Robert Anthony Crampsey (8 July 1930 – 27 July 2008) was a Scottish
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
historian, author, broadcaster and teacher, described as a "much loved Scottish cultural institution" by ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''.
Early life and career
Crampsey was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. A graduate of the University of Glasgow, Associate of the Royal College of Music and former Head Teacher of St. Ambrose High School in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire. Crampsey was 1965's 'Brain of Britain'. He followed this up eight years later by reaching the semi-finals of ''
Mastermind
Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to:
Fictional characters
* Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters:
** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...
'', choosing the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
as his specialist subject.
He served in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
from 1952 to 1955.
Broadcasting career
Crampsey was a widely respected
pundit
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
on
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 197 ...
's ''
Sportsound
''Sportsound'' is BBC Radio Scotland's main radio sports show. It provides coverage to listeners on medium wave, FM, DAB Digital Radio and via the internet. It is best known for its exclusive live commentary of Scottish Premiership football g ...
'' from 1987 until retiring in 2001.
He was also a mainstay of STV's ''
Scotsport
''Scotsport'' is a Scotland, Scottish sports television programme, broadcast on STV (TV channel), STV in northern and central Scotland between 1957 and 2008, as well as on ITV Border in southern Scotland.
It was first broadcast in 1957 as ''S ...
''. Crampsey was the author and editor of the ''Now You Know'' column of the Glasgow ''
Evening Times
The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.
Honours
Crampsey was a pianist and was an associate of the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
. He had a Doctorate in Sports Journalism from
Stirling University
The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...
.
Personal life
His younger brother
Frank
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
was a footballer for Queen's Park, the club both brothers supported. He was a keen fan of
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...
.
Crampsey married Ronnie and they had four daughters together.
Crampsey died, aged 78, on 27 July 2008 with Parkinson's Disease, which he had been diagnosed with several years earlier. His funeral was held on 1 August in Holy Cross RC Church
Crosshill Cross Hill or Crosshill may refer to:
Places
* Cross Hill, Cornwall, England
*Cross Hill, Derbyshire, England
* Cross Hill, Gloucestershire, England
* Cross Hill, South Carolina, USA
* Crosshill, East Ayrshire, Scotland
*Crosshill, Fife, Scotland
* ...
, on the southside of Glasgow.
Tributes
Former ''Sportsound'' colleague Richard Gordon said of Crampsey:
First Minister of Scotland
The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
His most famous football related works are:
*''The Game for the Game's Sake (The History of Queen's Park Football Club 1867-1967)''
*''The First 100 Years (The Official Centenary History of the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
)''
*'' Mr. Stein'' (his best seller)
As well as being an authority on Scottish football, Dr Crampsey wrote a number of books on non-football related subjects including:
*''The Young Civilian, A Glasgow Wartime Boyhood'' (1987)
*''The King's Grocer, Life of
Sir Thomas Lipton
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup ...