This is the Unsung podcast, introducing the sports stars you don’t know, telling the stories you can’t miss.

In this episode, we meet and tell the story of one of the most influential people in sport in the 21st century.

But this person isn’t a player, nor a coach, nor a big-money investor.

He’s a computer scientist.

He didn't need trophies, the ear of powerful politicians, or a billion-dollar bank account to make his mark. Just some nifty cameras and a few lines of code.

His name is Paul Hawkins, and he’s the man who invented Hawk-Eye and changed sport forever.

In the episode, he describes the three sliding doors moments in sport – one in cricket, one in tennis, and the other in football – responsible for paving the gradual then sudden path towards AI. And we also discuss sport’s most controversial subject: VAR…

Quotes:

Paul Hawkins, Hawk-Eye Innovations

"I ended up losing at Henley. I was in the university A four and we lost to the university B four, which we should never have done. I think I've probably learned as many life lessons through sports disappointments. Many years later, I'm still a little bit bitter about it!"

"I had 5,000 pounds, which is all the capital investment Hawk-Eye has ever had. And with that I developed a brochure, and went out to paint the vision gauge the interest."

“Then my bit of luck came, that with the last bit of my 5,000 pounds, I managed to get on test match special. Ironically, Jonathan Agnew's not been the biggest fan of Hawkeye but if it wasn't for him, it probably never would've happened.”

"Credibility takes a long time to build up and a short amount of time to lose.”

"If it wasn’t for Frank Lampard’s goal, maybe football would still be without technology."

"If you had a podcast with five or six people, they'd all have different ideas about the right way to improve VAR. And the reality is, until you actually try some things, you don't know the consequences of doing it. The ideas I've put into onto the table is to make [VAR] a challenge system."

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The Twinning Project

https://www.twinningproject.org/

Sponsor Paul and Josh Hawkins

https://www.justgiving.com/page/scholarshipfreshmen-1712243230533

Pre-order Off-Field Volume #1!

www.off-field.net

(Use code MORPETH2025 for 10% discount)

Buy Unsung: Not All Heroes Wear Kits, by Alexis James

www.unsungbook.com

More from Off-Field

Unsung is an Off-Field production, bringing you the untold and unsung in audio, digital, and

print. To enjoy more of our storytelling head to www.off-field.net

Episode credits

Writing & Narration: Alexis James

Guest: Paul Hawkins

Producer: Matt Cheney

Artwork: Matt Walker

Mentioned in this episode:

Introducing Off Field Volume 1 – A New Anthology from UNSUNG

Before we return to the episode, discover Off Field Volume 1—the first print anthology from the team behind...

This is the Unsung podcast, introducing the sports starts you don’t know, telling the stories you can’t miss.

We’ve got a special episode for you this time around, which was recorded live as part of the 2025 Morpeth Book Festival in March.

It was great to be part of the event, alongside some big-name authors who actually know what they’re doing.

The talk is titled Not All Heroes Wear Kits, and it’s something of a whistlestop tour through a few of the Unsung characters I’ve written about, including one or two that podcast listeners may be familiar with, alongside others who I’m speaking about the first time.

And, like a pound shop Marvel villain, there’s a little bit of backstory that goes into the how and why I got into telling these unsung stories from outside the mainstream.

Many thanks to everyone who came along. Thanks also to Ben Hobson at Morpeth Library for his tech expertise, and to Sarah Jayne Kennedy Robson, Ian Leech, and all the festival organisers for inviting me along.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Off-Field’s debut print anthology that I mention at the end of my talk, head to off-field.net.

We’re taking pre-orders now for release later this Spring. If you want to be among the first to have a copy land on your doorstep, use code MORPETH2025 at checkout to enjoy a 10% discount on all pre-orders.

Alan Bell, Athletics Starter

“The lowest moment was probably the disqualification of Usain Bolt, not because it was him at all, but because having to disqualify an athlete in the final of the World Championships. It could have been any of them, but the fact that it's an athlete who, like all of the people in that final, they might have worked for 10, 12, 15 years just to be there. It's sad that you have toapply the rule. I take no pleasure in any red card to any athlete, whether it's the under 13s in the Tyneside Track League, or whether it be somebody in a World Championship.”

