The Life of Archie

Here is a short biographical sketch of Archie. To date, this appears to be the most extensive outlining of Archie's career on the web. Anything that you believe has been missed out should be sent to thelifeofarchie@archiemacpherson.co.uk.

Humble Beginnings

Born in 1937, Archie MacPherson has come a long way from his initial childhood days in the Bowery, Shettleston, near Celtic Park. For he has gone on to achieve cult status within Scottish culture through his extensive broadcasting career. Indeed, mention the name Archie MacPherson to a random Scot and he or she is likely to know who you are talking about. This is irrespective of whether or not they have any interest in sport, or more significantly football, where MacPherson is most prominent.

However, it was not always clear that Archibald MacPherson would make a career for himself in broadcasting. Like most young men, of course, he had dreams of being at the centre of the action as opposed to commentating upon it. For instance, his sporting hero from childhood was a Finnish middle-distance runner called Paavo Nurmi who inspired Archie to make his own efforts whereby he would volunteer to run messages for his mother. MacPherson, though, could not emulate his hero nor would he follow the example of his father who ran professionally at Powderhall as well as making his mark in football as a centre forward for Shettleston Juniors, Dalry Juniors and Largs Thistle.

Admittedly Archie had enough footballing talent to play in the 1953 final of the Scottish Schools Cup for Coatbridge High School against Wishaw. Yet, it soon became clear that he would not make an impact professionally. This led MacPherson to enrol at Jordanhill College for teacher training the following year. By this time he had also developed a passion for writing, no doubt aided by his fascinating with the theatre, going along to the Citizens in the Gorbals to catch the occassional play after being introduced by his school. Success in this field, though, was slow in coming. For Archie had written numerous short stories for publication, only to recieve rejection after rejection.

MacPherson persevered nonetheless until finally The Evening Times published one story called 'The Law of Averages' under the name of his pseudonym, Alan Marshall. Confidence subsequently flowed and allowed Archie to continue writing as he went into teaching, using it as a means to supplement his meagre income. At around this time he also got married to his girlfriend Jess and soon excelled as a primary school teacher in Lanarkshire, becoming the area's youngest headmaster in 1965 when he was appointed to the post at Swinton Primary School. It was whilst here that he would get the inspiration for the short story that would begin his association with the BBC.

Looking out the window, MacPherson noticed a Sikh door-to-door salesman and quickly set about writing the story of a young miner's son helping an Indian to make his first sale in a Lanarkshire village. Thereafter, Archie sent his work to the BBC where it was accepted and aired on radio, being read by John Arlott. For MacPherson, though, this was not enough as he believed that the actor had failed to capture the essence of his story's character. By the time he submitted his next short story 'Nuptials' he made this point clear and requested if he would be able to read it himself. An audition was subsequently given to Archie and his voice made an impression to the extent that he was asked in 1965 if he would like to work freelance on sport.

Life at the BBC

This was an offer that MacPherson accepted, giving live match reports for both radio and television. He continued in this capacity for the next five years despite having no specific training in journalism. Self-confidence, though, came from Archie's time as a teacher where he had become well practised at standing in front of an audience. Using his thrust and aggression, MacPherson soon established himself as a rising star at the BBC, accompianing commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme to Lisbon for the 1967 European Cup final between Celtic and Internazionale. In some respects it was a dissapointment to Archie that he would not be able to commentate on this fixture for the audience back home in Scotland. That honour, instead, was given to his English colleague as the BBC classed Celtic's appearance as a 'British' experience although it should be noted that MacPherson did provide a Scottish element as back-up to Wolstenholme. Apparently had the game gone to a replay, Archie would have resumed with the top job but Celtic made sure there was need for this eventuality as they triumphed 2-1.

Undeterred by this lost opportunity, however, Archie continued to make an impression and was offered a permanent position by BBC Scotland in 1969. At the same time, he could have moved to London instead after he was given the opportunity to assist Eamonn Andrews on the BBC radio show Sports Parade. MacPherson, of course, chose the former and his profile grew significantly as television became an increasingly integral part of football. At first, Archie recalls, people from TV were 'treated like pariah' at football grounds, particular in the wake of Celtic chairman Bob Kelly's comment that this medium would be the death knell of the great game. Things, of course, changed and MacPherson fast became a cult celebrity figure throughout the 1970s as TV's influence became ever-more appreciated by the powers that be. Some have alleged that Archie let this position go to his head, apparently going through a phase during this time when he would insist on wearing sunglasses no matter how dull the Glasgow weather would be outside.

