Odds & Ends

"Sports Special" / "Saturday Sport" (BBC)
This section was written by Robin Carmody, the lists are based on information compiled by Robin Carmody and Robert Pedley.
Sports Special - which began in the autumn of 1955 - was the first TV programme to feature regular Football League highlights, and predated Match of the Day by a decade as a regular source of Saturday night football on BBC TV.  However, it did not take a form that would be recognisable to viewers of even a few years later, featuring only five-minute edits of games (though they could be extended to ten minutes in "exceptional circumstances") - and the matches were recorded on film, with the ever-present risk that a goal might be scored while they were changing the reels. Sports Special wasn't just made up of football - it also featured film recordings of the day's other major sporting events, some of which had been shown live (during Grandstand from 1958 onwards) but some hadn't*, it usually got everything into little more than half an hour. Kenneth Wolstenholme usually presented the programme and commentated on a match, but as he also did a round-up of Today's Sport at about 5.50 pm he generally covered London matches, presumably rushing back to the studios immediately after the games.  The other regular commentators were Alan Weeks (who was occasionally heard on Match of the Day into the 1970s**), Walley Barnes (the former Arsenal and Wales left-back and captain) and Cliff Michelmore (a huge national figure in that era as presenter of Tonight).  Others may have commentated in the early years, when no details were given - matches intended for coverage do not appear in Radio Times until the 1958/59 season (and they initially have the proviso "among the films it is hoped to include"). Scottish viewers had their own version of Sports Special which presumably included brief highlights of Scottish League matches.

All games are from the First Division unless otherwise stated. Mid-week broadcasts (not as Sports Special) are in grey, BBC coverage of International matches from this period are dealt with here.

*A five-minute edit of a rugby match between Barbarians and South Africa at Cardiff Arms Park on 4th February 1961 has been shown on ESPN Classic.
**Alan Weeks also covered the World Cup up to 1978. In later years he mainly commentated on ice skating, which he last did only a few months before his death in 1996.
***Sports Special became 'Saturday Sport' at some point and was sold to Australia in the early 1960's.

1955/56
BBC footage exists of 27/Aug/1955 WBA v Manchester United,  perhaps this was a test run?
10/Sep    *first edition 10:15-10:45pm, Kenneth Wolstenholme & Cliff Michelmore the commentators (Wolstenholme more likely at Charlton)
               Luton Town 4 (Turner, Morton, McEwan, Lackenby (og)) Newcastle United 2 (Milburn 2)
               Charlton Athletic 0 Everton 2 (Harris, Wainwright)
01/Oct    Chelsea 2 (McNichol, Smith) Manchester City 1 (Marsden) *Saturday 10-10:30pm, footage exists
13 Oct    Third Divison North 3 (Connor 2, Ryan) Third Division South 3 (Morgan 2, D.Mills) *at Accrington on Thursday
01/Nov   Part LIVE - Hibernian 2 Manchester City 1 [Friendly] *as "Floodlit Football" 8:15-8:45pm
09/Nov   LIVE 2nd Half - Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (Slater, Mullen) Moscow Dynamo 1 (Ilyin) *8.28-9.13pm, footage exists, Yashin in goal for Dynamo
12/Jan     Bedford Town 1 (Yates) Arsenal 2 (Groves, Tapscott) [FA Cup R3 Re] *as "FA Cup Special",  exists (ITV 2nd half live)
01/Feb    Chelsea 1 (Bentley) Burnley 1 (Pilkington) [FA Cup R4 Re] *as "Sportsview Special", exists (ITV 2nd half live)
13/Feb    Chelsea 0 Burnley 0 [FA Cup R4 3rd Re] *"Floodlit Association Football from Southampton" scheduled, soggy Cup replay at Highbury exists
15/Feb    Chelsea 2 (Tindall, Lewis) Burnley 0 [FA Cup R4 4th Re] *as "Sportsview Special" 8-8:30pm, at muddy White Hart Lane, exists
18/Feb    Charlton Athletic 0 Arsenal 2 (Groves, Bloomfield) [FA Cup R5] *Kenneth Wolstenholme, camera behind the goal
08/Mar   West Ham United 1 (Dare) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Harmer, Duquemin) [FA Cup QF Re] *"Sportsview Special", exists, (ITV 2nd half live)
07/Apr    Manchester United 2 (Berry, Taylor) Blackpool 1 (Durie) *exists, United are champions with this win.
               Bishop Aukland 1 Corinthian Casulas 1 [FA Amateur Cup Final] *exists
21/Apr    Hearts 3 (Crawford 2, Conn) Celtic 1 (Haughney) [Scottish Cup Final] *not shown until Monday as "Sportsview Special"
05/May   Manchester City 3 (Hayes, Dyson, Johnstone) Birmingham City 1 (Kinsey) [FA Cup Final] *Sunday highlights 2-3pm (Live on both BBC & ITV)

