Bill McLaren was a man who represented all that is best about rugby union.
He was known as “The Voice of Rugby” not just because of the beauty of his tone and the delight of his imaginative phrasing, but because he portrayed our game as we would always wish it to be.
The Bill McLaren Foundation
The Foundation was set up in March 2010 to raise funds to support the development of rugby and its values within Scotland and beyond. It was also established to recognise the contribution Bill McLaren made to rugby through education and the development of an interpretative centre including Bill's extensive archive and his big sheets.
Your support of the Foundation will serve three purposes :
To develop and promote the sport of rugby union and its values
To encourage and provide sporting opportunities for young people
To create an educative centre which will include the Bill McLaren Archive
The Foundation supports fundraising through dinners, events, auctions and the reproduction of replica copies of Bill’s Big Sheets. We also gladly receive offers from around the globe to set up your one-off, annual or now-and-again fundraising events. Interested? Let us know!
The Bill McLaren Centenary Exhibition
Commemorating the centenary of the birth of Hawick’s own Voice of Rugby, this exhibition tells the story of Bill McLaren’s life from the wee boy breaking a neighbour’s windows with his first rugby ball, through his time as a pupil at Hawick High School, to his experience during the war in Italy. Learn about his brave recovery from tuberculosis and his time teaching P.E. in Hawick as well as his career as a journalist, writer and broadcaster.
When & where
Date: Oct 4th - Nov 27th 2023
Location: Hawick Museum
Opening Hours
October:
Monday – Sunday 11:00-16:00 (closed Tuesday)
November:
Friday – Monday 11:00-15:00 (closed Tuesday – Thursday)
Pricing details:
Free – Donations Welcome
Bill’s Big Sheets
As many of you will know, Bill McLaren was the Voice of Rugby for five decades with the BBC and covered 700 matches in that time. His preparation was legendary and for each of his commentaries he would research players, the significance of the match etc, and bring it all together in a well formulated sheet of notes often containing over 1000 facts - Bill's Big Sheet. He was in to cut and paste well before computers, using scissors and Sellotape to make changes from earlier games he may have covered!
In his office at home, Bill would spend approximately 40 hours preparing a Big Sheet for a rugby match, from the mid 1950s to the early 21st century. If Bill had no or little information, he would often phone a player at home asking for height, weight, names of brothers and sisters, nicknames, and even what their favourite food was. If a phone call was not possible, Bill would attend training sessions putting faces to names and gather further player data often with an impromptu interview with the famous Hawick Ball sweeties used as a bribe!
These sheets, which are all copies, are the Foundation's unique selling point and are much treasured by rugby loving supporters. We have a selection of Big Sheets currently for sale, for all enquiries, please contact: alan@billmclarenfoundation.co.uk
