Voices of Sport: Mike Ingham - The BBC radio commentator that had great authority and gravitas

In our weekly series, Yahoo Sport’s Nick Metcalfe features a famous voice of sport. The brilliant BBC radio commentator MIke Ingham is the latest to go under the spotlight.

Mike Ingham on the radio was one of the great constants for football fans. The BBC man was respected by pretty much everyone in the game, as well as all those tuning in to hear him.

Ingham was defined by eloquence, authority and gravitas. He described some of the most famous moments in the sport’s history over three decades and has been much missed since his retirement from commentating.

Ingham began his career at BBC Radio Derby in 1973. It was a good time to be in the city, with the local football club being one of the best teams in the country, good enough to claim two league titles, the second on Ingham’s watch in 1974/75.

He certainly wasn’t short of colourful people to interview during his time covering Derby. One of the most memorable characters in English football history, Brian Clough, was manager at the start of his time there. Dave Mackay, Colin Murphy and Tommy Docherty swiftly followed with spells in the hot seat.

Ingham was making a name for himself and it was no surprise when he moved to BBC headquarters in London in 1979 and began broadcasting to a national audience. At that time he didn’t really see himself as a commentator. For some years he presented the famous Saturday afternoon programme, Sport on Two, which covered the main action of the day at home and abroad. That included Sports Report from 5pm, the results and round-up segment with its wonderful ‘Out of the Blue’ theme tune.

But in 1984. Ingham was asked to commentate, and that soon became his main role. His first match was Ron Atkinson’s Manchester United against Graham Taylor’s Watford. Pretty much a bygone era. His first season on the road ended tragically, with Ingham present at the European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, when 39 fans were killed as a wall collapsed following crowd trouble.

The top two football commentators at the time on BBC radio were all-time greats, Bryon Butler and Peter Jones, both of whom I profiled in this series earlier in the year.

Ingham looked up to both of them. Jones sadly died in 1990, shortly after collapsing while covering the Boat Race. Butler retired, with Ingham replacing him as the BBC’s football correspondent in 1991. By this time, Ingham and Alan Green were covering the big matches in tandem.

Radio coverage of football switched from Radio 2 to Radio 5, and then to 5 Live, but Ingham was unchanging. The marquee games came and went in our lives. FA Cup finals. European Cup finals. World Cups and European Championships. And they had one constant. Ingham in the commentary box with microphone in hand.

There was the World Cup finals of 1990 in Italy, with Paul Gascoigne’s tears and England a penalty shoot-out away from reaching the final. Six years later came Euro 96 and England thrashing Holland at Wembley, before losing out fo the Germans again. The Premier League was created. Interest in the game exploded across the country and far beyind. Liverpool’s glory years were followed by Manchester United dominance. Ingham was there for all that and so much more besides.

He always spoke with such a precise clarity, making him such a pleasure to listen to. I remember Ingham from so many memorable matches, but one that comes to mind instantly is the 1991 European Cup Winners’ Cup final between Barcelona and Manchester United in Rotterdam. The English club were 1-0 ahead in the second half when they broke clear again. Ingham’s excited commentary for the crucial second goal reflected the drama of the moment quite superbly.

“United have to stay onside. Robson finds Hughes, Hughes goes round the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper has forced him wide. Hughes! Oh what a goal! Mark Hughes from a tight angle. A wonderful goal for Mark Hughes.”

Ingham seemed to always find the right words to match what he was seeing. It was generally down to luck as to whether he or Green would describe moments of triumph. When Liverpool famously came from 3-0 behind to stun AC Milan and win the 2005 European Cup in Istanbul, Ingham was on duty for the decisive moment in the penalty shoot-out.

“Shevchenko against Dudek. And Dudek saves! Liverpool have won the Champions League. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart.”

When Ryan Giggs, on his record-equalling 758th appearance for Manchester United, scored a goal at Wigan in the spring of 2008 that sealed the league title, Ingham’s evocative “what a story, what a story” commentary would be replayed for days after on 5 Live.

