thebigredv
First Grade
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- 5,407
Incredibly sad. I love Thirsty.
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God Rest His Soul. To the memory of David Morrow. Such a sad loss.
This is a great read
Morrow David
David Morrow is one of Australia's most experienced and diversified radio and television sports commentators.
David has been part of the ABC's coverage of television and radio rugby league since 1980, was the ABC's Sydney racecaller during the 1990s and has been an integral member of the award winning ABC Olympic and Commonwealth games broadcast team since 1984.
He started his broadcasting career at Kempsey in 1971 as a general announcer with 2KM (now 2MC), but soon became the local sport's broadcaster for the area which stretched from Port Macquarie in the south to Coffs Harbour in the north.
His first big break arose at the local greyhounds when the regular caller failed to show one night and being young and keen, he climbed up the then broadcast tower (a ladder leaning against a telegraph pole).
The telegraph pole was needed as support so you held on with one arm while you peered through the haze of poor standard lights, holding the microphone and a pair of binoculars with the free hand.
During his formative years in the industry at Kempsey, David began calling races with the legend of the mid-north coast Bob 'Spyglass' Harriott. He nervously began his racecalling career at Wauchope, a three-horse race won by Bakona Boy.
David's rugby league broadcasting career began at Verge Street Oval in Kempsey in 1972 when he covered the Group Two versus Group Three representative match.
After attending Sydney University through the mid-70s he ventured west to Bathurst to become an accountant where he continued with his broadcasting career on a casual and part-time basis with 2BS.
He landed a job with the ABC in 1980 and immediately became part of its radio rugby league team.
The following year he began as the station's Sydney harness racing caller, doing the popular Friday night program from Harold Park, which he did until it finished in April 1987.
During 1983 he began occasionally broadcasting the Saturday rugby league matches on radio and in 1984 he began doing it full-time, before in 1985 taking up the role as the station's number one radio caller.
In 1986 he covered the first of two Kangaroos tours with the memory of Wally Lewis' try at Wigan in the third Test and the incredible performance in the rain at Leeds in the second Test two of the many highlights.
He returned from England to anchor and broadcast the Saturday afternoon national television rugby league program, which he did from 1987-1989 before joining Channel Ten for the 1990 season, which included the 1990 Kangaroos tour where he produced his patriotic call of Mal Meninga's match-winning try in the second Test at Old Trafford.
Besides still being very much involved with television rugby league, David returned from England at the end of 1990 to take over from Geoff Mahoney as the ABC's Sydney race caller.
Since 1990 David has called rugby league Test matches for New Zealand television, recorded a weekly television program for New Zealand television and broadcast rugby league matches on ABC Radio.
In 1995 and 1996 he broadcast all the Perth-based Western Reds matches for Channel Nine, while still broadcasting the races on the ABC, which meant every second Friday catching the "red eye" home from Perth and going straight to work without sleep.
During his time with the ABC David has called just about everything, from the rather relaxed (a spectator's point of view) sport of lawn bowls to Olympic Games track and field, rugby union internationals, soccer internationals and Golden Slippers.
David's love of football, though, is well-documented and it is a game to which he owes a great deal.
Growing up in Walcha, Uralla and Armidale, football had to be in his blood (in fact his fourth form science school teacher at TAS suggested in 1968 that his only "hope" was to become a sports commentator).
Since the early 1980s he has been part of ABC television and radio's award-winning cricket commentary team, as well as doing most of the major track and field meetings in and around Australia, including Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
The stand-out highlight from his time calling track and field was Usain Bolt's remarkable treble in China.
In Seoul, Atlanta, Athens and Beijing David also covered most of the soccer competitions, including the first ever women's final between United States and China.
David covered his first Olympic Games in 1984 and his first Commonwealth Games in 1986.
He teamed up with Warren Ryan and Craig Hamilton in 2001 to form the current radio rugby league broadcast team.
David was awarded an OAM in 2005 for services to the community, sport and sports broadcasting.
Yes that's correct.
Sorry David Morrow. Good luck with the treatment and please don't read what I wrote.
Never heard anyone (with the probable exception of some humourless, PC, ABC executive) say anything bad about him-hence his departure from the ABC. An exceptionally smart, knowledgeable salt of the earth Aussie country boy made good in the big smoke.
Very sad to hear Dave, as a dragon tragic and recently diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer I'm on the same journey but will beat it with support and positively, we're all behind you Dave, good luck
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