Truly the end of an era - James Alexander Gordon retires

[hans kraay fan club]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23434089

 

[Goldstone1976]

Legend. Top, top bloke. Hope he has a long and happy retirement. The classified results will never be the same without him.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Goodbye every 1 - I've enjoyed working here 2

 

[Lady Whistledown]

James Alexander Gordon to retire from BBC Sports Report

James Alexander Gordon, the voice of the football scores on BBC radio's Sports Report is to retire.

Never mind all the Sky hype, this man truly is the voice of football. I only have to hear his voice to be instantly transported back to the Goldstone, aged about eleven, walking back to the car after games with my Dad. This would have been back in the days when you didn't know all the scores unless you happened to be walking next to someone with a transistor radio. The music kicks in, a brief summary from the presenter, followed by "But first, the full classified check, with James Alexander Gordon".

He of the intonation which tells you the outcome of a match even if you didn't catch the score itself. I don't suppose people tune in as much as they used to (I know I rarely do unless I'm driving home or in the car at work) but it really is the end of an era.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Sad day.

Walking quickly across Hove Park to get to my dad's car in time to hear him read out the scores was such a memorable part of watching games at The Goldstone - or indeed any ground - when I was young.

 

[theboybilly]

Indeed a sad day. I spent years listening to his results readings. Nobody did it better. If the BBC get one thing right it's getting decent announcers and presenters in their sport coverage. Golf hasn't been the same since Henry Longhurst passed away and will no doubt be worse off when Peter Alliss retires. I hope James Alexander Gordon enjoys a well-earned retirement and thank him for many,many years of wonderful broadcasting.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Terrible that he had to have his larynx removed because of cancer and that he has been forced to retire because his voice isn't strong enough. Terribly sad.

 

[Daffy Duck]

The footie results just won't ever be the same again.
Hope he makes a good recovery.
Whoever takes his place has such a hard act to follow.

 

[Easy 10]

I always remember hearing an interview with him when he explained the inflections he used in his voice to make the result as clear as possible, even if you didn't hear the scoreline. He said something along the lines of "always picturing an elderly lady sitting by her radio ticking off her pools coupon, who maybe couldn't hear as clearly as she would have liked".

What a gent and a legend. When that BRILLIANT Sports Report music blasts out again at 5pm, it will never be the same without JAG on the end of it.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

The footie results just won't ever be the same again.
Hope he makes a good recovery.
Whoever takes his place has such a hard act to follow.

I PRAY that whoever takes over, just reads the results in their own style, and doesn't (even unconciously) try to impersonate JAG. If they do, they are doomed to abject failure.

 

[tinx]

i wonder how many times in his career he has said the word "Nil"

 

[Brovion]

"It's five o'clock and time for Sports Report"
Da da da da da da da da da dadada da da-da!
"And here are the classified football results read by James Alexander Gordon"

As quintessentially British as a speech by Winston Churchill.

 

[keaton]

I thought i read something last year about him recording loads of team names and numbers so they carry on using his voice after he retired (obviously recording each team with different stresses to indicate home/away , win loss or draw).
But it appears this was a dream

 

[Tooting Gull]

If you love football and care about your team, he brought joy and despair in (roughly) equal measure - but it was must-listen radio. Will be greatly missed, a real institution.

I also think he made it his own at the right time and in the right era. These days, with more instant information via phones etc, that reading is not as important, more people know the results.

 

[el punal]

One my enduring memories of the heady Goldstone days of the late 1970s/early 80s. Parked up in or around Goldstone Villas at 5.00, with the car door open, listening to Sports Report after an Albion match. Fans gathering by the car to hear the results as there was no other means to find out the scores - apart from getting the Argus classified at 6.30 or looking through window of Radio Rentals in George Street when the final score came on.

Happy retirement J.A.G.

 

[el punal]

i wonder how many times in his career he has said the word "Nil"

Loads - preferably preceded with Crystal Palace!

 

[Albumen]

I hear Joe Pasquale is taking over.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

"It's five o'clock and time for Sports Report"
Da da da da da da da da da dadada da da-da!
"And here are the classified football results read by James Alexander Gordon"

As quintessentially British as a speech by Winston Churchill.

I agree. He was a national institution.

 

[catfish]

Sports Report will never be the same again. He was 'part of the fixtures'.

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

I wish it was James Corden instead of James Gordon.