Jackie's Golden Moments

Good morning. Morning, Mr Fullerton. Your car has arrived. Oh, lovely.

Thank you, have a great day. Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning. Morning, Mr Fullerton.

Thank you very much. You're very welcome.

Tell you what, there will be no chance

of getting a tip out of that one.

And where is your presence required today,

Mr Fullerton MBE BBC BUFC, sir?

To work. And do watch the speed bumps.

My hips are killing me these days.

I know, you never stop moaning about it.

Here, you know why the hips are like that?

It's all that exercise you got.

Hey, just cut the chat - get me to the BBC.

My public awaits.

All right, Your Majesty!

Oh, by the way, Jackie, there's only one rule in this car -

no singing.

Thank you. I wish I could say it's been a pleasure.

No tip?

No.

What did I tell you?

'Here's Davis. It's a good ball, the flag stays down.'

'They weren't laughing then. 'Weren't laughing.'

'You've been a great servant to Northern Ireland,

'a great servant to the sport

'and a great servant to the BBC.'

HE LAUGHS The memories.

You've a lovely complexion, Jackie. What's your secret?

Joanne, my dear, I couldn't possibly tell you my secrets.

We're ready for your close-up. Are you ready?

Of course - I'm always ready. Let's go.

Right - to the studio. Which way?

My way, of course.

HE LAUGHS

So you're just in here and up to the mic.

Lovely. Thank you.

Who is that young man?

Oh, it's me - all those 40 years ago.

I look at the pullovers, the suits, the haircuts -

did I really think those were stylish?

Anyway, what a journey it's been -

from League-winning footballer to television presenter.

And what a job - top events, big names, the travel,

and lots of laughs in the company

of some wonderful people...and not just the ladies.

Oh, yes - I'm very proud of my four decades in this business.

Where do the years go?

Anyhow, let us not delay - it's time for nostalgia.

I start my look back where else but Windsor Park -

there's nowhere else quite like it on international night

when the Green And White Army are really bouncing in the stands.

These days, the capacity is about 14,000,

but in 1981, there were 40,000 people crammed in here

to see if Northern Ireland could beat Israel

and qualify for Espana '82.

And they did, thanks to a big striker.

There was big expectation -

we were going to qualify for the finals

because it was only Israel.

And yet, there was so much riding on it.

But Bingham, Billy Bingham -

who would have deserved a knighthood, honestly,

for all he did for Northern Ireland -

he had a good side at that time.

Yaacov Cohen, the offender...

The Israelis were defending very well.

We eventually made the breakthrough

and I remember the late Noel Brotherston

and Jimmy Nicholl, right-back, outside,

were involved in a free kick.

The ball came over

and I think Billy Hamilton headed it down,

Gerry Armstrong swept it in.

Armstrong! Yes!

And the celebrations and the roar -

the old stadium shook to the rafters.

And it was one of those romantic moments in sport -

here we were, we were on our way to Spain.

They've all stayed behind.

The lovely thing was Bingham joined in and the players,

they just walked round, and the stadium...

I mean, it was a surreal atmosphere.

And I think it's not only what I remember,

but I think everybody who was there

and everybody who watched it on television

will remember that night.

We were back at the top table.

Mmm - to think they told me this was a tough business...

And I believed them.

Anyhow, in 1982, Billy Bingham and his men were off to sunny Spain.

We began with draws against Yugoslavia and Honduras,

which meant we had to beat the host country Spain

to make it through to the second phase.

Few gave us a chance,

but little Irlanda del Norte had other ideas.

TAPE SCRATCHES What? Never mind that, Jackie!

Move it - Angie's coming to record the weather.

Oh, the cheek of some people.

Roll the tape anyway - strut your stuff, big Gerry!

I was...what, my late 30s?

1982.

because I had played in the Irish League.

When people were resting or something,

in the training matches, Billy would say,

"Jackie, just drop in here and play in the midfield", or something.

So it was great. I felt like one of the players.

That wee man never gave me a cap, you know.

When I was sitting down,

you could only see two-thirds of the other goalmouth

and just after half-time, Gerry scored this goal.

And I remember I stood up and I thought,

"My goodness, have we scored?"

Still Billy Hamilton. He's got past Tendillo.

Arconada...Armstrong...!

The Valencia stadium was silenced.

We held on, and I took off on the final whistle

and I arrived in the centre circle

just as Billy Bingham was meeting Gerry Armstrong,

and they hugged and I joined in.