1956/57
13/Oct    Aston Villa 3 (Smith 2, Sewell)  Newcastle Utd 1 (Eastham) *Walley Barnes, exists
20/Oct    *programme exists, no details
27/Oct    Blackpool 2 (Durie, Mudie) Manchester United 2 (Taylor 2)
               Fulham 1 (Stevens) Stoke City 0 *goal was missed
               Celtic 0 Partick Thistle 0 [Scottish League Cup Final] *Celtic won the replay 3-0, programme exists
10/Nov   Aston Villa 1 (Sewell) Burnley 0 *Walley Barnes
               Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Medwin, Robb, Smith) Newcastle United 1 (Hopkins(og))
               Luton Town 1 (Cullen) Preston North End 1 (Baxter) *programme exists
24/Nov   Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Harmer(pen), Robb) Manchester United 2 (Berry, Coleman) *Kenneth Wolstenholme
               Wolverhampton W. 4 (Hooper 3(1pen), Mason) Preston North End 3 (Finney 2, Baxter) *?David Coleman? Wolves come from 3-0 down
               West Ham United 2 (Lewis, Tucker) Leicester City 1 (Rowley) [Division Two] *West Ham's first goal missed, programme exists
08/Dec    Reading 1 Bedford Town 0 [FA Cup R2] *Sound breaks down at point of Reading goal, scorer is unidentified, programme exists
15/Dec    Chelsea 2 (Blunstone 2) Burnley 0
                Wolverhampton W. 3 (Murray, Broadbent, Neil) Manchester City 2 (Johnstone 2(1pen)) *Bert Trautmann's 1st match after Cup final neck break
                Birmingham City 3 (Orritt, Brown 2) Manchester United 1 (Whelan) *programme exists
29/Dec     Arsenal 2 (????, Tapscott) West Bromwich Albion 0 *first goal missing
                Charlton Athletic 3 (Ryan 2, Summers) Sunderland 2 (Shackleton, Anderson)
09/Feb     Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Anderson(og), Stokes 2, Harmer, Smith) Sunderland 2 (Shackleton, Fleming) *Kenneth Wolstenholme
07/Mar    Nottingham Forest 0 Birmingham City 1 (Murphy) [FA Cup QF] *10.00-10.30pm
23/Mar    [FA Cup SF] *10.15-10.45, Aston Villa v WBA, Birmingham City v Man United, one or both?
28/Mar    Aston Villa 1 (Myerscough) West Bromwich Albion 0 [FA Cup Replay] *at St Andrews, 10.00-10.30pm exists (also Scottish Cup SF)
11/Apr     Real Madrid 3 (Rial, Di Stefano, Mateo) Manchester United 1 (Taylor) [European Cup SF L1] *shown a day later, 9.15-9.40pm, exists

