Archie Macpherson | |
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| Born | Archibald Macpherson 1934 (age 90–91) Shettleston, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Known for | Sports commentary,authorship |
Archibald Macpherson (born 1934) is a Scottishfootball commentator and author. He has been commentating onScottish football, onradio andtelevision, for over four decades.
Macpherson was born and raised in theShettleston area ofGlasgow.[1] His father had played as acentre forward forShettleston,Dalry Thistle andLargs Thistle.[2] He achieved a BA in Education and was a teacher in North Lanarkshire in the late 1950s.
Macpherson has worked for theBBC,STV,Eurosport,Setanta Sports,Radio Clyde andTalksport, although he initially struggled to gain a foothold in broadcasting. His first job was as a teacher where he supplemented his income by getting short stories published in local newspapers. Such efforts paid off and helped him gain his initial big break at the BBC. He continued to work as a teacher until 1969 when he joined the BBC on a full-time basis and remained with the corporation until 1990.
He was also a regular figure of the BBC TV network's sport coverage. He appeared onGrandstand to round up the Scottish football league results and presented some sports bulletins forBreakfast Time whenBob Wilson orDavid Icke were unavailable. He also occasionally commentated on matches in England for the network, especially when the television rights to theScottish Cup belonged toScottish Television in 1988–90.
His popularity saw him elected asRector of theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1985, defeatingTeddy Taylor,Margo MacDonald andRichard Demarco.[3]
In the 1996film adaptation ofIrvine Welsh's cult novelTrainspotting Macpherson re-voiced his commentary ofArchie Gemmill's famous goal forScotland against theNetherlands at the1978 World Cup as a sex scene unfolded at the same time, both pieces of action climaxing simultaneously.[4]
Macpherson was recognised at the 2005 ScottishBAFTA ceremony, gaining a prize for a "Special Contribution to Scottish Broadcasting".
His last regular role was commentating on STV's coverage ofUEFA Champions League andUEFA Cup matches involving Scottish teams. Macpherson also regularly appeared on STV'sScotsport, which aired highlights from theScottish Premier League (SPL) on Monday nights during the football season, until its cancellation in 2008.
At the age of ninety-one, Macpherson made a special guest appearance to mark the fiftieth anniversary ofBBC Scotland's football highlights programmeSportscene on 9 August 2025. Fellow veteran broadcastersDougie Donnelly,Jock Brown andRob MacLean also appeared on the show with Macpherson providing commentary on the match betweenSt. Mirren andMotherwell. The game was shown first in the running order in honour of Macpherson's appearance, but disappointingly finished in a 0–0 draw.[5]
Macpherson has written a best-selling biography of Scottish football managerJock Stein, andFlower of Scotland?, about his own trials and tribulations whilst following Scottish football for the past four decades.A Game of Two Halves: The Autobiography followed in 2009, and in 2014, he turned to fiction with the adventure novelSilent Thunder.
In 2020, Macpherson's bookMore Than A Game: Living with the Old Firm was published by Luath Press.[6]
Two years later, Macpherson published his latest book on sport:Touching the Heights: Personal Portraits of Scottish Sporting Greats, which was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year 2022.
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| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Rector of the University of Edinburgh 1985–1988 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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