just to echo all the remarks, sad loss and such a agreat all round commentator, there were times back in the 70s and early 80s I wondered were their any sport this guy didn't cover!!
Great presenter aswell when he did grandstand and sports night.
So sad that so many of the great commentators of years gone by are departing us.
My personal memory was his exciting commentary when Chelsea came back from 0-3 at half time - to lead Sheffield Wednesday 4-3 in the League Cup, away at Hillsborough, back in '85. (The final score was 4-4). I always felt he had a soft spot for the Blues but, was always the perfect professional.
Holly Willoughby said on This Morning today he told jokes off camera following each routine he commented on and she often struggled to keep a straight face when the camera cut straight back to her.
Very sad to hear of Tony's passing.
Versatile is the word I would use to describe Tony's television career. Could be me but I find it hard to all rounders in terms of sports commentary these days the like of Tony and say Barry Davies and David Vine.
The ability to turn your hand to all sorts of disciplines and classifications, yet make it sound effortless to the viewer, takes much skill and certianly Tony did that.
A few reminiscences I have about Tony commentaries, first from football, in 1978 as a reporter at the World Cup in Argentina, interviewing Willie Johnston of Scotland before he was sent home from the tournament after testing positive for a banned stimulent, the first time I had heard of such things in sport, then at the World Cup, the 1982 10-1 win for Hungary vs El Salvador in Elche, which remains the biggest scoreline in World Cup history.
The goal in 1994 by Saudi Arabia's Saeed Al Owairan against Belgium, which was a remarkable goal and from 1998 given the assignment of Romania vs Tunisia at St Denis, when the entire Romanian team bleached their hair blond.
And from the Olympic Winter Games of Calgary in 1988, he commentary on the Jamaican bobsledders and calling Wilf O'Reilly to double gold in the the Short Track Speed Skating, albeit as a demonstration event and the medal was not officially counted on the medal table. However not many BBC commentators have described British success on the ice and snow.
The tributes I have read to Tony have been warm and genuine all I can do as a mere viewer would be to concur wholeheartedly with the views of those who knew him personally
Very sad to hear of Tony's passing.
Versatile is the word I would use to describe Tony's television career. Could be me but I find it hard to all rounders in terms of sports commentary these days the like of Tony and say Barry Davies and David Vine.
The ability to turn your hand to all sorts of disciplines and classifications, yet make it sound effortless to the viewer, takes much skill and certianly Tony did that.
A few reminiscences I have about Tony commentaries, first from football, in 1978 as a reporter at the World Cup in Argentina, interviewing Willie Johnston of Scotland before he was sent home from the tournament after testing positive for a banned stimulent, the first time I had heard of such things in sport, then at the World Cup, the 1982 10-1 win for Hungary vs El Salvador in Elche, which remains the biggest scoreline in World Cup history.
The goal in 1994 by Saudi Arabia's Saeed Al Owairan against Belgium, which was a remarkable goal and from 1998 given the assignment of Romania vs Tunisia at St Denis, when the entire Romanian team bleached their hair blond.
And from the Olympic Winter Games of Calgary in 1988, he commentary on the Jamaican bobsledders and calling Wilf O'Reilly to double gold in the the Short Track Speed Skating, albeit as a demonstration event and the medal was not officially counted on the medal table. However not many BBC commentators have described British success on the ice and snow.
The tributes I have read to Tony have been warm and genuine all I can do as a mere viewer would be to concur wholeheartedly with the views of those who knew him personally
For all he never quite reached the pinnacle of sports presenting in the way people like Des Lynam did, Tony could cover everything. He belonged to an era when the BBC, expected you to cover anything they asked, or which you had a passing knowledge, and like the late David Vine and Harry Carpenter, Tony could cover a range of sports.
Another great commentator taken from us, I always remember him from MOTD and Sportsnight when I was younger, but he could cover so many sports as well as football.
He will be sadly missed.
Comments
Leukaemia - excellent obit from his colleague John Rawling on The Guardian web site
Great presenter aswell when he did grandstand and sports night.
So sad that so many of the great commentators of years gone by are departing us.
RIP Tony Gubba.
clicky
Holly Willoughby said on This Morning today he told jokes off camera following each routine he commented on and she often struggled to keep a straight face when the camera cut straight back to her.
Versatile is the word I would use to describe Tony's television career. Could be me but I find it hard to all rounders in terms of sports commentary these days the like of Tony and say Barry Davies and David Vine.
The ability to turn your hand to all sorts of disciplines and classifications, yet make it sound effortless to the viewer, takes much skill and certianly Tony did that.
A few reminiscences I have about Tony commentaries, first from football, in 1978 as a reporter at the World Cup in Argentina, interviewing Willie Johnston of Scotland before he was sent home from the tournament after testing positive for a banned stimulent, the first time I had heard of such things in sport, then at the World Cup, the 1982 10-1 win for Hungary vs El Salvador in Elche, which remains the biggest scoreline in World Cup history.
The goal in 1994 by Saudi Arabia's Saeed Al Owairan against Belgium, which was a remarkable goal and from 1998 given the assignment of Romania vs Tunisia at St Denis, when the entire Romanian team bleached their hair blond.
And from the Olympic Winter Games of Calgary in 1988, he commentary on the Jamaican bobsledders and calling Wilf O'Reilly to double gold in the the Short Track Speed Skating, albeit as a demonstration event and the medal was not officially counted on the medal table. However not many BBC commentators have described British success on the ice and snow.
The tributes I have read to Tony have been warm and genuine all I can do as a mere viewer would be to concur wholeheartedly with the views of those who knew him personally
For all he never quite reached the pinnacle of sports presenting in the way people like Des Lynam did, Tony could cover everything. He belonged to an era when the BBC, expected you to cover anything they asked, or which you had a passing knowledge, and like the late David Vine and Harry Carpenter, Tony could cover a range of sports.
I had no idea he was 69 . I liked Tony as a commentator. Sad news indeed.
He will be sadly missed.
Thanks and RIP Tony