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Late summer 1955. Karl Erb was then 29, had already made a name for himself as a sports journalist for countless newspapers and was on holiday in Zermatt when Jan Hiermeyer called him. The then sports director of Swiss television says: “For the first time we can take over a live broadcast of a car race from the RAI, but we don’t have a commentator. You go to Monza as a journalist. Would you like to work for us?”
Erb doesn’t have to think long and accepts. That is why his vote was sent to the Swiss living rooms for the first time on September 11, 1955. Not to everyone’s delight, as Erb later tells Blick: “When the president and the archbishop arrive, I drop a few vitriolic remarks that later earn me a reprimand: ‘Criticism of foreign heads of state should be avoided.'”
When Erb’s voice is last heard on Swiss television almost thirty years later, the criticism is a lot more benevolent. “He was the last great sports reporter on Swiss television,” TV legend Kurt Felix said at the time. And the “NZZ” writes: “Erb was the first Swiss television star in the field of sports.”
Erb and his “World Cup baby”
Between his debut in 1955 and his TV farewell in 1984, the Zurich-born Berner left a clear mark on Swiss television and viewers. In many sports: athletics, horse riding, cycling, Formula 1. And of course in skiing, where he commented on about 1000 races as a speaker or TV journalist. In a time that can no longer be compared to now. At the time, Erb still kept the times by hand himself because there were no overlays. Or he shared a room with downhill skier Andreas Rüedi as a journalist during the races in Kitzbühel.
Incidentally, he only got his first assignment as a speaker in Grindelwald in 1953, because the man who was originally intended for the job had overslept and Erb immediately filled in for him.
One name is inextricably linked to Erb’s: Bernhard Russi. Unforgettable how he commented on his World Cup victory in Val Gardena in 1970, screamed with joy and then fought back tears. Or when Erb was allowed to accompany the gold races of Russi and Maite Nadig during the 1972 Olympic Games in Sapporo from faraway Japan. Speaking of Nadig, Erb once asked her, “How was the snow?” Her response: “White!”
Erb and Russi’s paths crossed not only professionally. When Erb became a father in 1976, he asked Russi to be Andrea’s godfather. Russian wanted. Incidentally, Erb called Andrea his ‘World Cup baby’ because he regularly took him to the races. “She always slept like a log in her basket next to me in the reporter’s cabin,” he once revealed to the “Schweizer Illustrierte”. Only once did she make herself felt, during the second slalom run in Kitzbühel. “Phil Mahre got confused and fell.” Andrea called out loud, “Gopf, you have to be careful.” A sentence about the transmitter.
“A Well Filled Bank Account”
What many people don’t remember: Erb’s secret love was football. During World War II he played with the GC Juniors. And when Switzerland surprisingly defeated Hitler’s Greater Germany 4:2 during the World Cup in Paris in 1938, he was looking for the radio. “After that we wrote an essay at school on the subject ‘The Match’. I read my text to the class and the teacher Günthard said: ‹Karl, you should become a sports journalist.›»
In 1984, Erb, then only 58, retired from television. And voluntarily. He told Blick at the time: “I was on the road about 200 days a year and got tired. I also said to myself: God keep me from growing old on the microphone.” And in the NZZ he said: “I had achieved everything I set out to: a house, a family and a well-filled bank account.”
‘Growing old is just a giant shit’
Not only was Erb’s professional life and bank account well filled, but so was his personal life. He was married three times. He once explained why this was the case: “I always said to myself: when the time comes and you realize the tires are worn out, you have to go to the pits like in Formula 1 and get four new ones – if possible in less than seven seconds. Then you go back into the race and you can compete again after a warm-up lap.”
Karl Erb’s Life Grand Prix ended in 2018. That had already become apparent in previous years. In 2017, he told Blick, “Getting old is just a giant dyke. I feel very clearly that I am in the aftermath of life. I’m getting worse every day. Once I feel I am losing my independence completely, I will end my life with the help of the dying organization.”
In September 2018, he passed away peacefully at the age of 92 in the presence of his daughter and partner. The voice of Swiss sport – it has since been silenced forever.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
