Picture supplied by tv50.org.uk
Just as the BBC began to extend its football coverage, the Football League began to raise concerns about the effect that live television had on attendances at other games being played at the same time. Negotiations thus began over which games were allowed to be broadcast. The England v. Scotland international of 1951 became the first high-profile casualty of this new battle, due to a full league programme being played on the same day. The following year's FA Cup Final also fell foul of the negotiations, eventually leading to all subsequent finals being moved to the end of the season so as not to clash with any other games.

Jimmy Jewell acquired a new co-commentator during this period. This was a 30-year-old ex-RAF fighter pilot, who was to become the voice of football on the BBC for over twenty years. Kenneth Wolstenholme was introduced at the beginning of a boom period for both English football and British television. He would go on to achieve immortality by being behind the microphone when England won the World Cup. Initially, he was Jewell's understudy and appears to have replaced Peter Lloyd, who eventually moved to ITV to become their first main commentator. The policy at the time was usually for one of them to commentate for the first twenty or 25 minutes, before handing over to his colleague for the remainder of the half, not for them to hold conversations between each other, as happens nowadays.

Jewell's untimely death in 1952 left Wolstenholme in a daunting position, but he rose to the challenge admirably and soon found himself describing two of the biggest games in football history as a solo commentator, just as Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation had generated huge sales of television sets.

The 1953 FA Cup Final was probably the most famous of all and lives long in the memory. Internationals were restricted to second-half coverage only, however, with Newsreel providing some recorded action, a day or two later. Wembley's schools internationals continued to be broadcast live, as did one or two amateur internationals (including the first match outside of London, at Leicester) but after a season without any live full internationals on TV (1952-53), the FA's 90th anniversary celebrations brought the outside-broadcast cameras back to Wembley, just in time to witness the Hungarians' historic demolition of the national team and because the BBC were now recording these broadcasts on film, they were able to show them again in the evening. Initially, just the second half was repeated. At this stage there were no editing facilities to be able to create a highlights package within a few hours. The Hungary game was shown again in its entirety, however, and would never be forgotten.

The 1954 World Cup finally brought live football from abroad to the nation, and it was from Switzerland that the pictures were beamed, thanks to the new Eurovision network. Only one game at a time could be broadcast and fortunately, England's dramatic eight-goal extra-time thriller in their opening match against Belgium was chosen. English viewers were not so lucky for their next game, with an incredible 8-3 victory by hot favourites, Hungary, against West Germany in Basel being the pick (the Germans turned the tables on Hungary by surprisingly beating them in the final). England, meanwhile, were beating their Swiss hosts in Bern and viewers in Switzerland had their own live coverage of the game. Three days later, the BBC brought us up to date with a ten-minute film report of England's victory.

Fortunately, England's quarter-final was chosen for broadcast across Europe. Strangely, for such an important game, with England pitted against the defending World Champions, Uruguay, the BBC opted to show only the second half live. Was it, perhaps, the closing stages of the Wimbledon tennis championships that had taken priority, with Maureen Connolly poised to win her third successive title at the age of 19? No, it was the children's television programme, Whirligig!

In the following season, the visit of the new World Champions to Wembley ensured live coverage of the whole game against West Germany. England's new 'Colts' team (the Under-23s) were also thrust into the limelight, appearing live from Glasgow in a 6-0 victory, whilst the problem of not being able to provide live coverage of the full international with Scotland was solved with the compromise of a recording of the second half being broadcast on the Saturday night. The reinstatement of the Scotland fixture onto TV screens coincided with England's biggest ever victory (at that time) against the old enemy, so it was an undoubted success.

Thanks to Robert Pedley for discovering that the World Cup game with Switzerland was broadcast live by the host nation, to Paul Hayes for the co-commentator in the 1952 schoolboy game and to 'The Heavy Roller' for uploading archived Newsreel footage on youtube.com.

1950-51
261	Wednesday, 22 November 1950 - England 2 Yugoslavia 2 [2-1] Arsenal Stadium, Highbury - Kick-off 2.15pm GMT	Television (BBC) - 2:45pm - 3:55pm commentators Jimmy Jewell and Kenneth Wolstenholme (last hour only)
Other England Internationals		Saturday 20th January 1951 - Amateur Filbert Street, Leicester (second half only) England 4 Wales 1 - BBC - 3:20pm - 4:10pm commentators Jimmy Jewell and Vincent Jones
		Saturday 7th April 1951 - Schoolboys Empire Stadium, Wembley England 3 Wales 0 - BBC - 2:45pm - 5:00pm commentators Jimmy Jewell and Bill Roberts
262	Saturday, 14 April 1951 - England 1 Scotland 3 [0-1] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 3.00pm BST HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Newsreel (BBC) - Monday 16th April - 8:00pm - 8:15pm reporter Alexander Moyes (recorded highlights)
263	Wednesday, 9 May 1951 - England 2 Argentina 1 [0-1] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 3.00pm BST	Television (BBC) - 4:10pm - 5:00pm commentator Jimmy Jewell (last half-hour only) Newsreel (BBC) - Thursday 10th May - 11:00pm - 11:15pm reporter Alexander Moyes (recorded highlights)

