Kenneth Wolstenholme - wikipedia Kenneth Wolstenholme Kenneth Wolstenholme ( 1920 - 07 - 17 ) 17 July 1920 Worsley, Lancashire, England 25 March 2002 ( 2002 - 03 - 25 ) ( aged 81 ) Torquay, Devon, England Nationality British Occupation Football commentator and presenter Known for Presenting : Match of the Day Football comment : `` They think it 's all over '' Military career Allegiance United Kingdom Service / branch Royal Air Force Years of service 1939 -- 45 Rank Acting Squadron leader Awards DFC & Bar Kenneth Wolstenholme, DFC & Bar ( 17 July 1920 -- 25 March 2002 ) was an English football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s. In the final moments of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he said `` some people are on the pitch... they think it 's all over... it is now ! '' as Geoff Hurst scored England 's fourth goal. The phrase became part of British popular culture. Contents 1 Early life 1.1 Military service 2 Sports broadcasting 2.1 `` They think it 's all over '' 2.2 Later career 3 Legacy 4 Personal 5 See also 6 External links 7 References Early life Wolstenholme was born in Worsley, Lancashire. His family were Primitive Methodists and his brother attended Elmfield College. He attended Farnworth Grammar School, where Alan Ball, Jr. ( on whom Wolstenholme commentated in the 1966 World Cup Final ) was also a pupil some years later. Wolstenholme began his career as a journalist with a newspaper in Manchester. Military service As Wolstenholme was a member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, he was soon called up at the outbreak of the Second World War. By 1941, he had qualified as a bomber pilot and was posted to 107 Squadron, flying Bristol Blenheim Mk. IVs out of RAF Great Massingham, Norfolk. At the start of 1943 he transferred to de Havilland Mosquito with 105 Squadron, part of Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett 's No. 8 Group RAF Pathfinder Group. Wolstenholme completed more than 100 highly hazardous sorties over Occupied Europe and in May 1944 was awarded the DFC. The following year, he won a Bar to his DFC for his continual bravery in raids on Germany in a period of exceptionally heavy night fighter activity. He finished the war as an acting squadron leader, having spent its last stages working in the RAF 's public relations department. Sports broadcasting After the war, he became a freelance journalist, working for BBC Radio before moving to television in 1948. He lived in Worcester Park, Surrey. He covered the 1959 All - Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final between Kilkenny and Waterford for BBC Television, an experience which moved him to describe hurling as his second - favourite sport in the world after his first love, football. Wolstenholme commentated on many English domestic football games of the 1950s and 1960s, including the first ever game featured on Match of the Day in 1964. He covered every FA Cup final between 1949 and 1971, the year of Arsenal 's `` double ''. For the BBC he commentated on the 1960 European Cup Final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park, widely regarded as one of the greatest football matches ever played. `` They think it 's all over '' Wolstenholme 's unscripted delivery at the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final at Wembley Stadium are among the famous words in British sport commentary. With England leading 3 - 2 against West Germany, a small pitch invasion took place during injury time just as Geoff Hurst scored to put England 4 -- 2 ahead. The events prompted Wolstenholme to say : `` Some people are on the pitch... they think it 's all over... it is now ! '' Since 1966, the phrase `` they think it 's all over '' has become very well known in modern English. Although unrehearsed, and spoken in the particular circumstances of the game, the words echoed to an extent those of German commentator Herbert Zimmermann - `` It 's over ! Over ! Over ! Germany are the World Champions '' - when West Germany won the 1954 World Cup against Hungary. Later career After the 1966 World Cup, Wolstenholme continued his broadcasting career in the UK and Europe. In 1967 he travelled to the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon to cover Celtic overcoming Internazionale in the European Cup Final. A year later, he commentated at Wembley as Manchester United defeated Benfica to take the 1968 European Cup. He was the BBC 's main man at the 1970 World Cup, commentating on the final between Brazil and Italy. He left the corporation in 1971 after David Coleman was installed as the BBC 's top commentator, his final BBC commentary being on the 1971 European Cup Final between Ajax and Panathinaikos at Wembley Stadium. Wolstenholme later commentated for Tyne Tees Television in the mid to late 1970s, also presenting the ITV region 's music show, Razzmatazz, and guest presenting CITV in the 1980s. After doing all three, he went into semi-retirement, but re-appeared on TV to provide reports and occasional features for Channel 4 when they earned rights in the early 1990s to show Serie A games from Italy. He also took on an acting role, appearing in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Lenin of the Rovers as football commentator Frank Lee Brian. In 1998, Wolstenholme made a special appearance in EA Sports ' videogame World Cup 98, as the sole commentator on the game 's classic World Cup matches, recreations of historic World Cup finals that included sepia - toned renditions of the 1930 and 1938 editions. Legacy His phrase was used as the title for the sports quiz programme They Think It 's All Over, on which he once appeared as a guest. Bill Oddie wrote a song about Wolstenholme for the BBC Radio comedy show I 'm Sorry, I 'll Read That Again which includes the lines : `` I 'm going Wolsten - home / And you ca n't get Wolsten ( worse than ) him ! '' In another sketch on ISIRTA a contestant in a television quiz show was awarded Wolstenholme as a prize. The words `` They think it 's all over, it is now '' are engraved on a flagstone in the Churchgate area of Bolton town centre. Personal In 1944 he married his wife, Joan. She died in 1997. They had two daughters, one of whom, predeceased him. Wolstenholme, who had been a supporter of Bolton Wanderers since childhood, was a guest of honour at the club 's final game at Burnden Park in April 1997. He also narrated the club 's End of an Era video which was released as part of Bolton 's move from Burnden Park to the Reebok Stadium. See also 1966 FIFA World Cup Final They think it 's all over External links Frank Malley : Obituary : Kenneth Wolstenholme, The Guardian, 26 March 2002 Charles Starmer - Smith : Class of ' 66 pay tribute to voice of football, The Daily Telegraph, 26 March 2002 References Jump up ^ Wolstenholme, Kenneth ( 13 September 1959 ). `` Why Keep This Great Game Such A Big Secret ? ''. Sunday Press. Retrieved 8 February 2007. Jump up ^ `` Class of ' 66 pay tribute to voice of football ''. The Daily Telegraph. 26 March 2002. Jump up ^ Paul Legg ( July 2014 ). `` It 's Over ! Over ! Over ! ' ''. History Today. p. 41. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kenneth_Wolstenholme&oldid=850684847 '' Categories : 1920 births 2002 deaths English association football commentators English sports broadcasters BBC sports presenters and reporters British World War II pilots British World War II bomber pilots Royal Air Force officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar ( United Kingdom ) People from Worsley People educated at Farnworth Grammar School Hidden categories : Use British English from March 2014 Use dmy dates from March 2012 Articles with hCards Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 17 July 2018, at 12 : 26 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who commentated on the 1966 world cup final
Answer: Kenneth Wolstenholme