Jimmy Magee
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| Jimmy Magee | |
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| Born | 1935 New York City, New York, USA |
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| Nationality | American and Irish |
| Occupation | Sport broadcaster |
| Children | 5 (incl. Paul, footballer) |
Jimmy Magee (born 1935) is a longstanding Irish sports broadcaster. Known as 'the Memory Man', he has spent over half a century in sports broadcasting.
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[edit] Early and private life
Jimmy Magee was born in New York City[1] in the United States in 1935. He is the son of Patrick (Paddy) Magee and Rose Mackin - one of a family of four.[1] Shortly after his birth he returned to Ireland with his family and grew up in Greenore, County Louth. As a child Magee was influenced by the sports commentary of the legendary Michael O'Hehir. He recalls commentating as a seven year-old for his next-door neighbour on a variety of imaginary games that the young Magee was also playing in.
Jimmy Magee was married on 11 October 1955. He and his wife Marie had five children together - Paul (b. 1957), Linda (b. 1959), June (b. 1961), Patricia (b. 1962) and Mark (b. 1970).[2]
Magee's son, Paul, died in early May 2008. Paul Magee was a former player with Shamrock Rovers F.C.. He died of motor neuron disease, aged 51 years. [3]
[edit] Broadcasting career
In the 1950s Magee secured a full-time clerical post with British Rail, however, he also began his broadcasting career. He started out as a reporter for the Radio Éireann programme Junior Sports Magazine. On leaving British Rail, Magee presented a number of sponsored radio programmes before concentrating on sport. 1966 saw Magee cover his first World Cup for RTÉ Radio. He did likewise for the 1970 World Cup before transferring to television for the 1974 World Cup. In all he has provided commentary at eleven World Cups - his latest commentary coming in 2002 in Germany. Magee has also been a staple of RTÉ’s coverage of the Olympic Games. Beginning in 1968 in Mexico, he has attended the nine subsequent Olympic games as an RTÉ commentator.
Magee’s broadcasting career also saw him provide commentary for over 200 international football games, 30 European Cup finals, multiple Tour de France cycle races, World Athletic Championships, boxing and numerous All-Ireland finals in both hurling and football.
Some of his one-liners in commentaries have become famous or infamous (what are affectionately known in the broadcasting industry as Colemanballs after the famed commentating clangers of BBC broadcaster David Coleman). During a World Cup he told viewers "Ardiles strokes the ball like it was a part of his anatomy".[4] On Sunday 25 March 2007 live on RTÉ Pro Box live he mistakenly labelled Jim 'The Pink Panther' Rock as 'The Blue Panther' leading to embarrassment on his part.
In 1972 Magee won a Jacob's Award for his radio sports commentaries. In 1989 he was the subject of a special tribute show on "The Late Late Show". His late son Paul played for Shamrock Rovers between 1975 and 1978 winning the League Cup in 1977.
[edit] References & footnotes
- ^ a b McGoldrick, p. 1.
- ^ McGoldrick, p. 7.
- ^ Murphy, Sean (Friday, 9 May 2008), “Jimmy says Goodbye”, Irish Daily Star: 2.
- ^ 'Colemanballs': famous clangers by commentators.
[edit] Sources
- Seán McGoldrick. Jimmy Magee: The Official Biography - I Remember it Well. Dublin: Blackwater Press, 2000. ISBN 1841314943.
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