Tony Gubba
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Tony Gubba (born 23 September, 1943, Manchester, England) is a British journalist and sports commentator. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School in Blackpool, a coastal town in England's North West. The unusual surname originates from what was East Prussia.
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[edit] Early career
Gubba began work as a local newspaper reporter in Lancashire before moving up to the job of staff reporter for a national tabloid; The Daily Mirror. He then gained employment as for Southern TV in Southampton, before becoming a BBC correspondent, based in Liverpool. His first Olympic Games as a commentator with the BBC was in 1972, and he covered every World Cup tournament from 1974 to 2006. In 1972, he was given the job of presenting the popular Sportsnight show, a post he held until 1975.
[edit] Mid-career
After leaving Sportsnight, Gubba moved on to commentate on a range of sports for the BBC. He made regular appearances on Match of the Day,[1] frequently acted as stand-in presenter on Grandstand and the occasional return to Sportsnight, live international football matches and FA Cup matches. He also commentated on ice-skating, hockey, table tennis, bobsleigh, ski jumping, speed skating, cycling, rowing, judo, golf and tennis and was the main presenter of the BBC's coverage of the World Darts Championship from 1984-1990. In February 2007, football fans were treated to his commentary for the 2007 Football League Cup Final between Chelsea and Arsenal.
As of early 2011, Gubba was in his 39th season as a football commentator, overtaking Barry Davies to become the third-longest serving football commentator of all time on British television after John Motson and Gerald Sinstadt. He has provided commentaries also for football computer and video games: the PC version for FIFA International Soccer and the Nintendo 64 game International Superstar Soccer 98
[edit] Dancing on Ice
Gubba has commentated on all 7 series of ITV1's Dancing on Ice from 2006 to the current series, 2012.[1] On this programme he provides a round up of the performances and gives some trivia about the celebrity and their skating partner.
[edit] Personal life
He lives in Sonning-on-Thames, near Reading in Berkshire. He lists witnessing the debuts of George Best for Manchester United and Michael Owen for Liverpool as highlights of his career.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Smith, Giles (2010) "Peerless Tony Gubba mixes heady cocktail served with ice and a slice of wisdom", The Times, 26 January 2010, retrieved 2011-06-23
[edit] External links
- Tony Gubba Official Website & Contact
- A collection of quotes from Gubba and fellow commentators
- Profile bbc.co.uk
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