BBC 100th ANNIVERSARY

The BBC is celebrating the centenary of its first official broadcast - a news' bulletin that included a court report from the Old Bailey, details of London fog disruption, and billiards scores.

The BBC began broadcasting at 6pm on 14 November 1922 but was not the British Broadcasting Corporation of today. It was in fact the British Broadcasting Company and was made up of separate stations around the country operated by different companies. It was broadcast by London station 2LO, run by the Marconi Company, but new research shows many early BBC moments came from northern England.

Manchester's station 2ZY was operated by Metropolitan-Vickers and aired the first children's show and introduced the first regular weather forecast. Birmingham's 5IT station broadcast the first "official concert"

Sadly, in those early days few records were kept of what was broadcast. The first voice on the BBC was Arthur Burrows, who read the 6pm news on Novemrber 14th 1922. 

In 1938 on 2 April – The BBC covered The Boat Race for the first time. 

The BBC started its television service in 1936, although it was nearly a year before the very first televised match of football was screened – a specially-arranged friendly between Arsenal and their Reserves and at HIghbury  on 16 September 1937. This was followed by the first televised international match, between England and Scotland on 9 April 1938, and the first televised FA Cup final followed soon after, on 30 April the same year (see below).

However, coverage of football television did not expand and for the next two decades the only matches screened were FA Cup Finals and the odd England v. Scotland match. 

On 30 April 1938 – The BBC broadcasts FULL television coverage of the FA Cup for the first time.  Preston North End beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 by a last minute of "extra time" penalty, scored by George Mutch of Scotland. Around 10,000 viewers were estimated. Mutch had been brought down by Alf Young, the Huddersfield captain. Mutch was a bit dazed when taking the kick, but he was told by Bill Shankly, one of Preston's players, to "just hit the ruddy thing!".

(In 1922 Huddersfield beat Preston in the FINAL, decided by a controversial penalty!)

Joe Hulme played his final match in the 1938 Final. He played in three finals for Arsenal 1930 winner, Runner up in 1927 and 1932. he joined Huddersfield in January 1938. (Hulme was also an England international, a Middlesex cricketer and later managed Spurs).

In 1939, on 1 September – The BBC Television Service is suspended, owing to the imminent outbreak of the War. 

On 19 October 1946, the first live televised football match was broadcast by the BBC from Barnet FC's ground at Underhill. Twenty minutes of the game against fellow amateur side, Wealdstone in the Athenian League, were televised in the first half and thirty five minutes of the second half before it became too dark.

In 1947, on the 8th of February,  the BBC broadcasted the FA Cup fifth round match between Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers, the first FA Cup match other than a final to be broadcast.

1954 from 16 June - 4 July – The FIFA World Cup is broadcast by the BBC for the first time with selected matches shown live.

On this day in 1970, there was the death of a seagull that decided to fly across the pitch during the Rotterdam derby. Feyenoord goalie, Eddie Treijtel, launched a goal that hit the passing bird, killing it instantly, apparently. It was thrown behind the goal and Treytel took it home after the game and a taxidermist from Dordrecht, stuffed it, displaying it in the club museum at De Kuip. Sparta still claim the bird as their property!