Five years after that Sir Alex Ferguson, United’s man for all seasons, retired after 27 years in charge. Ingham’s words during the title celebrations at Old Trafford left many listening with a lump in their throat. As ever he was able to place the moment in historical context.

“Sir Bobby Charlton once said to Sir Matt Busby, this club is in safe hands. And for the final time, Sir Alex Ferguson puts his hands on the Premier League trophy.”

In the below picture, Ingham (far right) is part of the 5 Live team at the Euro 2012 clash between England and France in Donetsk, alongside Graham Taylor, Mark Pougatch, Green and Chris Waddle.

Probably the most memorable commentary moment of Ingham’s later years - and perhaps his whole career - came in May 2012. On the final day of the Premier League season, Manchester City needed to win their final game of the season against QPR to claim a first title since 1968.

But they surprisingly fell 2-1 behind, and with only five minutes of injury time remaining, it looked like neighbours United would pip them to the title. But Edin Dzeko headed a goal back, before City broke forward again with time almost up. Cue Ingham.

“And the QPR bench are punching the air down there, they must have heard some news I think from Stoke and Bolton. It’s finished there 2-2. So QPR are going to be safe. Manchester United have beaten Sunderland by one goal to nil. The season comes down to these moments now. And in goes Aguero. Ohhh! Aguero has scored for Manchester City. Sergio Aguero with seconds to go has ended 44 years of heartbreak. What a moment for the son-in-law of Diego Maradona. There are people kissing and hugging in front of us. Manchester City lead QPR by three goals to two. And right at the end the man from Argentina looks like he’s done it.”

Alongside the commentary duties, Ingham was also permanently on hand to reflect the key issues throughout every season in his role as football correspondent. For some time he did this with a special voice piece that was broadcast towards the end of Sports Report on a Saturday.

In this very noisy modern age of social media, phone-ins and website forums, Ingham started to feel like something of a throwback. Thoughtful, erudite, and measured. Others may have spoken a lot more, but Ingham’s contribution was always one worth listening to.

In 2004, Ingham was given a new and even grander job, as chief football correspondent. You may not have always agreed with him - although the chances were you usually did - but you knew it would be a carefully thought out opinion. Not a headline grabbing view, or one used just to spark debate, but the careful voice of calm.

Goodness knows, the game these days can seem like a never ending soap opera at times, and it was necessary to have someone like Ingham to try and make sense of it all.

There was one other crucial thing about Ingham, something that links nearly all the wonderful broadcasters in this series. You never doubted for a minute that he genuinely loved the game. He so obviously cared deeply about football, it was something that shone through with every commentary and report.

Ingham decided to retire from commentating in 2014, and his final big event was that year’s World Cup in Brazil. It was pretty much the perfect way to bow out – football’s greatest tournament in one of the game’s spiritual homes.

As ever, when something truly historic is taking place, like Germany’s 7-1 victory over Brazil in the semi-final, Ingham was the best man to describe events, because he had such a natural grasp of the game’s long history.

His last match was the final between Argentina and Germany at the Maracana, one of the great cathedrals of world football. Fittingly, he described Mario Gotze’s late extra-time winner for Germany, and told listeners it was “a great way to say Auf Wiedersehen - from a great tournament.”

Ingham has appeared on the radio frequently in the past couple of years, presenting special documentaries for 5 Live, but his career-defining job of being a commentator had come to an end.

When he retired, tributes were paid to Ingham from across the world of football, and I’m going to finish with some words from Ferguson, who was United manager for nearly the whole time Ingham was a commentator.

“He has a warmth and quiet authority in his commentary – painting an accurate picture of the game and allowing his audience to enjoy it. He has been a fixture on the broadcasting landscape for over 30 years now and his integrity, his love of the game and his ability will be sorely missed.”