TONY WARING sounds nothing like his father, which might not necessarily be a bad thing given the controversy which still surrounds a man who will forever be regarded as the voice of rugby league.

Prep school, grammar school, university and a long career as a marketing executive in the south of England may have left little trace of Waring's Northern roots, but the 58-year-old remains fiercely proud of his Yorkshire pedigree.

That pride is fuelled by his relationship with his late father, whose career and life is the subject of an exceptional new biography, Being Eddie Waring, by Silsden-based writer Tony Hannan.

"He was indeed a remarkable man and I think Tony has done a terrific job in telling his story. There are lots of things in the book which I even didn't know about," said Waring jnr from his home in Hampshire.

"Many people have an opinion about my father without quite knowing the full story of who he was. Tony's book goes into a lot of detail, especially about his later life, and I think those who read it will be very surprised.

"Towards the end of his career he was always being berated by his critics who claimed he knew nothing about rugby league and the book shows how ridiculous that view was."

Although remembered for his broadcasting career, Eddie Waring's involvement with rugby league began in the late Twenties or early Thirties when he supplied reports on Dewsbury matches to the local District News.

He went on to become secretary-manager of his home-town club in 1936 and before the end of the War he took on a similar role at Leeds before leaving for a trip that was to change the course of his life.

The 1946 Lions tour to Australia saw Waring join two other journalists, including the Yorkshire Post's correspondent Alfred Drewry, in covering the exploits of a Great Britain squad which was hailed as heroes wherever they went following their disembarcation from the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable.

Waring used his time Down Under to foster useful contacts and enhance his burgeoning reputation as England's foremost rugby league commentator.

From then on his distinctive voice became more synonymous with his chosen sport than any other commentator in British broadcasting history, but his success in popularising rugby league did little to endear him to his predominantly Northern critics. As Hannan writes: "Eddie's comical on-screen persona was an embarrassing regional stereotype. The BBC, they claimed, wasn't laughing with Eddie, it was laughing at him and, by extension, the north of England."

Waring's popularity, both from his roles as rugby league commentator and co-host of It's a Knockout, saw him appear on the Morecambe and Wise Show and become a staple for impressionists like Mike Yarwood, who helped immortalise catchphrases such as "early bath," "up and under" and "poor lad," his succinct and touching response to Don Fox's missed conversion in the 1968 'Watersplash final' at Wembley.

He called his last final in 1981, by which point he was showing the early symptoms of Alzheimer's, the cruel and unforgiving disease which finally claimed his life five years later.

It is the source of great shame that Waring's death was not more lamented than it was, as Times journalist Simon Barnes wrote shortly after his funeral: "The sport shows great ingratitude to the most significant populariser it has ever had; it was Waring who brought rugby league into the consciousness of people south of the Wash and showed us what a marvellous change it is from the kick-bloody-kick of rugby union. The sport should give three cheers for the old up-and-under king."

Waring's standing among diehard rugby league fans was put into perspective in 1976 when an organisation called the 1896 Club presented the BBC with an 11,000-name petition calling for an overhaul in the way in which the sport was presented, including a call for the commentator's head.

The BBC, to their great credit, stood firm and Waring's position was never in doubt.

"He got a lot of support from the people who mattered most to him, especially his employers, and that meant a lot," recalled Waring jnr.

"He knew that viewers would vote with their fingers and the audience for rugby league matches on Grandstand remained high."

Whatever a small but vocal band of protesters in the North was saying, few people nationally were switching off their TVs each time Eddie Waring spoke.

"He always said that he wasn't doing his commentary for the people who should have been at the matches, those who were steeped in the sport like he was; he was talking to a much wider audience."

It is perhaps surprising that it has taken over 20 years since his death for a biography of such a culturally important figure in British history to appear, but his son believes the timing of Hannan's book is perfect.

"When my father retired there were various suggestions and approaches about an autobiography, but at that stage he just wasn't well enough," said Waring jnr.

"After he died mum and I were too upset and it never felt the proper thing to do.

"My father always said life was about 'timing and picking' and I'm sure he would have thought the time is right."


Part one of our serialisation » | Part two »