#092 The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21

The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

Episode 92

The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21

Our moment-by-moment origin story of British broadcasting reaches 6th June 1923 - and what's sometimes thought to be the BBC's first sports broadcast: author Edgar Wallace giving his 'reflections on the Derby'...

...The trouble is, it wasn't the BBC's first sports broadcast.

But then... what is a sports broadcast? A live commentary? Or will a later summary do? Or how about a police radio transmission, where the Epsom Derby winner happens to be mentioned for anyone listening to hear?

This episode we bring you the tales of every early landmark sports broadcast we know about, including:

• Special guest Nick Gilbey, trustee of the Broadcasting Television Technology Trust and one of the doer-uppers of the mighty MCR21 mobile control room van, first built in 1963, and now looking snappier than ever.
• The BBC's actual first sports broadcaster - forgotten for a century - Willie Clissett, on Cardiff 5WA with a weekly 'Chat on Sport of the day' from 2 April 1923. Was it rugby? Let's say yes. It was Wales.
• How jockey Steve Donoghue somehow became Britain's first broadcast sports champion... ion 3 occasions across 3 different years. He was on Britain's first sports broadcast, winning 1921's Epsom Derby. Edgar Wallace reported on his win at 1923's Epsom Derby. And his win was shouted on-air by a passerby, upsetting the press, at 1925's Epsom Derby. Three different horses, three landmark broadcasts, one incredible jockey.
• The boxing and billiards on London 2LO in 1922.
• Early clips of Wimbledon, the Boat Race and the Derby.
• And was the first sports broadcast Marconi's 1899 Morse message 'Yachts Slowly Drifting'? In which case, was the first sports broadcaster actually Guglielmo Marconi himself?!

Correct us on any of the above! Seriously. Please do. We want this to be an accurate record of events! Email [e-mail] with any feedback, suggestions, alterations or offers of big-screen adaptations.

SHOWNOTES:

• Visit MCR21.org.uk for pics and words about the wonderful MCR21 mobile control room van. Click on their newsletter and subscribe to get info in your inbox.
• Watch Nick Gilbey's half-hour BBC tribute documentary on Peter Dimmock: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fw3c9c
• See the Marconi van used at the 1921 Epsom Derby broadcast - and the airship pics from above: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bbcentury/posts/966054144965706/
• See the 1923 Derby - plus a little of the police use of wireless traffic tech - on this Pathe video: https://youtu.be/s-qnFvgJMFY?si=bedG3HWmyui1VNmj
• Original music is by Will Farmer.
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• Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting.
• Paul's walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites returns soon - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via the home of the Electrophone! Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
• This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. We're talking about them, well, the only BBC, the Company. Not with or at the behest of today's Corporation...
• ...Although we gladly will. Corporation - call me!

Next time: Summer 1923 on the BBC - music, the first whisper of television, and a cheeky pop-up station in Plymouth.

More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio