Saint and Greavsie

There is possibly nothing worse than hearing a load of old people banging on about the past and how great things used to be. Shut up, grandad. Who wants to hear about three channels on UK television, Ceefax, no internet, and mobile phones the size of breeze blocks? Put your typewriter to one side and move on.

If nostalgia leaves you feeling cold, then I might have to question why you have landed on this blog in the first place. A site that rewinds to the 1980s, dons the rose-tinted glasses, and swims in a sea of reminiscence. You may want to look away now if wallowing in the past is not your thing. 

Many of us old fogeys cannot help ourselves when it comes to harking on about those shared memories from a glorious era of sport. A time when only champions played in the European Cup, the FA Cup was very important, and certain television programmes struck a chord with the nation. 

Grandstand, A Question of Sport, Sports Personality of the Year, World of Sport, Midweek Sports Special, Sportsnight, Sport on Friday. Yes, I'm just listing television programmes, but all of them were like oxygen to any sports fan growing up in the 1980s. Another classic has been remembered by many on social media this week.

Sadly, this was due to the news relating to the death of Ian St John. Rightly the football career of the Saint was recalled in all the tributes flooding in. Yet to many that had not witnessed his career, the name of Ian St John could only mean one thing: The Saint and Greavsie show.

The Saint and Jimmy Greaves had previously appeared together in the On the Ball section of the World of Sport on a Saturday morning. But when World of Sport left our screens in September 1985, the popularity of the duo led to ITV allocating them their own programme.

"The Saint and Greavsie have the humour which everyone enjoys," ITV Head of Sport John Bromley announced. "When I listen in pubs these are the two people that are being talked about." Their appeal was obvious. 

The Saint was the anchor, introducing clips and packages, with Greavsie responding, often in a humorous manner that would leave St John in stitches. Many a weekend was soundtracked by the Saint's infectious guffaws; the straight man/funny man routine worked a treat.

"Our chat is totally ad lib," St John admitted prior to the first Saint and Greavsie show on Saturday October 5, 1985. "Jimmy doesn't even know what we've got in the show before he arrives. The success of the programme is its spontaneity." Greaves highlighted another key component: "We don't try to be too clever."

Football, and all sport, can be too serious at times. But the Saint and Greavsie show provided a much-needed approach to covering the sport in the 1980s. During an era of hooliganism, declining attendances, ID card proposals, and decaying stadia, at least we could all sit down to watch a programme that provided a bit of escapism.

And we all did sit down to watch it, if you use my family as a case study. After football training there I was, scoffing some lunch, as my dad belly laughed at Greavsie's jokes. The next day would often involve me and my teammates discussing funny clips we had seen on the show. It was like YouTube for the 1980s generation, but instead of cats falling over it usually involved comical own goals.

This clip is vintage Saint and Greavsie. A match between Airdrie and Falkirk, a long punt by the keeper missed by everyone, before the defender inexplicitly walks the ball into his own net. "Look at the ball boy," Greavsie comments. "What side is he on, do you think?" Cue hysterical laughter from the Saint. It was the talk of the classroom on Monday; it still brings a smile to the face now.

 

On the Ball attracted three million viewers, and as the Saint and Greavsie show progressed it was estimated that six million tuned in to watch the likeable pair. It wasn't all jokes; there was enough factual and investigative material to keep the football anorak like me enthralled. But secretly you wanted to see Greavsie crack a few funnies and hear Saint's uncontrollable laugh.

The pair discussing this crazy match between Crystal Palace and Brighton in 1989 - five penalties, three misses, and a sending off - provides another example of the standard template. Greavsie, wearing a wig and mimicking Bruce Forsyth, laughs at the referee; Saint just laughs. Moments like this provided Baddiel and Skinner with many a sketch during their own Fantasy Football programme.

 

Despite the jibes about the Endsleigh League, it was obvious that Baddiel and Skinner were big fans, describing the pair as the "godfathers" of football comedy. The Saint and Greavsie show, running for seven years, left its mark on a lot of football fans during this period.

All things have to come to an end, though. By 1992, the Saint and Greavsie show was no more, due to Sky's purchase of the television rights for the new Premier League. It truly was the end of an era as the two sung "The Last Time" whilst pedalling off into the distance. It is a poignant moment.

They left behind so many happy memories. Taking Frank McAvennie to London during the television blackout of 1985 to see if anyone knew who he was; Greavsie's Spitting Image puppet standing in for the presenter when he was ill; Greavsie's constant digs at Scottish goalkeepers; Donald Trump and the Rumbelows Cup draw; Colin Moynihan; the theme tunes.

Maybe you had to be there. But I'm glad I was. Football should be fun, and Saint and Greavsie provided this to anyone lucky enough to have lived through a difficult time for the sport. Not everything was perfect with football in the 1980s, far from it. But Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves were shining lights amongst the darkness, and I will be forever grateful to them for that.