Any glamour, though, disappeared with the 1978 World Cup when MacPherson was swept away with the euphoria that gripped Scotland in its build-up to the championship, so much so that he recorded a duet with Rod Stewart called 'Ole, Ola' to mark the occasion. Scotland, it should be remembered, were going to Argentina to win the World Cup. This illusion was quickly swept away with a defeat against Peru and a draw with Iran. The latter match has been cited by Archie as his lowest ever moment in broadcasting. Yet, Scotland's last match was to provide him with one of his finest moments as Scotland surged into a 3-1 lead against eventual finalists the Netherlands. MacPherson had witnessed Archie Gemmill scoring one of the finest goals in World Cup history and was rejuvenated by the fact that Scotland were one goal away from rescuing their nightmare. As it happened, of course, the Dutch scored and the Scots were out, but they had just scored a famous victory albeit meaningless.

Onto the 1980s and Archie's profile remained high. Around this time he appeared on Rikki Fulton's comedy sketch show Scotch and Wry, being mistaken for Bamber Gascoigne in one episode. Frequent television appearances were also made on BBC Scotland's Sportscene which had established itself from its inception in 1975. Here MacPherson would continue to present the programme that provided football fans with highlights of Premier League action on Saturday nights. Then he would introduce the match of the day which had commentary from himself. A post-match interview conducted by Archie would follow. All before going back to the studio with MacPherson. Some would regard this exercise as egocentric, but Archie has always maintained there has to be ego involved for anybody to go onto television.

Meanwhile, Archie was to have success elsewhere in his career. In 1985 he was honoured by students at the University of Edinburgh where he was elected as rector. This post was to last for three years and continued Archie's long-held association with education. Advancement in the world of television also came in 1986 when he was given the job of presenting sport on the BBC Breakfast News in London, hosted then by Jeremy Paxman and Jill Dando. Living in London during the week and Scotland during the weekend, Archie considers this as one of the great phases in his life. Indeed, he built up a good rapport with Paxman, despite his lack of interest in sport, as both men enjoyed a few glasses of wine together on Shepherd's Bush Green every Friday.

Beyond the BBC

Macpherson's love affair with BBC Scotland, though, was to end at the World Cup in 1990 when he clashed with the Head of Television for not being patriotic enough whilst commentating on the humiliating Scottish defeat at the hands of Costa Rica. Shortly after this he published Action Replays, a book recounting his experiences with sportsmen whilst working for the BBC. This was Archie's second book, having previously written Blue and Green which recalled great Old Firm derbies between Rangers and Celtic. Broadcasting work did continue, however, as MacPherson started to freelance. Firstly, the BBC in London continued to benefit from Archie's services. More prominently, though, he worked for Radio Clyde, presenting the station's flagship football programme Superscoreboard where he also provided match commentary from Scotland's game of the day. Appearances were also made on STV as MacPherson fronted the sports panel discussion Sport in Question.

Paris then beckoned as Archie was given a surprise opportunity to work for cable and satellite channel Eurosport. Not only did this allow MacPherson to catch some French and Spanish football, but it also gave him the chance to broadcast on the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. Archie's cult status also continued as he became caricatured on BBC Scotland's Only an Excuse? which satirises Scottish football and utilises the talents of impressionist Jonathan Watson. Film fame paralelled this in 1996 as MacPherson was asked to rework his 1978 commentary of Archie Gemmill's goal against the Netherlands, not knowing that it was to form the soundtrack to a sex scene for Trainspotting, adapted from Irvine Welsh's popular novel of the same name. All this paved the way for Archie's return to Scottish TV screens towards the end of the 1990s, taking over from Gerry McNee as the main commentator for STV's Scotsport which is the longest running TV sports programme in history and provides Scottish football highlights.

Into the 21st Century, MacPherson remains on Scotsport, even providing studio analysis that is often penetrative and critical on Monday nights. His voice has also been heard from time to time on UK-wide radio station Talksport. Elsewhere, more time has been spent on writing books. A best-selling biography of Jock Stein was published in 2004 and this success has been followed-up with another effort in 2005 called Flower of Scotland? which serves as a guide to Archie's experiences of Scottish football whilst broadcasting. As well as this, MacPherson has received greater recognition for his overall broadcasting career. For instance, one of his famous sheespkin coats now takes pride of place in a display cabinet at the Scottish Football Museum situated in Hampden Park. Then there has been the 2005 award at the Scottish BAFTAs for his 'Special Contribution to Scottish Broadcasting', an honour shared with fellow sports commentators Bill McLaren and Arthur Montford.