Hugh Johns
Encyclopedia
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. During his career, he covered a thousand matches including four FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
finals.
Early life and career
Johns was born in WantageWantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. He served in the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
during World War II. After the war he tried acting whereupon he met his future wife, Joan Hatcher, who was then working as a stage manager
Stage management
Stage management is the practice of organizing and coordinating a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of activities, including organizing the production and coordinating communications between various personnel...
in the West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
. They married in late 1950. During the 1950s, he became a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
working for a number of regional newspapers in England before becoming the Welsh
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...
sports columnist for The People
The People
The People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881.It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group.In July 2011 it had an average daily circulation of 806,544....
.
Football commentator
Johns became a football commentator at the behest of ATVAssociated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
mogul Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
in 1966. ITV had won the rights to cover the 1966 FIFA World Cup
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
in competition with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
; Johns led the team, which also included Gerry Loftus, John Camkin and Barry Davies
Barry Davies
Barry George Davies MBE is a British sports commentator. He has covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.-Broadcasting career:...
(later of the BBC). He was the "other voice" of the final in which England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
won the World Cup for the first and (to date) only time. His description of Geoff Hurst
Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst MBE is a retired England footballer best remembered for his years with West Ham. He made his mark in World Cup history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His three goals came in the 1966 final for England in their 4–2 win over West...
's third goal, England's fourth ("Here's Hurst, he might make it three. He has! He has ... so that's it. That is IT!" ), was overshadowed by that of his opposite number at the BBC, Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...
, who cemented his fame with "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over ... it is now!".
His finest hour in audience terms came in the 1970 FIFA World Cup
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by...
, when ITV won the ratings battle with the BBC. Johns described all of England's matches in the competition with former national team captain Billy Wright alongside him. In the final between Brazil and Italy he memorably described Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
's opening goal - "What a beautiful goal from Pelé! El Rey Pelé!" - El Rey being Spanish for "The King". Johns was partnered in the commentary box by Bobby Moore
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...
.
Although Brian Moore was regarded as ITV's "number 1" commentator, Moore was for many years given the role of Anchorman/Presenter for many major football occasions covered on ITV. This led to Johns covering four FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
finals in total, from 1966 to 1978, and three FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
s (1966–68). He was also the voice for ITV's live coverage of the European Cup Final
European Champion Clubs' Cup
The European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League...
s of 1968 - when Manchester United became the first English club to claim the trophy - and 1970, when Celtic lost to Feyenoord in Milan. Other memorable games that he covered included Scotland's victory over World Champions England at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in 1967 and another night of English anguish in 1973 as Alf Ramsey's team failed to beat Poland at Wembley and missed out on a place at the 1974 FIFA World Cup
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
finals tournament (the match was only shown live on ITV, with highlights being shown on BBC later in the evening).
He was the regular commentator on ATV's Star Soccer
Star Soccer
Star Soccer was a weekly football highlights program in the United Kingdom, which ran on Associated TeleVision from 1965 until 1983 when it was replaced by a networked The Big Match and Big Match Live.-History:...
, taking over from Peter Lorenzo shortly after the programme's launch in the London area in October 1965. From August 1968 the programme began to concentrate on the Midlands after the re-allocation of ITV franchises that summer. During this period Johns saw Derby County (twice), Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa land the League Championship. He continued working for ATV, and subsequently Central Television
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
until the summer of 1982 when he was replaced by a new recruit from BBC Radio Sport
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...
, Peter Brackley
Peter Brackley
Peter Brackley is a football commentator, perhaps most famous for covering Football Italia on Channel 4 in the 1990s and formerly commentating for the computer game series Pro Evolution Soccer, and for Michael Owen's World League Soccer '99.-Radio:...
. His last major ITV duties came at the World Cup that year in Spain although he was effectively relegated to the number 4 commentary spot on the ITV team, and covered no live matches.
Until 1996 Johns continued to commentate for HTV Wales
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
, making occasional network appearances on the odd international or Cup tie. He also produced a documentary on Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
- simply called Ian. In an interview with ITV on his retirement he revealed that he helped to lubricate his vocal cords with a couple of pints of Brains Bitter
Brains Brewery
Brains is a regional brewery founded in 1882 in Cardiff, Wales by Samuel Arthur Brain. The company owns over 250 pubs across South Wales, Mid Wales, the West Country and particularly in Cardiff...
every day and was a regular smoker.
Johns was known as the "voice of Midlands football". In 2002 he was presented with a "Golden Microphone" by Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
, for services to football in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. He also commentated on snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
, 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...
, crown Green bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
and darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
.
Personal life
Johns retired to his house in RadyrRadyr
Radyr is an outer suburb of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The suburb is situated in the west of the city, although it was originally a separate village, and is located around 5 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. According to 2009 estimates, the suburb has a population of 6,000...
near Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
where he was an active Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. His wife Joan died in November 2003 - they had been married for 53 years. He died at home in June 2007, aged 84.