Peter Bromley's familiar rich tones were racing's invaluable wireless link with all corners of the globe, hooking all sorts of converts in the process.
For those of us who worked with Peter, he will forever be remembered for far more than the quality of the commentaries and his deep knowledge of the turf.
He was also a colourful personality, championing the cause of racing wherever he went, and, to make his point, resorting to the occasional raised voice here, or the strategic use of the deafness in his right ear there.
Bromley was not afraid of a clash with authority |
Many a senior radio administrator, or producer, has been informed that he or she was in line for legal action after a clash of some kind or other with Peter.
Hence the affectionate title of BBC Radio Five Live's tribute on his retirement; "Get Me The Director General".
Almost everyone in the office has a story involving the man who was the BBC's first ever specialist sports correspondent. The most popular of those anecdotes was the infamous "Ascot Gold Cup incident".
It happened just as a Gold Cup was reaching its closing stages, with about five horses racing neck and neck.
The commentator's voice was reaching its familiar crescendo when a producer's voice shrieked into his headphones, demanding a quiet wind-up.
He was furious, and a bigwig from Broadcasting House was despatched the next day with a grovelling apology.
Fearing that his welcome might be on the volcanic side, the man took his wife along as moral support, knowing that, ever the gentleman, there would be no explosion with a lady present.
 Behind the gruffness lay a heart of gold |
It worked a treat, again demonstrating that behind Bromley's gruffness lay a heart of gold. My own lasting memory will be of accompanying Peter to Commander In Chief's Irish Derby success at The Curragh in 1993.
We were not booked on the early plane, so, as a result, were late, and were directed to an overflow car park in a field, full of potholes and cowpats.
All went well, until the trek back to the car afterwards.
I had to collect a bag so we agreed to meet amid the cowpats.
When I arrived, he was leaning on the car, wiping mud off his grass-stained suit.
"I'm suing the BBC," he boomed. "If they'd put us on the early plane, we wouldn't have been late and wouldn't have had to park in this field, in which case I would not have put my foot in that rabbit hole and would not have fallen over."
However, proudly holding up the cherished binoculars he had been carrying, he smiled and said: "But I never dropped the bins. That commando roll that I learnt in the army came in very handy."
Peter Bromley: one of the BBC's legendary sports commentators, and unforgettable characters.
MMIX
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