1951-52
265	Wednesday, 3 October 1951 - England 2 France 2 [2-2] Arsenal Stadium, Highbury - Kick-off 3.00pm BST	Television (BBC) - 3:45pm - 5:00pm commentators Jimmy Jewell and Kenneth Wolstenholme (second half only)
266	Saturday, 20 October 1951 - Wales 1 England 1 [1-1] Ninian Park, Cardiff - Kick-off 3.00pm BST	Television (BBC) - 3:00pm commentator Jimmy Jewell (second half only) Newsreel (BBC) - Monday 22nd October - 8:00pm - 8:15pm reporter Geoffrey Payne (recorded highlights)
267	Wednesday, 14 November 1951 - England 2 Ireland 0 [1-0] Villa Park, Birmingham - Kick-off 2.30pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Newsreel (BBC) - Thursday 15th November - 10:30pm - 10:45pm reporter Alexander Moyes (recorded highlights)
268	Wednesday, 28 November 1951 - England 2 Austria 2 [0-0] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 2.15pm GMT	Television (BBC) - 3:00pm commentator Jimmy Jewell (second half only) Newsreel (BBC) - Thursday 29th November - 10:00pm - 10:15pm reporter Alexander Moyes (recorded highlights)
269	Saturday, 5 April 1952 - Scotland 1 England 2 [0-2] Hampden Park, Glasgow - Kick-off 3.00pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Newsreel (BBC) - Monday 7th April - 7:30pm - 7:45pm reporter Alexander Moyes (recorded highlights)
Other England Internationals		Saturday 5th April 1952 - Schoolboys Empire Stadium, Wembley (second half only) England 1 Scotland 0 - Television (BBC) - 3:55pm - 5:00pm commentators Jimmy Jewell and Bill Stevenson

1952-53
274	Wednesday, 12 November 1952 - England 5 Wales 2 [3-1] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 2.15pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Newsreel (BBC) - Thursday 13th November - 9:20pm - 9:35pm (recorded highlights)
275	Wednesday, 26 November 1952 - England 5 Belgium 0 [2-0] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 2.15pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Newsreel (BBC) - Thursday 27th November - 9:05pm - 9:20pm (recorded highlights)

Other England Internationals

Saturday 28th March 1953 - Schoolboys Empire Stadium, Wembley (second half only) England 3 Wales 3 - Television (BBC) - 3:50pm - 5:00pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme

276

Saturday, 18 April 1953 - England 2 Scotland 2 [1-0] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 3.00pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY

Newsreel (BBC) - Monday 20th April - 8:00pm - 8:15pm (recorded highlights)

279

Sunday, 31 May 1953 - Uruguay 2 England 1 [1-0] Estadio Centenario, Montevideo - Kick-off 3.00pm (7.00pm BST) HIGHLIGHTS ONLY

Newsreel (BBC) - Wednesday 3rd June - 8:00pm - 8:30pm (recorded highlights)

