Harry Carpenter RIP

[Twinkle Toes]

Murray walker , quality lines, ' mansell's slowing down , he's taking it easy, no he's not it's a new lap record !'

I'll never forget him 'commentating' on the 1979 500cc Motorcycle GP at Silverstone - when Bazza Sheene stuck 2 fingers up at Kenny Roberts. Murray's take on it as it happened? "Look, look at that! Barry Sheene is waving at Kenny Roberts! "


ps Very sad news about 'Arry passing away today. Thanks for the great memories & rest peacefully.

 

[little al]

RIP to a legend and Palace fan.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

One of the best lines ever:

"He's HURT Tyson. Go on Frank get in there!"

Probably my favourite line of all time!

I'll never forget that. Genuinely shocked he's died, though I guess he was getting on. It's a shame that new commentators are trained, and the only gem left is that guy doing the darts

 

[Gwylan]

Maybe i am wrong,but i just don't see 'sport' throwing up the likes of Harry,Bill Mclaren and others any more,i think that they were more than just comentators most grew in an era of hardship and that i felt would often come through in what they said. They often kept it simple and let the picture tell the story,they also carried what i consider was an air of manners and decency (something which many lack to day) i am sure many here would have loved to have had the chance to share a pint and chat about life and sport they seemed those type of guys. Thanks Harry.

The difference these days is that a lot of commentators are ex-players rather than journalists first and a) don't always have the right words and b) tend to be terrified of saying anything uncontroversial, so it's like a cosy club. There are obvious exceptions to this (say hello to Messrs Atherton and Hussain) but there are far too many cases where sporting expertise is placed above linguistic prowess. There are still some good commentators coming up the ranks but they are few in number.

Harry C was one of the best and, like the man said, Sportsnight on Weds night was an integral part of childhood.

 

[Taybha]

One of the good guys RIP

'This boxer is doing what's expected of him, bleeding from the nose'

- 'Magri has to do well against the unknown Mexican, who comes from a famous family of five boxing brothers'

- 'They said it would last two rounds - they were half right, it lasted four'

- 'Marvellous oriental pace he's got, just like a Buddhist statue'

Sporting slip-ups and Wimbledon wobbles


- 'Ah, isn't that nice - the wife of the Cambridge president is kissing the cox of the Oxford crew'

- 'We haven't had any more rain since it stopped raining'

- 'It's quite clear Virginia Wade is thriving on the pressure, now the pressure on her to do well is off'

 

[BUTTERBALL]

Harry Carpenter and Frank Bruno - what a combo!

RIP Harry.

 

[Frutos]

RIP Harry

 

[Beach Hut]

One of the best lines ever:

"He's HURT Tyson. Go on Frank get in there!"

Probably my favourite line of all time!

It was a great bit of commentary however he always said how he thought how entirely unprofessional that actually was as his job was to give a totally unbiased commentary.

As stated a true professional at what he did and will be sadly missed as that generation of commentators will never be repeated.

RIP

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

RIP

One of the greats.

Clearly had a real passion for the sport, and learnt his stuff the hard way around the Boxing Clubs of South East London.

Some of the modern day guys seem to be well educated and well trained etc but lack the down to earth feel that Harry bought to the wireless and the TV.

His voice will be sadly missed.

I was bought up watching Sportnight on a Wednesday evening, in the days when you watched highlights of an FA Cup replay and had no knowledge of the result.

With the loss of Bill McLaren and Brian Johnston we have now lost three of the best we had - a generation that will never be repeated.