Matthew Scott, Haas F1 Chief Mechanic

“The car had just been converted to component pieces. It was one of the worst things I've ever seen. The batteries are anything from 600 to 800 volts. At the start of the race, they're fully charged. And they're lethal anyway. But the battery had split open. So, it was hanging there, sizzling away. Someone had to take the responsibility of cutting through those battery cables. And so, it was like, well, I suppose I've got to have a go at this. And you're there stood in all this protective gear. You just go down and cut these wires. You don't know what's going to happen.”

James Robson, British Lions Rugby Doctor

“I love seeing Tom, and he's off with Nicole now, and he's having a fantastic life. The only piece of memorabilia I have on the walls in the house, despite being in privileged position over the years, is Tom's jersey that was cut off him. It sits above our television. Because every day, I thank goodness that we were able to affect what we did and that was down to training. That is a reminder to me how fickle life is. If you can be there and you can have that privileged moment of providing the necessary care, you can make such a difference to not only that individual, but their family and friends and what happens for the rest of their lives.”

“Medics worldwide do that every day. We don't do it quite so much in sport, but every now and again, you think, "Wow, I did make a difference.”

Pre-order Off-Field Volume #1!

This is Unsung. Introducing the sports stars you don’t know, telling the stories you can’t miss.

When it comes shamelessly over the top sporting events, the Super Bowl is peerless. A February staple in the American sporting calendar sees a four-hour extravaganza watched by an estimated 200 million people around the world.

In the States, the Super Bowl is a nationwide cultural occasion. The sort of thing that forces electricity boards to steel themselves—a mass event that makes a noticeable mark on the economy. Advertisers must pay $7m for a 30-second ad slot, and—by far my favourite Super Bowl stat—the poultry industry alone sees 1.5 billion wings eaten in one night.

The Super Bowl transcends its sport, with non-football fans drawn to the spectacle. The fireworks, the A-listers, the multi-million-dollar half-time show. You don’t need to know your sack from your safety to enjoy the festivities. In Britain, we save our pomp and ceremony for royal occasions. But over the Atlantic, the glitz and the glamour are to be found in elite sports. Their kings and queens aren’t born in palaces; they’re made on turf.

But these sporting monarchs don’t wear crowns on their heads. In American sports, the treasure is to be found on the fingers of its champions. It’s a tradition that is almost a hundred years old, and it’s one that has created as many off-field capers as on-field legends.

It’s time to unwrap the history, the allure, the craft, and the intrigue behind Super Bowl’s championship rings.

Quotes:

Jason Arasheben, Jason of Beverly Hills

“It's deeply rooted in American education. When people graduate high school, they get a high school ring. When you graduate college, you get a college ring. There's a lot of fraternities and social clubs where they get a membership ring. The ring symbolises something. And it transitioned its way into the world of sports. They wanted something to celebrate their victory, a testament to their accomplishment. And I think that if you go back 50 years, they had rings, but they were very small and understated. Whereas now it's less of a practical piece of jewellery and more of a trophy to celebrate.”

“When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl we had numerous clients on that team, including Tom Brady, who went to the ownership and said they wanted to have something different.”

“The Tampa Bay ring was the first championship ring with a removable element. We needed as much real estate as possible on the ring to tell a better story. That’s why we created a removable top.”

“The LA Rams ring was probably my favourite ring. Not only did the top come off, but we also had a piece of the ball that was used in the Super Bowl. On the inside of the cap, we did a statuette of the stadium. And on the field, the green that's on the field is made up of remnants of the actual turf the players played on. There are so many storylines and easter eggs within that ring that it makes for an amazing storytelling experience when you're showing the ring.”

“Some owners will give one to every single employee, down to the person who's sweeping the floors. Every employee that did anything for the Rams, Mr. Kroenke and his family delivered them a ring. Which was amazing.”

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Buy tickets to see Unsung live at the Morpeth Book Festival. Alexis James: Not All Heroes Wear Kits at Morpeth Library.

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/morpeth/morpeth-library-at-leisure-centre/alexis-james-not-all-heroes-wear-kits/2025-03-22/12:45/t-eadxejp

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