To those of a certain age, Eddie Waring s trademark trilby and contorted vowels conjure golden memories of 1970s television- an era in which a humble rugby-league commentator with a comical accent could line up alongside stars such as Morecambe and Wise. At the height of his success, Waring was regularly referenced on Monty Python s Flying Circus and imitated by impressionist Mike Yarwood, and he co-hosted ratings smash It s A Knockout. Yet, many fellow northerners viewed Waring's bumbling on-screen persona as an embarrassing regional stereotype. To them, he was the unwitting stooge of an organisation riddled with class snobbery and rugby-union bias, dedicated to keeping the 13-a-side code and, by extension, the north of England in its place. The truth was far less simple. Being Eddie Waring reveals how Waring was a true sporting pioneer whose influence is still being felt more than 20 years after his death. Containing first-hand accounts from those who worked with Waring and knew him best, the author traces his childhood years in poverty-stricken Dewsbury through to his final days blighted by illness and shrouded in mystery. In doing so, he reveals a talented, pugnacious man wh