Bill McLaren

William Pollock "Bill" McLaren CBE ( born October 16, 1923 in Hawick, † January 19, 2010 ) was a Scottish rugby commentator. Until his retirement in 2002, he was the "voice of rugby " (the voice of rugby ) called and coined many phrases.

Life

McLaren grew up in Hawick in the Scottish Borders and began as a child with the rugby. He played before the Second World War as a winger for the first team of Hawick RFC. In the war effort in Italy, he contracted tuberculosis and could only be cured because of the use of the then new antibiotic streptomycin. During the tuberculosis treatment, he commented on the table tennis games in hospital and so made ​​his first experiences in his later career.

After his return to Scotland McLaren studied sports science and taught until 1987 in schools. His career began as a reporter for the local newspaper Hawick Express. From 1952 he worked at the BBC. On the radio, he commented on his first international match, it met Scotland and Wales each other. Six years later, he moved into television. His last international match was followed as a reporter in 2002, opponents were again Scotland and Wales.

In 2001, McLaren was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame shortly before the end of his reporter career. He is the only member of the Hall of Fame, which was not mainly active as a player.

McLaren was married to his wife Bette since 1947. He had five grandchildren, including the Scottish national player Rory Lawson and Jim Thompson. In 1976, he commented on the match against Scotland, England, where his son Alan Lawson could put two attempts.

McLaren died on January 19, 2010 in his hometown at the age of 86 years.