Vale: Les Murray

Legendary broadcaster Les Murray, best known for his SBS football commentary, has died, aged 71.

Known as “Mr. Football”, Murray died following a long illness.

In a statement SBS said:

“Les will be remembered not just for his 35 year contribution to football in Australia, but for being a much-loved colleague, mentor and friend who has left a unique legacy. To say he will be sorely missed is an understatement.

“Many Australians know Les as Mr Football, who began working with SBS when it launched as a television broadcaster in 1980. His role went far beyond being a football commentator. The growth, popularity and success of football in Australia today is absolutely a reflection of his passion and advocacy for the game that he loved.

“We pass on our deepest sympathies to his family, including his partner Maria and his daughters Tania and Natalie. They ask that their privacy is respected during this difficult time.”

Murray started part-time as an Hungarian subtitler, in 1980. Seven years ago he told TV Tonight about those early years.

“It was a very low budget station, the studio was very small. If you were a guitarist you had to play the guitar vertically because there wasn’t enough room to hold it properly. That’s how small it was,” he said.

“The offices were rented spacing at Milson’s Point and it grew of course. Originally the content had to be radical, radically multicultural, because that was the mandate from the government -the Charter. So it wasn’t driven at all by ratings or putting on programmes that would get big audiences. We had to put on programmes that the audience had never seen before.”

He had also frequently been approached to join other networks.

“I’ve had conversations down the years, even with the ABC, but I was never tempted to leave SBS because I just wasn’t confident that they believed in what I was doing,” he said.

“I think the most comforting thing for me at SBS for 30 years has been that management, and that’s all the way up to the Board and the Chairman, always supported what I did which is to promote football and to persevere with football as a major big ticket item in our content.

“So all the brave steps that we took like buying the World Cup rights back in 1990 was a huge risk but they backed it. To go to another station particularly a commercial station would be such a different culture I’m not sure I would’ve fitted in. Or at least I’m sure I wouldn’t have gotten the unlimited support that I got for persevering with football at SBS.”

In 2014 he retired from 34 years of broadcasting for SBS, as the longest-serving face of the network.

SBS Managing Director, Michael Ebeid, said: “No one better embodied what SBS represents than Les Murray. From humble refugee origins, he became one of Australia’s most recognised and loved sporting identities. Not just a football icon, but a great Australian story and an inspiration to many, to say that his contribution to SBS and to football was enormous, doesn’t do it justice. This is a devastating loss for all of us at SBS. Our thoughts are with his family and all who loved him.”

Devastated at the news that our dear friend & colleague Les Murray has passed away. A great Australian who really has left a great legacy.

— Michael Ebeid AM (@michaelebeid) July 31, 2017