Bring Me the Sports Jacket of Arthur Montford: An Adventure Through Scottish Football

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For a man who reckoned he had failed his television audition, Arthur Montford proved to be an unmitigated success in the medium in Scotland, presiding over STV’s Scotsport for 32 years, during which he became part of the fabric of the nation. Arthur Montford (25 May 1929 – 26 November 2014) [1] was a Scottish Television sports journalist, best known for his 32-year tenure as the presenter of Scottish Television's Scotsport.

STV were told by rivals BBC that there was no room for their cameras in the gantry in Hampden’s South Stand.

Though again he did not shout about it, his politics in the 70s favoured the SNP, and he helped the late Margo McDonald in her campaign in Govan in 1973. His grandchildren Craig and Julie also gave an emotional joint reading with Craig telling how his grandad had bought him a full Greenock Morton kit as a boy in a bid to convert him from being a Rangers fan. It was a golden era in Scottish football, and Montford was at the heart of it from the late 1950s through the glory days of the 1960s, the 1970s and all the way through to the late 1980s, always finding something positive to say about the game – even in Argentina in 1978. Then, at the age of 28, he was signed-up as an announcer with the new commercial broadcaster Scottish Television ahead of its launch on 31 August 1957. In May 2010, Montford received the SPFA Special Merit award for his services to football broadcasting and journalism alongside fellow broadcaster Archie Macpherson.

Montford also commentated or presented items on many other sports, particularly ice hockey – a favourite of his – and golf, where his work for ITV brought him to the notice of a wider public. Montford remembers “very often we went to air on a Wednesday night while the film was still being processed.He soon concentrated on the latter, however, and one of the feats he personally claimed was to thwart the BBC’s attempt to have exclusive coverage of the famous Real Madrid v Eintracht Frankfurt European Cup Final at Hampden in 1960 – Montford and the STV crew marched in front of the North Stand and stayed there. He said that, undeterred, they set up in the North Stand and ended up winning the local battle for viewers. Arthur Montford died at his home on 26 November 2014 at the age 85, after battling illness intermittently over a couple of years. BIG names from TV and sport got into a right stramash this afternoon - to remember the life of Arthur Montford.

Julie said as a child she imagined her grandad could see her as she watched on TV while he presented one of the many editions of Scotsport. Born the son of a journalist, Sid, who spent a long career at the Glasgow Evening News and Daily Record, Montford was educated at Greenock Academy after the family moved there from Glasgow. He also presented the Scottish version of World of Sport on STV and Grampian - with live coverage from England of events which were often not shown in their entirety due to the regional sporting events taking place in Scotland, Scotsport Special was also aired on Cup Final day, when the Scottish Cup Final was taking place on the same day as the Wembley event, with the Wrestling also being moved from its pre-lunchtime slot on Cup Final days back to the expected 16:00 slot in Scotland. Yet it is precisely Montford’s verbal style that he is loved for and his erudite expressions could enliven the most trying of sporting events.During his time on Scotsport, Montford became famous for his trademark checkered pattern sports jackets, and some classic lines of football commentary, including What a Stramash! It was a golden era in Scottish football, and Montford was at the heart of it from the late 1950s through the glory days of the 1970s to the late 1980s, always finding something positive to say about the game – even in Argentina in 1978. Arthur Montford (1929–2014) was a Scottish broadcaster, best-known for his 32-year tenure as the presenter of Scottish Television's Scotsport.