Legendary football commentator Archie Macpherson opened the weekend Tidelines Book Festival at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine on Thursday night in front of a full house, sharing stories from his extraordinary career.
Speaking to writer and film-maker Margot McCuaig, Macpherson recalled how shortly after he was born, his father took him outside their home on Shettleston Road to hear the noise of Old Firm fans walking to a Celtic v Rangers game. He also told of a woman who recently stopped him with her trolley and asked: “What on earth has happened to Celtic?”
Early career and first matches
Macpherson, who played for Lochwinnoch Amateurs and Queens Park 3rd XI, began writing short stories for the Evening Times, which led to his appointment as a commentator for the BBC. His first match was an Old Firm showdown.
On October 27, 1962, he was sent to cover Hamilton Accies v Stenhousemuir on what he called Black Saturday, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He recalled: “After being hired, I was sent out on Black Saturday when we were on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile crisis. What a game to cover on the brink of an apocalypse, Hamilton Accies v Stenhousemuir.”
Celtic's European Cup triumph
One of his most memorable assignments was covering the 1967 European Cup Final between Celtic and Inter Milan. He was still a teacher and initially was not allowed three days off work, but after intervention from Labour MP Jimmy Hamilton, the Director of Education allowed him to go if he could find a teacher to cover him – his wife, Jess, did.
Macpherson said it was an amazing achievement for Celtic to win the trophy with a team of home-grown players, the furthest away of whom was Bobby Lennox from Saltcoats. He also recalled that late Celtic boss Jock Stein was tough to get on with at first, but they developed a rapport, and Macpherson invited Stein to be his co-commentator at a Scotland match.
Encounters with footballing greats
Macpherson helped Stein secure the Scotland job in 1978 after Stein asked him to go on TV and say that if the SFA were interested, they should phone him. Macpherson revealed this on Grandstand, and although Stein called it made up the following day, he was Scotland manager two weeks later.
He also told of a Motherwell player he claimed should have been sent off during a commentary; boss Tommy McLean later waited 20 minutes before swearing and swinging a punch at him, with colleague Davie Provan intervening. Macpherson used to sit with Sir Alex Ferguson in the Pittodrie boot room, and Ferguson later lunged at him over comments about goalkeeper Jim Leighton. A top police officer confronted the duo during one of their dressing room arguments.
Macpherson invited Billy Connolly on a sports programme when Connolly cracked his first joke on national TV, before the duo went on a pub crawl. He also interviewed George Best at Easter Road when Best was playing for Hibernian, though Best did not appear until 3pm as he was drunk. There was also a story of Jimmy Johnston being substituted by Stein for Celtic at half-time and throwing his jersey at him.
Macpherson reckons Archie Gemmill's goal for Scotland against Netherlands in the 1978 World Cup was the best he ever saw netted by the national team. He was also invited to “sex up” the commentary for the movie Trainspotting in the mid-1990s.
Promoting his new book Adventures in the Golden Age, Macpherson said he was heartbroken when Scotland were eliminated from the 1974 World Cup despite being the only unbeaten team in Germany. Iconic American singer Eartha Kitt, in a London studio while Macpherson was in Glasgow, said he had a “sexy voice” – something he said he dined out on.
Macpherson was also brought in by the late Rikki Fulton for a Scotch and Wry sketch, for which he did not know the final line until it was delivered. Fulton, thinking he recognised him, said: “It’s you isn’t it, you’re Bamber Gascoigne.”