1957/58
31/Aug    Chelsea 5 (Lewis, Brabrook, Allen, Greaves 2) Birmingham City 1 (Brown) *Ken Wolstenholme, exists
21/Sep     Manchester United 4 (Taylor, Whelan 2, Pegg) Arsenal 2 (Tiddy, Herd)  *unconfirmed
29/Oct     LIVE - West Bromwich Albion 6 CDSA Moscow 5 *8.00-9.15
20/Nov    Manchester United 3 (Webster, Taylor, Pegg) Dukla Prague 0 [European Cup R1 L1] *10.45-11.00 +Sweden v West Germany
30/Nov    Manchester United 3 (Pegg 2, Whelan) Tottenham Hotspur 4 (Smith 3, Blanchflower) *Ken Wolstenholme, exists
21/Dec    Wolverhampton W. 2 (Clamp, Mullen) Everton 0 *exists
26/Mar    LIVE - Fulham 3 (Haynes, Chamberlain, Dwight) Manhester United 5 (Dawson 3, Brennan, Charlton) [FA Cup SF Replay] *2.55-4.45pm from Highbury & highlights 10.45-11.00pm
08/May    LIVE - Manchester United 2 (Viollet, Taylor(pen)) AC Milan 1 (Bredesen) [European Cup SF 1L] *7.50pm-9.15pm
14/May    AC Milan 4 (Schiaffino 2, Liedholm(pen), Danova) Manchester United 0 [European Cup SF 2L] *Shown one day late on Thursday 11.05-11.20pm

1958/59
30/Aug    Chelsea 6 (Greaves 5, Block) Wolverhampton W. 2 (Mason, Slater) *Ken Wolstenholme, exists
06/Sep    Leicester City 3 (McDonald, Kelly, Walsh) Manchester City 1 (McAdams)
               Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Medwin) Newcastle United 3 (White 2, McGuigan)
25/Oct    West Ham United 1 Burnley 0
               Bristol City 4 Sunderland 1
06/Dec    Tooting and Mitcham 2 (Viney, Hasty) Northampton Town 1 (Kirkup) [FA Cup R2]
               Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Smith) Preston North End 2 (Mayers, Hatsell)
03/Jan     Aston Villa 1 (McParland) West Ham United 2 (Cantwell, Dugdale(og)) *Walley Barnes, exists, (though Villa v Rotherham is listed, needs checking)
07/Feb    Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Norman) Manchester United 3 (Charlton 2, Scanlon)
               Leyton Orient 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Curtis(pen), Finney)
07/Mar   Wolverhampton W. 6 (Deeley 2, Broadbent 2, Lill, Murray) Arsenal 1 (Haverty) *unconfirmed
21/Mar   West Ham United 4 (Obeney, Bond 2, Dick) Bolton Wanderers 3 (Stevens, Parry, Hill)
               Wolverhampton Wanderers 5 (Mason, Lill 3, Deeney) West Bromwich Albion 2 (Kevan 2)
28/Mar    Luton Town 4 (Pacey, Brown 2, Gregory) Newcastle United 2 (Allchurch, Hughes)
               West Bromwich Albion 3 (Kevan 2, Allen) Blackpool 1 (Mudie)

1959/60
05/Sep    Chelsea 4 (Livesey 2, Brabrook, Greaves) Burnley 1 (Connelly)
               Manchester City 4 (Barlow, McAdams 3) Wolverhampton Wanderers 6 (Deeley, Slater 2, Murray 2, Hill)
12/Sep    Burnley 2 (J.Robson, Pilkington) West Bromwich Albion 1 (B.Robosn) *exists? Future England manager Bobby Robson scoring in this one
10/Oct    Chelsea 0 Bolton Wanderers 2 (Hill, M. Edwards)
               Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Smith 4, Jones) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Mason), Sheffield United 1 Aston Villa 1
04/Nov    LIVE - Football League 2 (Viollet, Connelly) League of Ireland 0 *at Blackburn from 8:00-9:30pm as "Sportsview"
11/Nov    Red Star Belgrade 1 (Kostic) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Deeley) [European Cup R1 L1] *Not shown until Friday, 10:10-10:40pm, exists
21/Nov    Cardiff City 4 (Tapscott, Bonson 2, Asprey(og)) Stoke City 4 (Newlands, King 2, Bowyer) *BBC Wales, exists
02/Dec    Part LIVE - Chelsea 5 Athletic Bilbao 3 [Friendly] *"Sportsview" 8.35-9.15pm with boxing
05/Dec    Notts County 0 Bath City 1 (O'Neill) [FA Cup R2] *Kenneth Wolstenholme
19/Dec    Bolton Wanderers 0 Blackpool 3 (Perry 2, Peterson)
               Tottenham Hotspur 4 (Norman, Jones, White, Blanchflower) Newcastle United 0
26/Dec    Cardiff City 2 (Bonson, Tapscott) Sheffield United 0 *BBC Wales, exists?
30/Jan     Chelsea 1 (P.Sillett(pen)), Aston Villa 2 (McParland, Thomson) [FA Cup R4]
               Liverpool 1 (Wheeler) Manchester United 3 (Charlton 2, Bradley) [FA Cup R4]
               Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Craig 2) Peterborough United 0 [FA Cup R4]
06/Feb    Fulham 1 (Jones) Bolton Wanderers 1 (Birch)
               Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Murray) Blackpool 1 (Charnley)
20/Feb    Cardiff City 3 (Watkins, Bonson 2) Hull City 2 (Smith, Gubbins) *BBC Wales, exists?
19/Mar    Leeds United 4 (Peyton, Bremner, McCole 2(2pens)) Manchester City 3 (Gibson(og), Law, Barlow) *Alan Weeks, exists, ?report?
16/Apr    Cardiff City 1 (Moore) Aston Villa 0 *BBC Wales, exists?

