Barry Davies facts for kids

Barry George Davies is a famous English sports commentator and TV presenter. He was born on October 24, 1937. Barry Davies worked for many years, mostly for the BBC, covering a huge variety of sports.

Even though he is best known for talking about football, Davies also commentated on many other sports. These include tennis, badminton, ice hockey, ice skating, gymnastics, field hockey, cycling, beach volleyball, and athletics. He was a key voice for the BBC's Olympic coverage. He even commentated on the opening and closing ceremonies for the Summer Games in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004). He also covered both ceremonies for the Olympic Broadcasting Service during the London 2012 games.

Davies was also known as the 'Voice of the Boat Race' from 1993 to 2004. He presented a show called Maestro in the 1980s, where he interviewed sports legends. He even welcomed tourists to London Heathrow Airport in 2012 for the Olympic Games. He has covered more Summer Olympics (12) than any other British sports commentator.

Early Life and Education

Barry Davies was born in London. He went to Cranbrook School and then to King's College London. At university, he studied Dentistry. However, he never became a dentist. He shared in his book that he originally wanted to be a doctor. But he didn't get the grades needed for medicine. Dentistry was his second choice, which he soon regretted. He ended up leaving university because he spent too much time playing and watching sports.

A Career in Sports Commentary

Barry Davies began his career in broadcasting while serving in the British Army of the Rhine in West Germany. He worked for British Forces Broadcasting. His boss there, Gerald Sinstadt, later helped him join BBC Radio in 1963. At the same time, Davies also worked as a sports journalist for The Times newspaper. One of his most famous football commentaries was during a 1974 match between Manchester City and Derby County. When Francis Lee scored a fantastic goal, Davies exclaimed, "Interesting – Very interesting – Look at his face, just look at his face!"

Working with ITV

Before the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Davies started working in television with ITV. His first TV commentary was for a football match between Chelsea and A.C. Milan in February 1966. He also covered England's friendly game against West Germany before the World Cup. During the 1966 World Cup in England, Davies covered matches in the North East. This included North Korea's famous 1–0 win over Italy. However, these games were not shown live on TV.

Davies continued with ITV for three more years. He provided commentaries for ABC and Granada Television. He also covered the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, commentating on several sports.

Joining the BBC

Davies joined the BBC in July 1969. For the next 35 years, he was a key part of the Match of the Day programme. He made his debut in an unusual way on August 9, 1969. The main commentator, David Coleman, lost his voice due to illness. So, Davies, who was supposed to cover a different match, was quickly driven to London. He ended up commentating on the main game, Crystal Palace versus Manchester United, and helped present the show.

As a BBC football commentator, Barry Davies covered nine World Cups. He also covered one with ITV, making a total of ten. He commentated on seven European Championships. He covered the final of the 1972 tournament between West Germany and the USSR. He only covered two FA Cup Finals in his career: the 1995 final and the 1996 final. This was because John Motson usually covered the FA Cup finals after 1977.

There was a friendly rivalry between Motson and Davies for the main commentary spot. However, both have said they respected each other. Davies said there was "never any animosity" between them. Motson praised Davies for his skill in covering many different sports at the highest level.

Davies commentated on twelve European Cup finals. These included wins for Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. He also covered the sad events of the Heysel in 1985. He also commentated on finals for the European Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Cup.

Davies usually covered at least one England match if they qualified for a tournament. He commentated on England's quarter-final games against Argentina in World Cup 1986 and Cameroon in World Cup 1990. He also covered the semi-final of Euro '96 against Germany.

Davies' last appearance on Match of the Day was on September 25, 2004. He commentated on a match between Manchester City and Arsenal. After the game, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger praised Davies. Kevin Keegan, the Manchester City manager, gave Davies a signed shirt. Davies decided to retire from football commentary because he felt he wasn't getting enough "big" matches. He felt he was being "downgraded."

Before his final game for Match of the Day, Davies said:

It is not a fit of pique why I am leaving, but I wanted more than just doing a few minutes' commentating on the roster. There is too much talk from commentators nowadays. Dramatic moments in football speak for themselves.

Niall Sloane, the BBC's head of football, said:

Barry Davies is one of the great football commentators. His ability to sum up memorable moments succinctly has been one of the prime distinctions of the programme down the years.

Freelance Work: 2004–2019

After leaving Match of the Day, Davies continued to work for the BBC as a freelance commentator. He covered the 2006 Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games. In 2007 and 2008, he commentated on the French Open tennis tournament, including the Men's Singles Final. He also covered the Wimbledon Championships and the hockey and beach volleyball at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In 2007, he released his book called 'Interesting, Very Interesting'. In it, he shared that he is a fan of Tottenham Hotspur. He also supports a non-league team called Windsor & Eton and is their President.

Davies continued to commentate on Wimbledon for the BBC every year up to 2018. In 2012, he provided commentary for the Hockey tournament at the London Olympics. This meant he had commentated on 12 Summer Olympics, setting a new record for a British sports broadcaster. On May 19, 2012, Davies was an Olympic Torchbearer in Plymouth. This was to recognize his contributions to the Olympic movement. He also commentated on the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 London games for the Olympic Broadcasting Services.

On August 30, 2013, Davies announced he was stepping down as the BBC's hockey commentator after 41 years. He returned to Match of the Day for a special one-off appearance on August 23, 2014, to celebrate the programme's 50th anniversary. He commentated on a game between Crystal Palace and West Ham.

In June 2018, the BBC announced that Barry Davies was retiring at the age of 80. His 2018 Wimbledon was his 33rd and final one for the BBC. To celebrate his career, the BBC showed a documentary called "Barry Davies: The Man, The Voice, The Legend" in July 2018. His last commentary for the BBC's UK audience was on July 15, 2018, for the Mixed Doubles Final at Wimbledon. In April 2019, Davies commentated on the Boat Race for overseas viewers.

Guest Appearances and Video Games

Barry Davies also used his voice in comedy and video games. He appeared in the BBC sketch show Big Train. In the show, he commentated with his unique enthusiasm on the funny "World Stare-Out Championships."

In 1995, Davies provided commentary for the Actua Soccer video game. He also voiced sequels to the game, including the official video game of the 1996 UEFA European Championship (UEFA Euro 96 England). Trevor Brooking joined him as a co-commentator in later games. Davies also provided commentary for Actua Tennis.

In 1999, Davies, who was the BBC's ice skating commentator, provided "commentary" for the ice skating part of the music video for Robbie Williams' song "She's the One". The song became number 1 in the UK.

Davies also provided commentary for football management games like Premier Manager: Ninety Nine and Premier Manager 2000. Since 2003, he has voiced various football video games made by Codemasters. These include the Club Football titles and the LMA Manager series.

Personal Life

Barry Davies lives in Datchet in Berkshire, England. He is married to Penny, who used to be a flight attendant. They got married in 1968 and have two children, Giselle and Mark. Giselle Davies Pettyfer used to be the Head of Communications at the International Olympic Committee. Mark Davies became chairman of British Rowing in 2020. In an interview in 2011, Davies said he enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family and grandchildren.

Davies was awarded the MBE in December 2004. This award recognized his great contributions to sports broadcasting. In 2015, Davies shared that he would have loved to cover cricket and golf. He admired commentators like Richie Benaud for cricket and Peter Alliss for golf. He enjoyed covering a wide range of sports and learning from experts in each field.