And the three of us, we all had a lump in our throat,

because it was magical, the most magical moment.

And Northern Ireland are the surprise team

of the first round... There were so many fans out there.

I thought all of Northern Ireland had flown out that night.

There seemed to be thousands at the team hotel

and they can only celebrate as we like to celebrate.

Now to a man who was a legend in the truest sense.

Joey Dunlop, OBE, MBE.

I was privileged to call Joey a friend

as I had the ultimate respect for him.

Now, Joey had a God-given talent,

but he also had that great desire, that great determination,

to be a winner, which he proved back in 1989

when, after a bad crash at Brands Hatch,

he was left with career-threatening injuries.

Many thought he was finished.

But oh, no - the Wee Man, as I knew him,

he bounced back for a famous win at the Ulster Grand Prix in 1990

and he was to have the last laugh

at those who had dared to write him off.

Joey Dunlop was known as the People's Champion,

and he was really the people's champion.

When Joey had the crash,

I remember he came back, after the crash,

to Ballymoney Hospital

and I went down to the hospital to do an interview with him.

He was in a wheelchair just after the surgery.

He'd been badly injured.

The surgeon said to me, "Jackie, there's your man now",

and I turned round and I thought, "Where's Joey?"

And there was this little frail figure,

and Joey had lost about two, two-and-a-half stone.

I said, "You're determined to get back."

"I mean, a crash like that, a lot of people would say,

"'Maybe that will finish the Wee Man.'"

He gave me a great answer, he always did.

"If I thought for one minute that crash had been my fault,

"that I was losing my judgment,

"I wouldn't put my leg across another bike."

When he came back from that very bad accident

and recovered from his injuries...

They go back into the saddle

probably before they're ready, before they're really fit.

Joey was going around

and he was finishing maybe outside the top ten,

outside the top six, certainly.

And I remember I did a documentary with him, and he said,

"I got the impression that people were laughing at me."

"And then", he said, "I came back and I won at the Ulster Grand Prix."

And I was so proud of him, because that summed up

that passion that he had and that determination to win.

And I said, "You remembered them laughing, Joey, after that win?"

They weren't laughing then. Weren't laughing.

And that lovely Ballymoney accent.

He was pleased, cos he was a competitor.

Those people have something that the rest of us don't have -

that is why they're up there and they've been great successes.

Well, here I am now, at Ravenhill.

And I have to say, it looks a lot better

than it did back in 1999.

Back then, Stade Francais arrived here,

all guns blazing for a European Cup semifinal.

They were a good side

and Ulster had to prove they could play a little bit of rugby as well.

Just into the second half,

they did just that - a little bit of genius from David Humphreys.

The move started here, in our own half, about the 22.

Ten seconds later, David was touching down for the try,

and that stand behind me was bouncing - literally.

Ulster had a very good team at that time.

Stade Francais were a threat.

Early in the second half, it's 11-10 to Ulster.

It's nip and tuck.

And the whole stadium was bouncing - again, it was packed to the rafters.

And we're just wishing and hoping

we can get to this European Cup final -

that would be something.

And then comes that magical moment when you stand back in awe

and think, "My goodness, did he really do that?"

Poised to disrupt. Machett, poised to deliver.

Humphreys, poised to attack. That's nicely done.

Well taken by Coulter - lovely transfer.

Here goes Humphreys...

Has Ulster's skipper got the pace?

Has he got the pace? He has got the pace!

Such was the movement of the crowd, the camera went like this here,

so you got this wiggly shot.

That is sensational!

And such was the excitement and the celebrations that day,

I think David Humphreys said afterwards,

"The noise was unbelievable - think if we went on to win this,

"what it would be like."

And so it came to pass.

Cheers, thank you very much. Thank you.

What a lovely way to break up the day.

And you know, just like this hot tub,

Croke Park was a bubbling cauldron of noise in September 1994,

when Down played Dublin -

Down, trying to win their fifth All-Ireland title,

and under talismanic coach Pete McGrath,

their second in three years,

and they did win it, to submit the names of Down and McGrath

in GAA folklore.

So, Pete and the boys, cheers.

I've got to get out of here - who wants to be all wrinkled?

You know, in this business, you really do have to keep in shape.

Down, I remember specifically because of the manager,

Pete McGrath.

Not only was he the nicest of men,

but he has that passion for the game.