1960/61
20/Aug     Aston Villa 3 (McParland, Hitchens, Thompson) Chelsea 2 (Gibbs, Brabrook)*Walley Barnes, exists
                Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Allen, Smith) Everton 0 *Ken Wolstenholme, exists
                Norwich City 1 (Allcock) Sheffield United 1 (Hamilton)
27/Aug     West Ham United 2 (Musgrove, Dick) Bolton Wanderers 1 (Deakin) *Ken Wolstenholme, exists
17/Sep     Arsenal 5 (Clapton, Herd 3, Strong) Newcastle United 0 *Ken Wolstenholme, exists (ITV had planned to show this live)
24/Sep     Tottenham Hotspur 6 (White 2, Smith, Dyson, Allen, MacKay) Aston Villa 2 (McEwan, Hitchens) *Ken Wolstenholme, exists (ITV planned live)
                Everton 4 (Lill, Ring, Vernon 2) West Ham United 1 (Beesley)
01/Oct     Bolton Wanderers 1 (McAdams) Manchester United (Giles) *Alan Weeks, exists
                Chelsea 3 (Greaves, Livesey, Blunstone) Everton 3 (Collins, J.Harris, Ring)
15/Oct     Burnley 5 (Pointer, Connelly 2, Joyce, McIlroy) Manchester United 3 (Viollet 3)
22/Oct     Manchester United 3 (Dawson, Stiles, Sellers) Newcastle United 2 (Hughes, Stokoe(pen)) *Walley Barnes
                Chelsea 2 (Greaves, Brabrook) Burnley 6 (Robson 3, Miller, McIlroy 2)
29/Oct     Arsenal 2 (Barnwell, Herd) Manchester United 1 (Quixall) *Kenneth Wolstenholme, exists
01/Nov    Italian League 4 (Tacchi 2, Hamrin, Altafini) The Football League 2 (Law, McParland) *in Milan, 10:45-11pm, Kenneth Wolstenholme
05/Nov    Aston Villa 2 (Hitchens 2) Burnley 0 *Walley Barnes, exists
At this point Radio Times begins to list the commentators
12/Nov    Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Griffin, Fantham) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Norman) *Walley Barnes (Kenneth Wolstenholme did Hungary v Poland the next day)
26/Nov    Bournemouth & BA 3 (Bolton, Weller, Smith) Yeovil Town 1 (Kelly) [FA Cup R2] *Walley Barnes
                Arsenal 3 (Herd 3) Everton 2 (Collins(pen), Vernon) *Kenneth Wolstenholme
                Cardiff City 3 (Hogg 2, Edgley) Manchester United 0 *BBC Wales
30/Nov    Rheims 3 (Piantoni, Rodzik 2) Burnley 2 (Robson, Connelly) [European Cup R1 L2] *Burnley win 4-3 on agg, 10:20-10:50pm
10/Dec     Fulham 4 (RH Brown, Setters(og), Mullery, O'Connell) Manchester United 4 (Charlton, Quixall 2(1pen), Dawson) *Kenneth Wolstenholme
                Nottingham Forest 2 (Quigley, Vowden) Aston Villa 0 *Cliff Michelmore
17/Dec     West Ham United 5 (Musgrove, Dunmore 2, Moore, Dick) Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 *Kenneth Wolstenholme, exists
                Sheffield United 1 (Simpson) Norwich City 1 (Allcock) *Walley Barnes
07/Jan      Everton 0 Sheffield United 1 (Russell)  [FA Cup R3] *Alan Weeks
                Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Allen 2, Dyson) Charlton Athletic 2 (Leary, Lawrie)  [FA Cup R3] *Kenneth Wolstenholme
                Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Kirkham) Huddersfield Town 1 (Stokes) [FA Cup R3] *Walley Barnes
18/Jan      LIVE - Burnely 3 (Pilkington 2, Robson) Hamburg 1 (Doerfel) [European Cup QF 1L] *7:55-9:15pm
21/Jan      Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 Everton 1 *Walley Barnes
                Sheffield United 4 Stoke City 1 *Alan Weeks
11/Feb     Burnley 3 (Adamson(pen), Connelly, Pointer) Sheffield Wednesday 4 (Craig 2, Farnham, McAnearney(pen))
18/Feb     Aston Villa 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Neal(og), Jones) [FA Cup R5] *Walley Barnes
                Leyton Orient 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Fantham, Ellis) [FA Cup R5] *Kenneth Wolstenholme
                Burnley 4 (Connelly, Robson 2, Pointer) Swansea Town 0 [FA Cup R5] *Alan Weeks
11/Mar    Arsenal 0 Blackburn Rovers 0 *Kenneth Wolstenholme
                Cardiff City 3 (Hogg, Walsh, Tapscott) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Dyson, Allen) *Walley Barnes
                Burnley 4 (Harris 2, Lochhead 2) Chelsea 4 (Greaves 2, Tambling 2)
                Southampton 1 (Mulgrew) Plymouth Argyle 1 (Fincham) [Division Two] *shown in most of the South and West region (though not from Brighton mast) on Sunday afternoon with Maurice Edelston commentating
15/Mar    LIVE 2nd Half - Hamburg 4 (Sturmer, Seeler 2, Doerfel) Burnley 1 (Harris) [European Cup QF 2L] *Hamburg win 5-4 on agg, 4.20-5.00pm via Eurovision
25/Mar     Nottingham Forest 1 (Addison) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Murray(pen))  *Cliff Michelmore
                Sheffield Wednesday 5 (Cantwell(og), Young 3, Craig) Manchester United 1 (Charlton) *Walley Barnes
29/Apr     Chelsea 4 (Greaves 4(1pen)) Nottingham Forest 3 (Booth, Addison, Palmer(pen)) *exists

