Many of Everton and Liverpool’s greatest triumphs were witnessed in person by Merseyside broadcaster Elton Welsby who tells the story of his career in his new autobiography Game For A Laugh
Some of the most memorable moments in Merseyside football and the biggest names in history Everton and Liverpool – and beyond – feature in the star-studded autobiography of one of our own, which, as the title suggests, is a light-hearted look back at an illustrious career at the top of the game.
Elton Welsby’s Games for a laugh tells the story of a boy from St Helens who rubbed shoulders with a host of sporting idols, while meeting the likes of Olivia Newton-John, Roger Moore (he had to keep quiet about that one) and Henry Kissinger.
Some younger readers may not be that familiar with the 73-year-old, but those of us who, like this correspondent, can remember football before 7 p.m. Premier Leagueremembers Welsby as a broadcasting giant, although his book reveals he would begin his after-dinner speaking routine by affirming: “I stand up”, given that his 5ft 6in frame places him in a rugby league stronghold. the ‘scrum-half’ category
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However, it is with the round ball that he is best remembered and although he was a televised footballer here in his home region of Granada, between 1988-92 he went live to the nation in front of an audience of millions as the main presenter of The match.
It was while performing this role that Welsby recalls watching up close what he describes as the most dramatic finale to an English top-flight season and “the greatest night in English domestic football”, on 26 May 1989, when Arsenal’s last-minute -strike from Michael Thomas put them 2-0 up against Liverpool at Anfieldto clinch the league title on goals scored at the expense of Kenny Dalglish’s Reds who had already prevailed in an emotional post-Hillsborough The FA Cup final against Everton. Describing the night at Anfield as one of the highlights of his career, Welsby said: “People think I say that because I’m an Evertonian. That’s ridiculous. They’re wrong. It’s because I’ve seen football history being made.”
Yes, before some indignant Kopites threaten to stop reading, Welsby, whose formative footballing experiences as a youngster were at Macclesfield, is the Blue smuggled into his biggest night against Rapid Vienna in Rotterdam thanks to Howard Kendall’s collaboration, explaining that his loyalty was forged by chance after his father was unable to get to a Liverpool home game and then took him to watch Everton hammer Cardiff City 8-3 shortly afterwards on 28 April 1962.
Started as a football reporter for Liverpool Weekly News – while soon landing a second job at one of the city’s popular nightspots ‘The Shakespeare Theater Club’ on Fraser Street – Welsby became firm friends with legendary Liverpool coaches Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.
Despite falling out on the wrong foot with the former after he ‘made up’ a fake transfer rumour, linking the Reds with a star player from another club, leading to a difficult relegation, Welsby went on to spend many happy hours in the company’s iconic Scottish swagger, and he tells of watching the second leg of the 1976 UEFA Cup final with him in Bruges, only for Shanks to come a cropper with a huge hot dog, and that was a similar story with his highly decorated successor from County Durham, with Welsby’s role as commentator for Radio City ensuring he was present for all of Liverpool’s major European triumphs in the late 1970s and early 1980s, often traveling on the bus with the team and staff. There’s a steady stream of humorous anecdotes along the way as he recalls a time when elite sport wasn’t taken as seriously, at least by those watching it, as it is now.
But while there could have been more smiles on the faces of the presenters, the production values and professionalism were still sky high. As Welsby admits: “We worked hard and played hard.”
Along with the club game, which included work with all the teams in the North West region, there are stories from international football trips at World Cup and European Championship tournaments, plenty of swag as they provide an overnight stay at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, and an eclectic mix of other sports including evergreen bowls, snooker, golf and even a short stint commentating croquet! If you love your football from the 1970s, 80s and 90s or want to learn more about that era and are “Games for a laugh” then you can click here to let Elton share his fascinating and often humorous story with you.
