K. Wolstenholme, 81; British TV Sportscaster Famed for Soccer Call

Kenneth Wolstenholme, 81, the TV announcer who made the most famous call in English soccer history, died of heart failure Monday at a hospital in the Devonshire town of Torquay.

Wolstenholme’s words when England beat Germany in the 1966 World Cup final--”They think it’s all over.... It is now”--are as resonant to English sports fans as Al Michaels’ remark “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” at the end of the U.S.-Soviet hockey game at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics is to Americans.

With England leading Germany 3-2 in the closing minutes at Wembley Stadium, many fans started celebrating.

Just as Wolstenholme told his BBC-TV audience, “Some people are on the pitch; they think it’s all over,” England’s Geoff Hurst scored his third goal of the game to make it 4-2, and Wolstenholme added in the next breath, “It is now.”

Wolstenholme’s phrase became part of the English lexicon. It was the title of a sports quiz show, and has been used to advertise everything from dog food to stationery.