1961/62
"Sports Special" appeared much less often during the first half of the 1961/62 season, which may have been down to a dispute with the Football League.
13/Sep    Górnik Zabrze 4 (Lentner, Musialek, Wilczek, Pohl) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Jones, Dyson) [European Cup PR L1] *shown day late Thursday 10:00-10.35pm, exists with Wolstenholme's intro
20/Sep    Tottenham Hotspur 8 (Blanchflower(pen), Dyson, Jones 3, R.Smith 2, White) Górnik Zabrze 1 (Pohl) [European Cup PR L2] *10:05-10:30, Ken Wolstenholme, exists
11/Oct     Football League 5 (Douglas 2, Haynes, Connelly, Nolan(og)) League of Ireland 2 (Morrissey 2) *at Eastville (Bristol Rovers), 10.15-10.45
28/Oct     Tottenham Hotspur 4 (Jones 2, Clayton, Saul) Burnley 2 (Pointer 2) *Alan Weeks
                Hearts 1 Rangers 1 [Scottish League Cup Final] *apparently shown throughout the UK, George Davidson
01/Nov    Feyenoord 1 (Kreyermaat) Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Saul 2, Dyson) [European Cup R1 L1]
                Scottish League 1 (Brand) Italian League 1 (Hitchens) *10:15-11:15
15/Nov    Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Dyson) Feyenoord 1 (Bennaers) [European Cup R1 L2] *10:30-11:00, exists
By late 1961 Saturday night highlights had returned as a regular fixture as "Saturday Sport".
30/Dec     Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Jones 3, MacKay, Allen) Chelsea 2 (Moore 2)
20/Jan      West Ham United 2 (Woosnam, Dick) Aston Villa 0 *Kenneth Wolstenholme
                West Bromwich Albion 1 (Smith) Burnley 1 (McIlroy) *Alan Weeks (by all accounts WBA should have won this very easily)
31/Jan      Manchester United 1 (Setters) Arsenal 0 [FA Cup R4] *10.30-11:00pm
14/Feb     LIVE 2nd Half - Dukla Prague 1 (Kucera) Tottenham Hotspur 0 [European Cup QF 1L] *3:00-3:45pm, highlights at 10:30pm
17/Feb     Manchester United 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0 [FA Cup R5] *Cliff Michelmore
                West Bromwich Albion 2 (Smith, Kevan) Tottenham Hotspur 4 (Smith 2, Greaves 2) [FA Cup R5] *Kenneth Wolstenholme
                Burnley 3 (Miller, Connelly, Robson) Everton 1 (Collins) [FA Cup R5] *Walley Barnes
21/Feb     Sheffield Wednesday 0 Manchester United 2 (Giles, Charlton) [FA Cup R5 Replay] *10:30-11:00pm
24/Feb     Sheffield United 3 (Allchurch, Kettleborough) Leicester City 1 (Keyworth) *Walley Barnes
                West Ham United 2 (Dick, Kirkup) Ipswich Town 2 (Leadbetter, Phillips(pen)) *Kenneth Wolstenholme
26/Feb     Tottenham Hotspur 4 (R.Smith 2, MacKay 2) Dukla Prague 1 (Jenlinek) [European Cup QF 2L] *8.30-9.29, exists
14/Mar     Manchester United 2 (Charlton, Herd) Preston North End 1 (Spavin) [FA Cup QF] *10:30-11:00pm
24/Mar     Blackburn Rovers 1 (Pickering) West Bromwich Albion 1 (Jackson) *Walley Barnes
                West Ham United 0 Manchester City 4 (Hayes, Dobing 3) *Kenneth Wolstenholme
07/Apr     Manchester United 5 (Quixall 3, Stiles, Setters) Ipswich Town 0 *exists
09/Apr     Burnley 2 (Robson 2) Fulham 1 (Langley) [FA Cup Semi-Final Replay] *at Filbert St. 10:25-10:55pm
28/Apr     Ipswich Town 2 (Crawford 2) Aston Villa 0 *Cliff Michelmore (also post match interview with Alf Ramsey)
                      Burnley 1 (Towers) Chelsea 1 (Blunstone) was probably other game *Walley Barnes.
                      Wolstenholme covered England/West Germany schoolboys from Wembley, last 30 mins live on Grandstand (Alan Weeks introduced it)

