World of Sport (British TV programme)

Did You Know?

• The theme tune 'World of Sport March', used from 1968 to 1983, was composed by Don Harper; a re-recorded version appeared in the early 1980s with a new title sequence showing the Earth eclipsing the sun.
• On 11 May 1985, World of Sport switched coverage to Valley Parade as commentator John Helm described the Bradford City stadium fire.
• Eric Morecambe appeared as a guest on the Christmas Eve 1977 edition, disrupting host Dickie Davies' presentation links.

Early years

Eamonn Andrews was the first host, with the programme compiled for Independent Television by ABC Weekend TV from its Teddington Studios; other ITV stations contributed regional footage. Before World of Sport, Saturday sports events were shown as separate programmes. After ABC lost its franchise in summer 1968, London Weekend Television took over production under the ITV Sport banner, with Dickie Davies becoming the host and remaining the face of the show until its end. Other presenters included Fred Dinenage, Steve Rider, and Jim Rosenthal. Bob Colston read the classified results, and John Tyrrell read the horse racing results; from 1983, Elton Welsby alternated with Colston. Because LWT held a weekend-only franchise, Thames Television produced bank holiday editions, renamed Bank Holiday Sport and later Bank Holiday Sports Special, usually presented by Davies. STV and Grampian sometimes opted out with their own version, Scotsport Special, presented by Arthur Montford from STV's Glasgow studios. The 500th edition aired on 7 September 1974, and the 1000th on 16 June 1984.

Features

The programme centred on three popular segments: On the Ball (a football preview), the ITV Seven (horse racing), and wrestling with commentator Kent Walton, plus a results section at the end. Other sports were mostly confined to the first hour and the 3pm hour. Because the BBC had bought rights to many established events, World of Sport often showcased sports not widely seen elsewhere, such as women's hockey, netball, lacrosse, water skiing, stock car racing, NASCAR, and ice speedway, as well as unusual events like the World Barrel Jumping Championships. In its early years, show jumping and other equestrian events were common; later, snooker was shown extensively. Ten-pin bowling and kart racing gained British public awareness through the programme. Ten-pin bowling coverage included regional UK leagues, and from the mid-1970s, footage from the WTBA World Championship and the US Professional Bowlers Tour, with Mark Roth's televised 7–10 split conversion on 5 January 1980 being a notable moment. British stock car drivers like Barry Lee also benefited from the exposure.

Post-closure

Former On the Ball hosts Ian St. John and Jimmy Greaves presented Saint and Greavsie, a standalone football programme that ran until 1992 when Sky Sports gained exclusive rights to English top-flight football. Wrestling with Kent Walton followed Saint and Greavsie until December 1988, just before US World Wrestling Federation coverage began on Sky in early 1989. During this period, matches from Joint Promotions were supplemented with those from All Star Wrestling; US wrestling appeared only six times in two years. The move to a permanent lunchtime slot reduced wrestling's ratings, as its working-class audience often worked half-day Saturday shifts. After wrestling, two non-sporting programmes aired to avoid clashing with horse racing on Channel 4. A two-hour live broadcast covering athletics, darts, ice skating, and snooker followed, but gradually diminished and disappeared. Saturday afternoon sport on ITV concluded with the Results Service, a 15-minute programme presented by Elton Welsby or Jim Rosenthal, ending at the close of the 1991/92 season. Football results then appeared in the Saturday teatime ITN Evening News & Sport bulletin until 2001.

Later years

Between 1992 and 1995, several ITV regions screened WCW Worldwide in the old Saturday afternoon slot. In the mid-2000s, The Wrestling Channel (later The Fight Network) bought rights to World of Sport's wrestling shows until that channel ceased; the shows later aired on Men and Movies. Joint Promotions closed in February 1995 after promoter Max Crabtree's retirement, while All Star Wrestling remains active at grassroots level despite the death of founding promoter Brian Dixon in 2023. On the Ball was relaunched by ITV in 1998 as a half-hour Saturday lunchtime football magazine; it expanded to an hour when ITV secured FA Premiership highlights from 2001/02, but was axed after the 2003/04 season when the BBC regained the rights. ITV2 launched in 1998 with a football results programme called Football First, later relaunched as The Goal Rush for the 2001/02 season, ending in December 2003. ITV paid tribute to World of Sport during its 50th anniversary celebrations in September 2005.