non sporting events like Tidworth
Tidworth
Tidworth is a town in south-east Wiltshire, England with a growing civilian population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east...
Tattoo
Military tattoo
The original meaning of military tattoo is a military drum performance, but nowadays it sometimes means army displays more generally.It dates from the 17th century when the British Army was fighting in the Low Countries...
, but rugby union always remained his specialty. Only a handful of his commentaries have survived, but apparently Wakelam was quite a good reporter. John Arlott
John Arlott
Leslie Thomas John Arlott OBE was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet, wine connoisseur and former police officer in Hampshire...
called him "a natural talker with a reasonable vocabulary, a good rugby mind and a conscious determination to avoid journalese
Journalese
Journalese is the artificial or hyperbolic, and sometimes over-abbreviated, language regarded as characteristic of the popular media. Joe Grimm, formerly of the Detroit Free Press, likened journalese to a "stage voice": "We write journalese out of habit, sometimes from misguided training, and to...
."
Teddy Wakelam also was rugby correspondent for The Morning Post. He wrote a number of books including 'Harlequin Story' (1954) about the history of his old club. He is namechecked in the title of a sports book, "After Captain Teddy" by Mike Jeffrey.