1962/63
Anglia and Tyne Tees ITV region's also begin producing highlights programmes from September.
18/Aug    Manchester United 2 (Herd, Law) West Bromwich Albion 2 (Kevan, Smith) *Denis Law made his debut, exists
               Leyton Orient (Gibbs) Arsenal 2 (Strong, Baker) *unconfirmed
15/Sep    Cardiff City 5 (P.Davies(og), Charles 2, McIntosh, Hooper) Swansea Town 2 (H.Williams 2) *BBC Wales, exists
18/Sep    Floriana 1 (Demanuele) Ipswich Town 4 (Phillips 2, Crawford 2) [European Cup PR 1L] *shown day later 10:10-10:35pm, exists
22/Sep    Everton 2 (Vernon(pen), Morrissey) Liverpool 2 (Lewis, Hunt) *Alan Weeks, exists
               Ipswich Town 2 (Moran, Crawford) Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 (Hinton, McParland 2) *Kenneth Wolstenholme (perhaps the BBC's covering this game was the reason Anglia might not have shown their recording of it)
25/Sep    Ipswich Town 10 (Crawford 5, Phillips 2, Moran, Elsworthy) Floriana 0 [European Cup PR 2L]  *11:00-11:25pm, exists
06/Oct    Wolverhampton W. 0 Everton 2 (Bingham, Young) *exists
31/Oct    LIVE 2nd Half - Football League 3 (Crawford 3) Irish League 1 (Meldrum) *8.20-9.15pm "Sportsview" from Carrow road.
               Tottenham Hotspur 5 (White, Greaves, Allen, Shearer(og), Norman) Glasgow Rangers 2 (Henderson, Miller) [ECWC R1 L1] *10:45-11:15pm, exists
10/Nov    Burnley 2 (McIlroy, Lochhead) Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 *Alan Weeks
                Leicester City 2 West Ham United 0 *Kenneth Wolstenholme
14/Nov    AC Milan 3 (Barison 2, Dino Sani) Ipswich Town 0 [European Cup R1 L1] *shown day late, 11:20-11:50pm
17/Nov    Liverpool 5 (Hunt 3, Stevenson, St.John) Leyton Orient 0 *Walley Barnes, exists
28/Nov    Ipswich Town 2 (Crawford, Blackwood) AC Milan 1 (Barison) [European Cup R1 L2] *Sportsview?, Ipswich lose 2-4 on agg
29/Nov    LIVE Part 2nd Half - Football League 3 (O'Grady, Greaves, Allen) Italian league 1 (Charles) *8:45-9:15pm, from Highbury
01/Dec    Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 0 *Kenneth Wolstenholme, exists
               Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Hinton) Leicester City 3 (Gibson 2, Flowers(og)) *Walley Barnes, exists
11/Dec    LIVE 2nd Half - Glasgow Rangers 2 (Brand, Wilson) Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Greaves, Smith 2) [ECWC R1 L2] *8:25-9:15, exists
15/Dec    Chelsea 3 (Bridges, Blunstone 2) Rotherham United 0 *exists
22/Dec    Aston Villa v Manchester City  was abandoned after 48 minutes (Alan Weeks), Fulham v Bolton Wanderers postponed (Ken Wolstenholme)
05/Jan    *Only 3 of 32 FA Cup ties played due to bad weather. BBC were at all three.
               Tranmere Rovers 2 (King, Jones) Chelsea 2 (Tambling, Bridges) [FA Cup R3] *Kenneth Wolstenholme
               Preston North End 1 (Holden) Sunderland 4 (Sharkey 2, Fogarty, Davidson) [FA Cup R3]
               Plymouth Argyle 1 (McAnearney) West Bromwich A. 5 [FA Cup R3] (Cram, Kevan 2, Smith, Newman(og)) *snow covered pitch
09/Feb    Liverpool v Everton (Walley Barnes) and Fulham v Burnley (Kenneth Wolstenholme) both postponed (only top flight game was Leicester 2 Arsenal 0, only seven League matches played in total)
16/Feb    Liverpool 4 (Lewis 2, St.John 2) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Murray) *Walley Barnes, exists
16/Mar    Three FA Cup R5 ties scheduled (Kenneth Wolstenholme, Alan Weeks, Walley Barnes)
30/Mar    Coventry City 1 (Foulkes(og)) Manchester United 3 (Charlton 2, Quixall) [FA Cup QF] *exists, three FA Cup QF ties scheduled (Kenneth Wolstenholme, Alan Weeks, Walley Barnes)
20/Apr     Everton 1 (Young) Tottenham Hotspur 0 *Alan Weeks
                Fulham 0 Liverpool 0 *Kenneth Wolstenholme
01/May    Tottenham Hotspur 3 (MacKay, Smith, Jones) OFK Belgrade 1 (Skoblar) [ECWC SF 2L] *10.15pm, exists, Spurs win 5-2 on agg