He lived and breathed Down Gaelic Football

and he'd got his hands on the Holy Grail once again.

Down had won the All-Ireland three times,

I think it was, in the '60s,

then he won it with Down in '91,

and that was the start of the Ulster domination,

and in '94, he's back again.

But they're playing Dublin in their own back yard - Croke Park.

I remember...Mickey Linden and James McCarten

and they linked up for James McCarten to score a goal.

And there are always moments like that in games,

where you think, "That's the turning point."

McCarten's goal, first of all, which lifted them,

and Redman missing in the second half -

you think, "This is Down's day again."

To beat Dublin in Croke Park in Dublin was extra sweet,

and DJ Kane, I can still see him getting the trophy.

You know, over 40 years,

I haven't had too much time to relax and reflect, but this...

Oh, it's wonderful!

And there were certainly wonderful hands which were on display

when Barry McGuigan won his world title way back in 1985

at Loftus Road in London -

one of British boxing's great moments.

And after such a bruising encounter,

I'm sure Barry could have used a rub-down like this

before his bus trip down Royal Avenue,

when he returned a hero -

and I was lucky enough to be part of that journey.

I had watched him come from the amateur ranks

right through his professional career,

and he had all the ammunition

and all the attributes to be a world champion,

and he had made it.

I remember being at the airport with a posse,

a multitude of other people, the press and the media,

and Barry arrived.

We then set off from the airport - I remember following him.

He drove in a sports car, he and his wife, Sandra.

We get to the Belfast Telegraph, and again,

we set off in this lorry, this time.

The welcome that he got home...

Because Barry McGuigan was a very special person in that he appealed

to both sides of our community, and not many people do that.

But he had that gift.

The people just loved and idolised Barry McGuigan,

so they turned out in their thousands to greet him.

It was almost like New York, ticker tape...

It was maybe toilet rolls, this time!

But it was Belfast celebrating again,

again with The Troubles still as a backdrop.

That was the...the great appeal

and the great drawing power Barry McGuigan had.

And he deserved all of it.

CROWD CHANTS AND CHEERS

BENNY HILL THEME PLAYS

Are we on the air?

HE LAUGHS

Oh...oh...

Oh!

I'm not quite sure what's happening.

On the road, with Bertie Fisher...

How is greyround...greyround?

Greyround hacing?

But what they've found is that...

People say it's play-acting... Oh!

Yes, I am in sunny Portrush, home of Graeme McDowell,

and it's his success in recent times

which has brought thousands of golfing tourists

from all over the globe to this part of the world.

Let me take you back to 2002, when Graeme -

then 23, and playing in only his fourth professional tournament -

won the Volvo Scandinavian Masters.

And that was just the start -

since then, three of our golfers have made a "Major" impact.

CROWD CHEERS

What a shot!

What I remember about it are two things -

to my memory, he nearly messed it up on the last hole.

He hit a ball into the sand trap, the bunker.

Then he hit up onto the green and got his putt, he won the tournament.

A great moment for a young man.

And then I went down on the Tuesday night,

I think, when he came back

to Rathmore Club in Portrush and did a live Newsline piece for the BBC.

And we were coming down afterwards.

I said, "You were four years in America at university,

"playing golf most of the time.

"What did that teach you?"

And he said, "Jackie, it taught me how to win."

He's a very nice boy and I have a lot of time for him.

I'm delighted he won his Major as well.

And I think that kick-started the whole thing,

and Rory McIlroy - wonderful talent, he appears as well and wins a Major.

He'll win many Majors,

because he has got a God-given talent.

And I was so pleased for Darren Clarke -

his great exploits, performances at the Ryder Cup,

his near-misses,

the Open Championship and so on.

And I was so pleased that he won the Open Championship

in the autumn of his career, if you like,

because this guy had paid his dues.

They are all very different and the nice thing is they're all mates.

There is a nice shot in the sports office of the three of them.

They are great ambassadors for this country

and particularly golf in this country.

They are all winning Majors. It's great.

Not only for them, but for all of us. Wonderful.

This small nation of ours has produced more than its fair share

of sporting icons who have set the world alight.

Be it football, rugby, snooker, our shining lights had charisma,

class, panache, that had the crowds on their feet.

So this is my golden collection of men

who captured the world's imagination.

We are always the underdog.

For a little province, we have batted way above our capabilities

and that is why we enjoy our personalities and the people

who brought greatness and great headlines, and great achievements.

