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Arthur Montford
Arthur Montford (25 May 1929 – 26 November 2014) was a Scottish Television sports journalist, best known for his 32-year tenure as the presenter of Scottish Television's Scotsport. Although he was most associated with football, he covered a number of other sports for ITV, notably golf.
Montford was born on 25 May 1929 to the son of a journalist, Sid, who spent a long career at the Glasgow Evening News and Daily Record. He was raised in Greenock and educated at Greenock Academy after the family moved there from Glasgow. Greenock and the Academy itself gave him a lifelong love of the town's club Morton F.C. and his friend from schooldays, Douglas Rae, owned the club later on in Montford's lifetime. Whilst at school, he was one of a band of rebels who tried — unsuccessfully — to introduce football to the rugby-playing school.
Montford told the academy rector, Mr. William Dewar, that he would become a journalist and, after completion of his National Service, he joined the News as an office boy, before making the graduation through the ranks to reporter, working for the News; then the Daily Record before joining the sports desk of the Evening Times.
While there, he covered numerous sports, but it was football that became his main focus, and he was asked by the BBC's well-known producer Peter Thomson to do some match reports for radio. These went well as a radio broadcaster, and, when BBC sports editor John Wilson joined Scottish Television in 1957, he asked Montford to join him in the new commercial visual age.
Montford's first audition in Maryhill Burgh Hall was dismal, but he was given another chance at the Theatre Royal and more than passed muster. With his pleasant, distinctive voice, a singular asset; he joined Scottish Television in August 1957 as a continuity announcer and sports reporter, where Montford shared the opening night announcing duties with Jimmy Nairn, He was then chosen to present STV's new sports programme, Scotsport (originally Sports Desk), where he remained as presenter for 32 years. In all, he hosted over 2,000 editions of the programme that made him a household name across Scotland. It was a golden era in Scottish football, and Montford was at the heart of it from the late-1950s through the glory days of the 1960s, the 1970s and all the way through to the late-1980s, always finding something positive to say about the game – even in Argentina in 1978.
During his time on Scotsport, Montford became famous for his trademark checkered pattern sports jackets, and some classic lines of football commentary, including What a Stramash! and Disaster for Scotland!, He also presented Radio Clyde’s version of Desert Island Discs (billed as Montford's Meeting Place) where he interviewed many famous people who dropped by for a chat with the STV legend that was an unmissable sample of Clyde's weekend schedule in the 1970s and 1980s as well as writing the Scotsport Annual among other books.
Throughout a long and hectic career, He interviewed all the greats from Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player to name amongst a few famous sport players whom Montford had the pleasure of meeting over time.
Despite being committed to Scotsport, Montford continued to continuity announce with STV by covering irregular shifts as a relief continuity announcer (often out-of-vision, sometimes in-vision) on occasions of holidays, illness or other staff absences - where he would often read the lunchtime and evening Scottish news bulletins, announce the daytime and evening programmes as billed and close the station at around midnight with, of course, the friendly and reassuring closedown sequence when “we hoped you enjoyed our programmes today and you will join us again in the morning at 9.30am”, His easy confidence made him one of the station's most popular personalities.
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Arthur Montford
Arthur Montford (25 May 1929 – 26 November 2014) was a Scottish Television sports journalist, best known for his 32-year tenure as the presenter of Scottish Television's Scotsport. Although he was most associated with football, he covered a number of other sports for ITV, notably golf.
Montford was born on 25 May 1929 to the son of a journalist, Sid, who spent a long career at the Glasgow Evening News and Daily Record. He was raised in Greenock and educated at Greenock Academy after the family moved there from Glasgow. Greenock and the Academy itself gave him a lifelong love of the town's club Morton F.C. and his friend from schooldays, Douglas Rae, owned the club later on in Montford's lifetime. Whilst at school, he was one of a band of rebels who tried — unsuccessfully — to introduce football to the rugby-playing school.
Montford told the academy rector, Mr. William Dewar, that he would become a journalist and, after completion of his National Service, he joined the News as an office boy, before making the graduation through the ranks to reporter, working for the News; then the Daily Record before joining the sports desk of the Evening Times.
While there, he covered numerous sports, but it was football that became his main focus, and he was asked by the BBC's well-known producer Peter Thomson to do some match reports for radio. These went well as a radio broadcaster, and, when BBC sports editor John Wilson joined Scottish Television in 1957, he asked Montford to join him in the new commercial visual age.
Montford's first audition in Maryhill Burgh Hall was dismal, but he was given another chance at the Theatre Royal and more than passed muster. With his pleasant, distinctive voice, a singular asset; he joined Scottish Television in August 1957 as a continuity announcer and sports reporter, where Montford shared the opening night announcing duties with Jimmy Nairn, He was then chosen to present STV's new sports programme, Scotsport (originally Sports Desk), where he remained as presenter for 32 years. In all, he hosted over 2,000 editions of the programme that made him a household name across Scotland. It was a golden era in Scottish football, and Montford was at the heart of it from the late-1950s through the glory days of the 1960s, the 1970s and all the way through to the late-1980s, always finding something positive to say about the game – even in Argentina in 1978.
During his time on Scotsport, Montford became famous for his trademark checkered pattern sports jackets, and some classic lines of football commentary, including What a Stramash! and Disaster for Scotland!, He also presented Radio Clyde’s version of Desert Island Discs (billed as Montford's Meeting Place) where he interviewed many famous people who dropped by for a chat with the STV legend that was an unmissable sample of Clyde's weekend schedule in the 1970s and 1980s as well as writing the Scotsport Annual among other books.
Throughout a long and hectic career, He interviewed all the greats from Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player to name amongst a few famous sport players whom Montford had the pleasure of meeting over time.
Despite being committed to Scotsport, Montford continued to continuity announce with STV by covering irregular shifts as a relief continuity announcer (often out-of-vision, sometimes in-vision) on occasions of holidays, illness or other staff absences - where he would often read the lunchtime and evening Scottish news bulletins, announce the daytime and evening programmes as billed and close the station at around midnight with, of course, the friendly and reassuring closedown sequence when “we hoped you enjoyed our programmes today and you will join us again in the morning at 9.30am”, His easy confidence made him one of the station's most popular personalities.