Gordon Bray AM

Gordon Bray AM can lay claim to being Australia’s longest serving active sports commentator. A respected and versatile broadcaster, journalist, author and  business ambassador, he has called around 400 Rugby Internationals earning him recognition as Australia’s ‘Voice of Rugby’.

Gordon began his broadcasting career as a Specialist Trainee with ABC Sport in Sydney in 1969. After completing his cadetship he was promoted to Hobart for a four-year stint where he initially called Aussie Rules, then everything from wood-chopping and power boats to hockey and hot air ballooning.

Towards the end of his Tasmanian posting he became the youngest commentator ever selected for an ABC Games team at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games. He has since covered 12 Olympics, both Summer and Winter, plus four more Commonwealth Games. He was a member of the NINE Radio team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He attended his first Olympics in Montreal in 1976 as a member of the Combined Australian Television team covering the yachting regatta on Lake Ontario. At the start of the Games he was afforded the honour of presenting the historic first ‘live’ overseas colour sports transmission into Australia.

Later that year Gordon paid his own way to France with the Wallabies and called both Rugby Internationals ‘live’ to Australia on ABC radio.

When ABC colleague Norman May retired from TV rugby commentary in 1980 Gordon stepped into the role and over the next four decades  called all the milestone wins including the 1984 Grand Slam in Britain, the 1996 three-Test series win in New Zealand and the twin Rugby World Cup triumphs in 1991 and 1999.

After 25 years with ABC Sport covering over 20 sports at international level including seven seasons of  TV Test cricket, he joined the TEN Network for one year but when the TV rugby rights were seized by SEVEN, he spent the next 16 years at that network. Gordon rejoined TEN in 2013 and was Chief Rugby Caller over the next eight years.

(Photo courtesy of M.J. Bale)