Hoddle. On the left foot.

Jennings.

The definitive moment for me for Pat Jennings would be

his wonderful goalkeeping in the 0-0 draw with England in 1985

at Wembley when we got a draw and that qualified us for Mexico.

And he made about three world-class saves that night.

Pat is revered in the game not only because

of his wonderful ability but he is also a gem of a person.

What a wonderful goalkeeper.

I mean, Spurs, Arsenal - speak to their fans. Pat Jennings.

Don't worry about Pat.

Northern Ireland fans - he's a giant For Northern Ireland.

And so he should be - 119 caps.

He was the first showbiz footballer.

Is it any wonder it all went wrong for him?

He didn't know how to handle it. Who would have at that time?

But, below it all, George Best was a lovely Ulsterman.

1968, Manchester United.

He's 22. He ended up as European Player Of The Year.

United beat Benfica at Wembley in the European Cup final.

George gets one of the goals and Sir Matt Busby, the late

Sir Matt Busby, had finally got the European trophy that he craved.

George Best at international level -

1967, Windsor Park, Home Championships.

Northern Ireland 1, Scotland 0.

Dave Clements got the goal.

Not many people remember that because, basically,

George Best 1, Scotland 0.

George Best gave the finest individual performance that

many people have seen at Windsor Park.

We were just so lucky that it was one of us.

And wherever you go in the world,

they know George Best and his greatness.

And it's Gibson. Mike Gibson onto it. The kick too far ahead, or is it?

Mike Gibson has scored.

Mike Gibson stands up there with the very best.

He can drop a shoulder, he can shimmy, he can change feet,

sidestep. He has all that.

A great burst by Gibson. Mike Gibson, a classic try.

When I think of some of the tries he got for Ireland...

He finds Mike Gibson. He's over the 25.

It's a great try for Gibson.

Wonderful player. Particularly for the Lions. And a nice man to boot.

You ask anybody who knows anything about rugby

and I think he would be in a world 15.

And as the hour reaches midnight,

this final frame has now been in progress some 45 minutes.

The Dennis Taylor final, 1985.

I was in a hotel in Enniskillen filming a series,

The Lakeland Games - it was like Superstars - for UTV at that time,

and I remember all the crew and all the people

and all the people staying in the hotel, they didn't leave it.

It comes to the last frame.

Black ball. Fight.

Unbelievably, Davis missed it

and it was in there for Dennis.

And he got down

and we thought, "Surely, this time."

And he did. And I remember people in the hotel jumping up

and that was great.

It was great for a young man like Dennis

cos he was a nice guy and still is a nice guy.

And sometimes nice guys do win. Dennis won that night.

I think Dennis would always have found it very difficult, because he

would always have been in the shadow of The Hurricane, Alex Higgins.

Because Alex Higgins, to my mind, to the mind of many people,

made snooker,

because of his speed round the table, his natural brilliance.

And they can talk about all their great players

and all of the present day and all of this. Alex Higgins is still one,

if not THE greatest natural player I have ever seen at a snooker table.

And Alex had this swashbuckling attitude to life.

He got himself into a few scrapes. We remember those.

Again, he was a nice fella. I was lucky to befriend him.

And I've seen him being rude with people.

I've seen him being nice with people.

But there were two sides to Alex.

I think when he won his 1982 title,

people saw a side of Alex they hadn't seen.

He didn't look the vulnerable type.

He didn't behave like the vulnerable type.

He's doing like this...

We wondered, what's he doing? And he sort of was emotional.

And then his wife appeared with his little daughter.

That was lovely. And he hugged the daughter. And he was in tears.

I think people warmed even more to Alex Higgins

when he showed that little bit of humanity and being the family man.

He was a Jekyll and Hyde sort of guy.

He will be, certainly, certainly,

remembered in this province as The Hurricane.

You know, this programme wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention

local football. As we know, the game is all about silverware.

It's fair to say that any player anywhere would want to win

a league championship,

but over here, the Irish Cup Final is a very special day,

where you can get drama, you can get late goals,

and moments to remember.

And as a commentator, I have had the best seat in the house.

# I don't wanna talk

# About things we've gone through... #

This was 1984.

I read the programme at that time, before the game,

and I think it was Ivan Little had done

a feature in the programme about the Ballymena boy

commentating his hometown club and would he be biased?

And my answer was no, I won't be.