1953-54
282	Wednesday, 21 October 1953 - England 4 Rest of the World 4 [2-3] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 2.30pm GMT	Television (BBC) - 2:20pm - 4:10pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme 10:05pm - 10:50pm (second half recording)
283	Wednesday, 11 November 1953 - England 3 Ireland 1 [1-0] Goodison Park, Liverpool - Kick-off 2.30pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Newsreel (BBC) - Thursday 12th November - 8:55pm - 9:10pm (recorded highlights)
284	Wednesday, 25 November 1953 - England 3 Hungary 6 [2-4] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 2.15pm GMT	Television (BBC) - 3:00pm - 4:00pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme (second half only) 9:15pm - 10:45pm (full game recording) - see transcripts below.
Other England Internationals		Saturday 27th March 1954 - British Amateur Championship Empire Stadium, Wembley (second half only) England 1 Scotland 4 - Television (BBC) - 3:45pm - 5:00pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme
		Saturday 3rd April 1954 - Schoolboys Empire Stadium, Wembley England 1 Scotland 0 - Television (BBC) - 2:50pm - 4:30pm commentators Kenneth Wolstenholme and Barney Mulrenan
285	Saturday, 3 April 1954 - Scotland 2 England 4 [1-1] Hampden Park, Glasgow - Kick-off 3.00pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Newsreel (BBC) - Monday 5th April - 7:30pm - 7:45pm (recorded highlights)
World Cup Finals 1954		Switzerland
288	Thursday, 17 June 1954 - Belgium 4 England 4 [1-2] AET [3-3] Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel - Kick-off 6:10pm BST	Television (BBC) - 6:05pm - 7:55pm (overran to approximately 8:30pm) commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme
289	Sunday, 20 June 1954 - England 2 Switzerland 0 [1-0] Wankdorfstadion, Bern - Kick-off 5:10pm BST HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Television (BBC) - Wednesday 23rd June 8:20pm - 8:30pm (recorded highlights)
Notes		The World Cup tie between Hungary and West Germany in Basel was shown live by the BBC at 4:45pm, whilst England were playing in Bern.
290	Saturday, 26 June 1954 - Uruguay 4 England 2 [2-1] Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel - Kick-off 5:00pm BST	Television (BBC) - 5:45pm - 6:45pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme (second half only)

1954-55
292	Wednesday, 10 November 1954 - England 3 Wales 2 [0-1] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 2.15pm GMT	Television (BBC) - 3:00pm - 4:00pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme (second half only) 9:45pm - 10:30pm (second half recording)
293	Wednesday, 1 December 1954 - England 3 West Germany 1 [1-0] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 2.00pm GMT	Television (BBC) - 1:55pm - 3:40pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme 9:30pm - 11:00pm (full game recording)
Other England Internationals		Wednesday 19th January 1955 - Under-23 Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, London England 5 Italy 1 - Television (BBC) - 9:45pm - 10:30pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme (second half recording)
		Tuesday 8th February 1955 - Under-23 Shawfield Park, Glasgow (second half only) Scotland 0 England 6 - Television (BBC) - 8:15pm - 9:00pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme Wednesday 23rd March 1955 Hillsborough, Sheffield (second half only) England B 1 West Germany B 1 - Television (BBC) - 8:45pm - 9:30pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme
294	Saturday, 2 April 1955 - England 7 Scotland 2 [4-1] Empire Stadium, Wembley - Kick-off 3.00pm GMT HIGHLIGHTS ONLY	Television (BBC) - 10:35pm - 11:20pm commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme (second half recording)
Other England Internationals		Saturday 9th April 1955 - Amateur Hampden Park, Glasgow Scotland 3 England 3 - Newsreel (BBC) - 7:30pm - 7:45pm - Monday, 11th April (recorded highlights) Saturday 23rd April 1955 - Schoolboys Empire Stadium, Wembley England 6 Wales 0 - Television (BBC) - 2:50pm - 5:00pm commentator Peter Lloyd

295

Sunday, 15 May 1955 - France 1 England 0 [1-0] Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris - KIck-off 3.00pm BST HIGHLIGHTS ONLY

Newsreel (BBC) - Saturday 21st May - 7:30pm - 7:45pm (recorded highlights)

Wednesday, 25 November 1953

England 3 Hungary 6

(BBC commentary transcript - Kenneth Wolstenholme)

Just as they were about to kick-off, Puskas began juggling with the ball in the centre circle...

England, then, defending the goal to our right, and now there's an exhibition of ball control. Just look at that from the inside left, Puskas. Well, (if) we see a great deal of that, I think we're gonna have an awful lot of trouble holding these unbeaten Hungarians.

After Hidegkuti had shot Hungary in front in the first minute...

Well, everybody has always said, these continentals can't shoot, but if that's a sample of what we're going to have this afternoon, then England are going to be in dire trouble. 1-0 after 45 seconds, then, for Hungary.

After Puskas had left England captain, Billy Wright, on the seat of his pants, before firing Hungary's third.

...and that was Puskas, the inside left and captain, who scored that one, and my goodness, if he can turn on tricks like this, we ought to have him on the music hall! I've never seen such tremendous ball control as that exhibition of that back-heel and the quick shot. 3-1, then, for Hungary.

After Puskas had scored again...

Well, before the game, everybody was telling me that it was a lot of ballyhoo about these Hungarians, England would win. Well, here we are, 27 minutes gone, 4-1 down.

With the score at 5-2...

They seem to play football as the Harlem Globetrotters play basketball, this Hungarian side.