Editor’s note: The following is a heartfelt letter from soccer fan Barnett Turk to football commentator Toby Charles and his fans out there. Hope you enjoy it and I hope Toby Charles comes across it. In the meantime, feel free to listen to the exclusive EPL Talk interview we did with Toby Charles here. It’s one of the best ones we did.
I just heard the November 20 interview with Toby Charles. What a pleasure.
It’s obvious that he realizes he had a bit of notoriety here in the states, but I sense he has no idea how deeply his influence truly was among developing American players in those years.
I began playing soccer in Alabama in the mid-70s. At that time, none of us had ever seen more than a few quick clips on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Our sense was that it was a niche sport along the lines of cliff diving or Australian Rules Football. One of the guys had a relative ship us a ball from Germany, a heavy, brown, long-paneled ball, the kind that preceded the 1976 Telstar with stitched hexagons and pentagons that has become the symbol of the sport.
No ball was available because virtually no one was playing the sport in our state, and it was inconceivable that a soccer ball could be found in any sporting goods store in any city, no matter how large.
We began playing the sport by simply whacking the ball back and forth, with no concept of form or strategy. Then one afternoon, a friend said they’d begun showing a program called Soccer Made in Germany on the local PBS station, 6 p.m. Sunday nights. We all gathered at one house to watch for the first time, and I will never forget our reaction. Total silence and a feeling of utter incompetence. We’d been shown the beautiful game and how well it could be played. From then, we never missed a broadcast, and we used what we saw as a textbook for learning the game. We learned basic give-and-go plays, through passes, using wingers and crossing to the middle.
Today, though we’re all approaching 50, many of us are still playing in over-30 and over-40 leagues, where the level of play has become surprisingly good.
As I went off to college and began making my way across the country afterward, there was one common element to nearly every pick-up game I joined, every club team match I participated in, and every practice I attended. From Alabama to St. Louis to Seattle where I eventually settled, I don’t believe I played a single time for more than a decade when I didn’t hear at least one player mimic Toby Charles during play. The obvious “high, wide and not very handsome,” was the most frequent, of course. A shot returned to play by a keeper deflection or a post to the same player for a second shot generally came with “another bite of the cherry.” And a spectacular play-of-the-day type of shot or move was greeted with “Ooooo, they’ll be talking about that one in the pubs tonight.” At halftime or a water break in a pickup game, you’d hear “Halftime, ka-chick ka-chick (he sound effect of a camera shutter fired twice) Newsbreak.” All of it was carefully accented by American players who were getting their weekly dose of international soccer on PBS.
Toby Charles asked you why the show had been so popular here. Simple. The show defined all of us who played the game here in the states from the mid-‘70s to the mid-‘80s. There was little or no cable and absolutely no televised soccer. The sport had become our religion, and there was only one place to go worship…PBS and Soccer Made in Germany. Toby Charles was the high priest. Any American soccer player who played the game during those years adored him and still does. We were not only entertained by his wonderful commentary, but also instructed as we watched. I can’t emphasize how much we learned from those games.
These days, when I hear a Toby Charles quote somewhere on a field, I automatically know a bit about the person without looking. He is probably in his forties with solid skills from playing more than 30 years. Most assuredly, that person is smiling. You simply cannot think of Toby Charles or quote him without a smile.
I can’t tell you how happy it would make me if there’s any chance you can forward this letter to him and let him know how much of an impact he made on an entire generation of players in this country.
Barnett Turk
Seattle
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Amazing letter and the same way I feel about him and the show “soccer made in germany” growing up here in the 1970s and 1980s.
And, another one of my favorites…”does he have the nerve?” You also had to love how Toby pronounced team names such as Borussia Moenchengladbach, Armenia Bielefeld and player names such as Karl-Heinz Ruminegge, “plucky” little Alan Simonson and Japanese International Okudara! Great remininscing, Barnett!
And who can ever forget, ” OOOOH, it’s in the bock!!”
So many great memories watching “SMG” and listening to Toby on PBS while growing up in Miami. “Ohhhh, who’d have thought that possible?”
One of my favorite episodes, although I might be foggy on the details, was a Germany at Poland match. The Poles either tied or won the game, and the fans went crazy. Of course, this was Poland of the 1970s and things were pretty bleak. At the final whistle, the Poles fill the air and field with paper, and Toby was aghast. In a very sad voice, he remarked: “Ohhhh, what a waste of paper. … There is a paper shortage here in Poland.”
Noel, the thing about the paper in Poland was funny in a sad way. Toby was talking about the toilet paper shortage!
That one was easier to make than to miss!