I had a job to do, and when you commentate, you're so focused.

And it was only at the final whistle when I said, so, the final

score here is United are the cup winners by four goals to one.

And five seconds later you think, yeah! My wee team won it.

So, you're able to separate the two, but I was so pleased for all

concerned at Ballymena, obviously, where I have a close association.

I remember that '88 Cup Final

because it was a very good Glentoran side at the time.

And I remember Jim Cleary who got the goal

and Billy Caskey was one of my favourite players.

It wasn't a great Cup Final, it was 0-0 until the 89th minute

and I thought, we're going to have extra time, whatever, whatever.

And Caskey, a corner came in, Caskey headed it.

A young lad, Glenavon full-back had to handle on the goal line,

penalty kick.

Jim Cleary!

He scores in the final!

And Glentoran are going to win this Irish Cup Final!

To me, that was the excitement of an Irish Cup Final.

The drama right at the end. And it made it easier for me

as a commentator as well to hopefully portray that.

A local football showpiece of the season is back.

I remember Glentoran-Portadown 2000. It was 1-0.

I remember it because it was such a good goal.

And I enjoyed commentating it.

It's one of those moments where you set something up and it works out.

Tim McCann went down the right wing.

I looked in the middle, and Gilzean had come on as a substitute.

And I said, McCann, down the right. Gilzean is in the middle.

And the cross came in. I was able to say, Gilzean is in the middle.

Gilzean! 1-0. He may have won the cup.

So you have set it up, and then it comes off and you think,

people will think, that guy knows what he's talking about!

HE LAUGHS

When you don't really!

And so we come to our final moment and it's a glorious moment

which rocked this old stadium to its foundations.

Let me take you back to September 2005,

much anticipated World Cup qualifier against England.

73 minutes gone, it's 0-0. David Healy gets the ball about here.

The keeper, the English keeper,

Paul Robinson is here. It's a one-on-one.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

When I look back to David Healy's goal against England,

a year earlier I'd had triple heart bypass.

And I wasn't sure if I'd ever be back broadcasting again.

I got back, got my life on track and people have asked me,

were you ready? Had you lines ready if Healy,

particularly, scored against England?

And the answer is no, I didn't.

I can still remember the commentary.

Steve Davis got the ball at the halfway line.

And I said, Davis, the flag stays down. Healy onside.

Healy! And I went, oh!

As it went past the keeper.

Healy! Oh! What a moment for Northern Ireland!

What a moment for Windsor Park!

What a moment. We were leading 1-0.

Could this really be happening?

I mean, it's one of those moments, not only is it a great moment,

but you think, are we dreaming?

You know, this is England. We're not supposed to beat England.

What are HIS thoughts?

It's all over. It's unbelievable! What a victory!

I mean, we had beaten England. Beckham, all of that. What a moment.

What a night.

I remember as a football person, first and foremost,

the commentary, yes, I got the words right, I think

I portrayed the right excitement at the time, and the aftermath,

the celebrations, and that's all you can hope for as a commentator.

This is quite remarkable. Windsor Park is rocking.

That night and that goal and that

win has to be right up there at the top of my memories.

Northern Ireland 1, England 0. Nice ring to it.

What a life I've had. How do I slip easily into retirement?

I am not retired yet.

But how do I do that and replace this part of my life

and the excitement and the joy that sport has given me?

It's impossible. But I've got to try.

# And now the end is near

# And so I face the final curtain

# My friend, I'll say it clear

# I'll state my case of which I'm certain

# I've lived a life that's full

# I've travelled each and every highway

# And more, more than this

# I did it my way

# For what is a man? What has he got?

# If not himself, then he has naught

# To say the things he truly feels

# And not the words of one who kneels

# The record shows I took the blows

# And did it my way. #

Oh, not you again!

Yes, I drew the short straw again.

OK. Home, Jeeves, and don't spare the horses!

Why would I do that when I'm driving you? Hey, button it!

God, you're in awful bad form. What happened to you in there?

Did they make you watch Ballymena United?

Or did you have to do a day's work for a change?!

Yeah, and you would know what that is, right enough!

No, I had a wee trip down memory lane today,

and very pleasant it was. Awww.

Mind you, most of your TV memories are in black and white,

aren't they, Jackie? Ach, I'm only joking.

I hope it was very colourful. Just like you are.

And I mean your tan, by the way. Aye, yes,

they were golden, my friend.

Just golden.

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