HANSEN'S HIGHLIGHTS

AS MATCH OF THE DAY CELEBRATES ITS GOTH BIRTHDAY, SAM TODD REFLECTS ON THE CONTRIBUTION MADE BY FORMER PUNDIT ALAN HANSEN...

- ALAN HANSEN

IT'S August 22, 1964 and, with 'She Loves You' blaring out in the background, Kenneth Wolstenholme is about to introduce what would become a national institution.

"Welcome to Match of the Day, the first of a weekly series coming to you every Saturday on BBC Two," Wolstenholme informs viewers. "As you can hear, we're in Beatleville for this Liverpool versus Arsenal match..." Although the estimated 20,000 audience was under half the 47,620 crowd at Anfield, such was the fear several Football League clubs had of a gate attendance drop at matches that a renewed deal 12 months later was only concluded when the Beeb agreed not to reveal which game was shown until after the day's play had concluded.

Broadcasting in colour and slow motion replays were four and five years away respectively, with Wolstenholme presenting pitchside before heading up to the commentary box and his clipped tones preceded by 'Drum Majorette', a military musical piece written by former Welsh Guards member Major Leslie Statham. Barry Stoller's famous fanfare didn't appear until August 15, 1970, by which point a studio-based David Coleman, often fresh from commentating on one of the day's fixtures, had replaced Wolstenholme as presenter.

However, MOTD didn't look back after switching to BBC One in 1966 following England's World Cup triumph and has survived more than one "Snatch of the Day" from ITV as well as the emergence of Sky, TNT and Amazon to remain a Saturday night fixture, with the fouryear deal recently agreed with the Premier League to show highlights up to and including 2028-29 meaning that the show which started out in 'Beatleville' will still be on air when it turns 64.

The first MOTD tie ended in a 3-2 Liverpool win, and it was Bob Paisley (assistant that day to Bill Shankly) who was responsible for signing a man who would become a regular on the BBC's flagship football show for over two decades.