Wolstenholme, Kenneth, DFC, died in Torquay on March 25, 2002, aged 81. For
almost a quarter of a century, spanning five World Cups, Wolstenholme's was the voice
of football on BBC television. When England won the World Cup in 1966, he saw
spectators running on to the pitch in the closing moments of the final and said "They
think it's all over", which eventually, after endless re-runs of the footage, became a
national catchphrase. Yet his career might have taken a different path. Returning to
sports journalism after wartime service as a bomber pilot, he was sent by BBC
Manchester to cover cricket's Scarborough Festival. Unfortunately, his lyrical
descriptions of the Marine Parade tulips were heard by the Yorkshire Post's gardening
correspondent, who somewhat pedantically pointed out that tulips do not bloom in
September. Not in Scarborough, anyway. Wolstenholme possibly thought it was all
over; any future in cricket commentary certainly was.
© John Wisden & Co
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