1963/64
No regular Football League coverage throughout this season apart from on ITV in the Anglia and Tyne Tees region's. "Saturday Sport's" final fling came when it was brought back on FA Cup days.
18/Sep    Everton 0 AC Milan 0 [European Cup PR L1] *Ken Wolstenholme, 10:00-10:30pm, exists
16/Nov    Peterborough United 1 (Bell(og)) Watford 1 (Oliver) [FA Cup R1] *Walley Barnes (other unknown games too)
03/Dec    Tottenham Hotspur 2 (MacKay, Dyson) Manchester United 0 [ECWC] *10:00-10:30pm
10/Dec    Manchester United 4 (Herd 2, Charlton 2) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Greaves) [ECWC] *10:00-10:30pm, MacKay breaks leg
15/Feb     Arsenal 0 Liverpool 1 (St John) [FA Cup R5] *Kenneth Wolstenholme, Baker & Yeats sent off for fighting
                Oxford United 3 (Jones 2, Calder) Blackburn Rovers 1 (Ferguson) [FA Cup R5] *Walley Barnes
                Stoke City 2 Swansea Town 2 [FA Cup R5] *Cliff Michelmore
04/Mar    Sunderland 2 (Crossan, Setters(og)) Manchester United 2 (Law, Charlton) [FA Cup QF Re] *AET, 11:10-11:20pm
09/Mar    Manchester United 5 (Law 3(1pen), Chisnall, Herd) Sunderland 1 (Sharkey) [FA Cup QF 2nd Re] *at Huddersfield, Ken Wolstenholme, Mon 11:05-11:35pm, exists
14/Mar    West Ham United 3 (Boyce 2, Hurst) Manchester United 1 (Law) [FA Cup SF] *exists but no commentator
18/Mar    Sporting Lisbon 5 (Osvaldo 3(pen), Geo, Morais) Manchester United 0 [ECWC QF 2L] *shown day late, 10:05-10:30pm, exists, Utd lose 4-6 on agg.
 

