Famous Sporting People coming to Pembrokeshire – Feature No 4:

 

Eddie Butler – a fine rugby player but a GREAT speaker and commentator

 


Of all the top rugby players I have been fortunate to meet I would rate the late, great Eddie Butler at the highest level – and I still find it hard to believe that he was never invited to receive an OBE or MBE in the Queen’s Honours list for his amazing support for the Pembrokeshire Friends of Prostate Cymru, as part of his services to Prostate Cymru and Felindre Cancer Hospital.

 
I was lucky enough to be MC on a number of occasions where Eddie spoke and I will never forget his rendition of a speech made by Lions’ coach Jim Telfer prior to the first test in South Africa in 1997, recognised now as his ‘Everest Speech’ and regarded as one of the best motivational  sporting speeches ever,  where he swapped his educated Welsh voice for a perfect imitation of Big Jim’s Scottish burr – and there were tears from some hardy sports supporters.


 

A polished speaker, with some smashing stories

 


I first heard Eddie it at the ‘Lions’  Legends’ evenings put on by his old Pontypool team-mate Mostyn Davies and his lovely wife Kay, at their Ocean Bar and Restaurant in Broadhaven, which Eddie always attended and joined the likes of Graham Price, Clive Rowlands, Peter Morgan (who lived in Broadhaven), Mike Ruddock, David Bishop, and others, with Eddie always producing a polished and thoughtful speech.
 

Another regular highlight, always encouraged by me, was the story of the first time that Eddie’s mum (or Edward) as she always called him; attended a function in the clubhouse and asked tough-as-teak coach Ray Prosser, how her son was getting on in his game. Now Ray was never one to mince his words and after a few short sentences about the training routines etc (which mother didn’t understand anyway,  he finished with the immortal words.


“To tell you the truth, Mrs Butler’ so far he hasn’t got a F*****G clue!”
Mrs B chuckled and said ‘thank you so much’ and after that they got on like a house on fire  whenever they met, and she thought Mr Prosser was a lovely man!






 

Captain of Pontypool and Wales – and then became a great commentator

 
It seems that Eddie improved under Ray’s tutelage because he played for Pontypool in a purple period for the club, alongside the likes of Graham Price, Bobby Windsor and Charlie Faulkner (The legendary ‘Pontypool Front Row’) and was captain from 1982-85, after being a Cambridge Blue for three successive years as a student at Fitzwilliam College.
 
He was also Welsh captain for six of his 16 caps and went on the Lions Tour of 1983, and when he retired, he became a hugely respected sports journalist and began to assist Bill McLaren for international games in the Five and then Six Nations’ Championships.
 
When the legendary Scott passed away, Eddie was appointed as head commentator and did a wonderful job filling such giant’s shoes, but he did it in his own way, with the remarkable range of vocabulary that he had acquired through his academic career and his time as a teacher – and also added the Olympics as another accomplishment as he commentated on sports like Archery!
 
Apparently, Eddie never went in to games with a sheaf of notes but instead spent hours poring over facts and figures before recalling many of them from memory in his illuminating language!




 

Just one sour moment – but rescued by Eddie’s professionalism

 
But after his huge list of accomplishments, at a superb evening put on in St Davids, in conjunction with The Saints RFC and the local  ‘Penknife Club’  at The Bishops pub in the city, where he spoke to raise funds for PFoPC, for whom I was a founder committee member after being asked by top organiser Ray Williams, who was renowned for his organisational skills at the top of Welsh Rugby, I endured my only sour moment with Eddie, which could have ruined the entire evening, but for his amazing professionalism.
 
Before the proceedings started I was approached by a well-known ‘gentleman’ from St Davids who asked if he could ask the first question because he had to go, and although I thought it was a strange request I agreed, as long as I held the microphone. 
 
I introduced Eddie, who had a typically warm welcome from the locals but was astounded when this awful tirade spilled forth, including some very nasty language, and as I pulled the microphone away Eddie told me it was OK because he respected the man’s right to ask a question if he had paid, and calmly answered it to  a standing ovation at the end!
 
I include this very unpleasant incident only to show the way Eddie carried himself – with style – and after that Eddie went up even higher in my admiration than he had already been before.

 

And finally . . .

 
There were several other enjoyable evenings afterwards where I enjoyed his ability as an after-dinner speaker before the shock news was announced in September 2022 that Eddie had passed away in his sleep as he was ascending the Inca Trail Trek en route to Machu Picchu, with his daughter Nell, again to raise funds for Prostate Cancer – and the outpouring of grief spread across Wales and the rest of the rugby world, with tributes paid from afar and also  sympathy for his wife and six children.
 
On a personal note, I can only repeat my admiration for a genuine character and great advertisement for rugby in our country – and I can only repeat my early comments that Eddie Butler was a real gentleman of sport and someone whom I enjoyed our occasional meetings where he showed me total respect and it was a pleasure to be able to work with him for such a worthwhile cause!