“I’d call that Match of the Century, I don’t know about Match of the Day,” smiled the breathless BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenhome at the conclusion of a thrilling encounter, fitting for the first-ever broadcast of what has become the world’s longest-running football TV show.
The British institution began in August 1964. Unlike today’s offering, when action from all the day’s top-flight games is shown, nearly 60 years ago just one match was filmed – hence the title – and our opening day clash against Bill Shankly’s reigning champions was picked for MOTD’s debut later that evening.
At the time, there was a palpable sense of nervousness amongst football chairmen at the prospect of televised highlights of matches. The nagging feeling was that TV coverage would have a detrimental effect on attendances, so details of the match being broadcast that night weren’t released to the public until 4pm on the Saturday afternoon, when paying fans were already inside the ground.
The inaugural show is a wonderfully evocative period piece. Barry Stoller’s (now) classic theme tune wasn’t used until the dawning of the era of colour TV in 1970. Instead the show, which was broadcast on BBC2 and which was only available to viewers within range of the Crystal Palace transmitter, kicked off with Drum Majorette by Arnold Stock.
The black and white montage at the beginning shows glimpses of football in the black and white era. Lads and lasses sway in unison on a Spion Kop, wearing flat caps and headscarves, smoking cigarettes, and swigging brown ale.
When the programme starts, and with the Fab Four chanting ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’ in the background over the PA system, Wolstenhome, some two years before his famous ‘They think it’s all over’ commentary during the 1966 World Cup Final, welcomes viewers to ‘Beatleville.’
The on-pitch action lasts for just shy of an hour, with the sole focus on the Anfield clash. In the first hour, the hosts dominated. Winger Ian Callaghan set up Roger Hunt for a superbly executed lobbed finish, and then Callaghan crossed to Gordon Wallace who headed home to make it 2-0.
But Billy Wright’s Arsenal, fielding a front five of George Armstrong, Geoff Strong, Joe Baker, George Eastham and Terry Anderson, came roaring back. Following a neat one-two with Eastham, Strong fired home impressively from 20 yards, which the Kop sportingly applauded. Armstrong’s clever cross then saw Joe Baker acrobatically head us level, but in the dying seconds of the match, Gordon Wallace fired home Liverpool’s winner, leaving the vast majority of the 47,620 crowd streaming away in high spirits.
Years later, Eastham recalled: “The match summed up Arsenal in that era. We were good going forward, but less than secure at the back. Geoff [Strong] did well out of it, though. Bill Shankly liked the look of what he saw so much that he signed him for Liverpool in November!” Strong won the league title at Anfield in 1966, with his former club treading water in mid-table.
Dozens of clashes between the two red-shirted rivals – from title deciders, to European encounters and domestic cup finals – have received top TV billing in the decades since. But the timeless classic from 1964 will always remain a unique piece of television history.
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