Weekly football highlights - now on VT and at a much greater length - were then confined to BBC2, not widely available at the time, until the aftermath of the 1966 World Cup when, amid a football boom not repeated until after England's second best World Cup performance 24 years later, they returned to BBC1 on Saturday nights, though still with the restriction Sports Special had always worked under - they could not be shown before 10:00 pm.

Televised Schools, Youth, B, U21 and U23 matches
ITV games are listed in white, BBC in grey.

29/Feb/1956    LIVE 2nd Half - Scotland B 2 (McCulloch, Mulkerrin) England B 2 (Taylor, Atyeo) *BBC, 8.30-9.15pm
21/Apr/1956    England Schoolboys 1 Scotland Schoolboys 2 *BBC, exists
02/Mar/1957   England 5 Holland 5 [Youth International] *BBC 7.30-8.15pm
20/Nov/1957   England Youth v Bulgaria Youth *9.00-9.30
15/Jan/1958     England U23 v Scotland U23 *KW  (he covered two matches in one day!)
16/Mar/1960    England U23 v Netherlands U23 *at Hillsborough, Gerry Loftus & Peter Lloyd, 8:20-9:20pm
02/Nov/1960    England U23 v Italy U23 *8:40-9:25pm
21/Mar/1963    LIVE 2nd Half - England U23  v Yugoslavia U23 *Gerry Loftus, 8-9pm
23/Apr/1963    UEFA Youth Cup Final *11:00-11:10pm, late programme addition after the scheduled closedown.
27/Apr/1963    England Schools v Wales Schools *Wembley, Gerry Loftus, 3.50-4.45pm
06/Nov/1963   England Youth v Rest of Great Britain Youth *Wembley, Gerry Loftus, 8:00-9:00pm
25/Nov/1964   England U23 v Romania U23 *BBC2 9:15-10:05pm
07/Apr/1965    England U23 v Czechosloavkia U23 *Elland Road, Highlights on BBC1's "Sportsview".

'Pay-TV'
Pay-TV was an experimental coin-slot TV service jointly owned by Associated British Picture Corporation, British Home Entertainment and British Relay Wireless. The service began in Westminster and Southwark on 7th January 1966 and was later made available in Sheffield from 17th November 1966. During its' three years of operation, Pay-TV showed at least two football matches live.....

22/Nov/1966    LIVE - Chelsea 2 (Hateley, Hollins) Real Madrid 0 [Friendly] *cost 10 shillings to view
29/Nov/1967    LIVE - Burnley 3 (Lochhead, O'Neil, Irvine) Arsenal 3 (Graham 2, McLintock) [League Cup QF] *Maurice Edelston wrongly identified Storey being sent off instead of McNab.

The service reached a regulated limit of 10,000 subscribers and became notorious for showing X rated horror movies. It was popular with those who had access to it, but plans to expand the service to a sufficiently viable number of homes were blocked and it was closed down on 9th November 1968.

Email
upthemaggies@hotmail.com
 

Page last updated November 2009