Bill McLaren's Story
Allan McCredie was a friend of Bill's for very many years. Much has been said in the newspapers of Bill's role as the Voice of Rugby, but we asked Allan to record his memories of the Bill whom we knew and had great affection for within Hawick.
When I think of Bill McLaren, I think of him as a great man, not just a great rugby commentator.. To me he had five great loves in his life and passion for all of them:
I’ve talked a lot about Bill's loves, but he himself was universally loved and held in such high esteem I don’t remember him ever having to flash a pass to get anywhere at any rugby ground. When you went anywhere with him you could hear people whispering: 'There's Bill McLaren', and people would come up to him and say how much they loved his commentaries. He had time for everyone. His views and opinions were sought the world over. He’d often say to me: 'Only 10 holes today. Somebody from New Zealand is phoning for an interview'. How I wish I could have been his agent.
His journalistic skills were sadly understated in reviews of his career. His match and analytical reporting for the Glasgow Herald were superb over a large number of years. The time and effort he put into the articles were just as devoted as the rugby commentaries. After commentating on an international on the Saturday he would fly home immediately and on the Sunday watch the video of the game looking for a theme for his Monday article so he could explain to the layman how Scotland had won or lost the previous day. On one occasion his video skills failed him (a regular occurrence) and he appeared at my door at 10 a.m. Sunday morning looking for a copy of a Scotland v England game. Unfortunately I was 200 miles away visiting my brother on the way back. My mother who was used to dealing with these visits and his phone calls phoned my brothers and explained the situation. After some thought I phoned my mother’s cousin who lived close by to see if she had a copy. She had. Informed of this fact Bill took off at a rate of knots to retrieve the video. The following evening he appeared at the door with a box of chocolates and asked me to pass them on with his grateful thanks. He also put the same dedication into articles he was asked to produce for magazines, programmes and numerous other publications. As an author he contributed to at least half a dozen successful books. In the nineties I helped him with his first autobiography and Bill’s Lions. He had little faith in people’s ability to read his writing so he wrote his notes and then created an audio recording. I had to find him an audio typist to create a draft document on a computer. He then meticulously proof read the document himself so that a perfect document was sent to the publisher.
On a personal note, it was a great privilege to know the man and I was deeply honoured by what he said about me in his book. I met Bill first at primary school. My Dad had gone to school with him so it was like he knew me. He ended my unpromising rugby career at 13 by sending me off for kicking the ball. He said the game was played with hands. I was a prop at the time. From the early 80s to the Noughties, I don‘t know how many miles we travelled together and games we watched but I loved every minute. One final story that sums him up for me. In the Eighties and Nineties I went to every Five Nations game without getting time off school. This led to some amazing adventures. Anyway, in 1986, Bill asked how I was getting to Dublin. 'I hitch to Carlisle, train to Crewe then to Holyhead, boat to Dublin arriving 6 a.m..' 'You must come to breakfast at Jury’s', he said. I said I knew where it was as it was close to Lansdowne Road, so I got off the boat, caught the DART train and arrived at Jury’s at 6.45, dishevelled and asked for Bill. I was impolitely told to get lost so I sat in a chair. Ten minutes later, Bill phoned Reception to ask where I was. Well, the attitude towards me changed completely! I was given directions to his room, had a shower, he took me to breakfast and introduced me to all and sundry. A great day. Mind you, I had to work as he took me back, made me shuffle his cards and spend 30 minutes on player identification.
That was Bill. He always referred to Bette as a queen, but he was a king.
Allan McCredie