Here’s a letter from someone who emailed me to share their appreciation for the Toby Charles interview:
I just wanted to commend you for finding the legendary commentator Toby Charles. I’d never heard of your program but I managed to find your interview by Googling Toby Charles. Like you and so many other fans out there who grew up with soccer in the 70’s in the USA, Toby Charles and Soccer Made in Germany was one of the best doorways into the Beautiful Game on an international level. I learned all the players and exotic sounding cities as a young boy and it fueled my thirst for international travel for the rest of my life. I must thank Toby Charles for being such an entertaining and educational commentator. There’s no doubt that the success of SMIG was due in no small part to his lively and colorful entertainment (”and it’s in the net!”).
As a 45 year old soccer fan who still goes to LA Galaxy games to watch David Beckham, I thank you so much for tracking down this legend and allowing us fans to hear his voice again 30 years later. Nobody says “Borussia Moenchengladbach” the way he does!
Gratefully yours,
Larry Cho
Dude – GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!
OOOHH that wasn’t far off target!
Now I’m going to have to dig through old boxes to find back issues of “The Globe Kicker” haha!
I almost forgot:
“It’s Little Pierre Littbarski of FC Cologne….”
I never really played the game, but I am a soccer fan today because of Toby Charles. I never wanted to miss a Sunday of “Soccer: Made in Germany” on PBS. Listening to his commentary taught me how to watch the game, and how to appreciate it. He showed me the beauty in “the beautiful game.”
And I am forever grateful.
One of my first times I heard Toby Charles on SMG was an international between N. Ireland and West Germany with a German cracking a shot against the crossbar and Toby replied, “Ohhhhhh, saved by the woodwork! The goalkeeper's best friend, you know.” His interweaving of Bundesliga clubs' history during the match commentary was also priceless and gave us new fans of German soccer a rich knowledge of this league. Thanks, Toby!
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. I started playing soccer in NW Florida in the early 80’s. SMIG and Toby Charles fed our soccer souls because at the time there was no other source. I haven’t played in a few years but stumbling across this tribute makes me want to lace up the boots and kick it around again. The above letter speaks for thousands of us…I hope TC gets the message. He’s one Brit we all love. My favorite, “He gets a second bite of the cherry!” He taught us all how to say “Bundesliga”
my biggest memory of Toby Charles has to be the 1982 WC broadcast. It was the 3rd game between W. Germany and Austria. Austria was already in the second round and W. Germany just needed to score a goal to keep Algeria from advancing. W Germany scored a goal and the rest of the game both team we’re playing kick the ball around without even attempting to score. All you heard from Toby Charles in a disaointment tone was ” Ohhh this is bad, this is bad , ohh this is terrible “. LOL..I stll remember those words after all these years. When something goes bad around me i repeat those same words. Fond memories.
Fantastic interview with Toby Charles. Like a poster above I only discovered this blog and podcast when doing an internet search for Toby Charles. Soccer Made in Germany was required viewing in the late 70s and early 80s when I was a youth and friends and I used to love repeating some of Toby’s great catch phrases, “Straight away let me give you the two teams” and “Oh it must be… and it is, A Goal!” were two of our favorites. I do recall one time him saying this though, “Oh I was going to say it must be, but before I could, it was!” Such a delightful commentator and through this interview you can still hear he is a delightful man away from the microphone.
Interesting also to learn Toby was a second cousin to the great Welsh player John Charles and that he settled in Germany after going there on a cricket tour. I may be writing this almost two years after it initially aired but many thanks for the wonderful interview and taking this man down memory lane.
Thanks Martin for the kind comments. We’re hoping to track Toby down again for another interview in the near future so be sure to keep reading EPL Talk and stay subscribed to the EPL Talk Podcast on iTunes, as well as following EPL Talk on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/epltalk
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Thanks for the info The Gaffer. It would be wonderful to hear Toby Charles’ take on the most recent events in the game and particularly his views on the state of the game in Germany. The Bundesliga may not be as high profile as the leagues in England, Spain and Italy but it is the most balanced and least predictable of Europe’s biggest leagues, which makes it quite interesting to me. And since I am in the US I am happy to know ESPN Deportes is now broadcasting two Bundesliga matches per weekend.
Oh, it’s in-the-back-of-the-net! Playing soccer in the ’70s in Texas, our connection to the world came via SMIG. I can still hum that opening music. Thanks for the great memories, Toby.
How about “he could have done a lot more with that one”
6 & 1/2 dozen or the other! Soccer Made in Germany was on KQED Ch.9 Does anyone also remember here in the San Francisco bay area KTEH Channel 54 San Jose, Cant remember what it was called but English football with Mario Machado. He was just as memorable for me .
Thank you TC & MM