He was the voice of State of Origin when it first began and will forever be synonymous with the inaugural game with his distinctive voice.
However before Billy J Smith became a Hall of Fame media personality he came of age in Mount Isa and, quite literally, was at the top of the pole.
In 1967 the Mount Isa Basketball Association announced a monster fundraising carnival with the main highlight a pole-sit. The pole had a platform on top and Billy and two Basketball representatives in Bruno Cullen and John Shepherd volunteered to stay on the platform from 6:00am Thursday to 1:00pm Saturday.
Billy conducted his breakfast show for 4LM from up there Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Thursday night feature women’s games and Friday night the men as well as a gala dance.
Mike Toshack from the North West Star also stayed with phone lines ran up the tower for people to ring in and donate. The aim of the Basketball Association was to raise $2,000 for the Crippled Children’s and Sub-Normal Children’s Associations.
On the Friday evening 20 men began playing and continued until 1pm on the Saturday. His parents came to Mount Isa to celebrate his 21st and then he went back to the big smoke.
Billy grew up in Brisbane but in those days you had to earn your stripes which, for any radio announcer meant heading bush.
His first radio gig was in Longreach for 4LG where his name became an issue. The station manager was reluctant in having an announcer called Bill Smith so the on-air moniker of Billy J Smith was adopted.
I came in handy on his wedding night because he had plenty of trouble trying to find a room for himself and his newlywed wife. In those days Motel Managers were hesitant to rent a room to a guy called "Bill Smith" and his "new wife.”
Billy then worked at 4LM in Mount Isa in 1966 before returning to Brisbane to work at 4IP. The station began in 1935, based in Ipswich and in the mid 60s they went after the younger audience and Billy was at the forefront.
He helped shape the evolution of 4IPto become the cool station oldies hated from his joining into the early 70’s. His profile grew as, alongside Geoff Mullins, John Knox and David Greenwood he became one of the "The Good Guys”.
It was a promotional gimmick and the station was affectionally known by listeners as ‘colour radio 4IP. It became the most successful hit music station in Brisbane and was aligned with its Melbourne and Sydney cousins in 3XY and 2SM.
In the early 70s 4IP relocated from Ipswich to the corner of Adelaide and Wharf Streets in Brisbane’s CBD and then in a touch of déjà vu, to the Mount Isa Mines Building.
His values as a broadcaster emphasized consistency, clarity, and an instinct for audience connection. They were the qualities that became defining features of his later television hosting and sportscasting.
Just after Billy left the station Alan McGirvan took over hosting the breakfast show and the station launched a new slogan - "Share Queensland with a Friend." The launch included chartering a QANTAS Jumbo Jet to fly 500 Queenslanders around the state for a day, calling it the "Ultimate Sickie."
It was a wild party plane that took off with enough alcohol on board to travel from Sydney to London. By the time the plane landed in Mount Isa it had been drunk dry.
The Self-proclaimed ‘teenage idol’
Photo courtesy State Library
In 1982 the station was bought by Southern interests and became known as Radio 10. With the introduction of "Stereo Technology" in 1985, Radio 10, then became known as "STEREO 10".
Billy returned to the station and was part of a morning crew that included Hey Hey its Saturday’s Jacki MacDonald. She spent nine years on the show and was frequently made the butt of jokes and when she came on the tune "Folks Are Dumb Where I Come From" would often be played (a reference to MacDonald coming from Queensland).
MacDonald was from Blackall and obviously played the role to perfection but proved to be smarter then the lot of them. In 1995 she bought her Sunshine Beach retreat for $535,000 and in 2022 sold it for $18.75.
She was also one of four co-founders of the popular Eat Street Northshore night market/food venue on the banks of the Brisbane River.
Jackie McDonald with fellow Hey Hey Its Saturday stars Red Symons, Daryl Somers and Wilbur Wilde
It was while at 4IP Billy began dabbling in football commentary, something that would become his passion and what he is remembered for by many Queenslanders.
He moved to radio station 4BK and one of the famous promotions for him was dartboards with Billy's face on them. At the time 4IP were the only radio station with the rights to have a booth at Lang Park.
So Billy would call games from scaffolding, roof tops and a cherry picker on the other side of the boundary fence, in violation of the exclusive rights deal struck between Queensland Rugby League and 4IP.
The “pirate’ radio calls of the local Brisbane Rugby League games ended when the station was granted a booth inside the grounds.
QRL Chairman Ron McAuliffe was not impressed and the friction resurfaced during preliminary discussions about a potential State of Origin series.
Billy first appeared on television for TVQ – 0 in the stations early days after being granted a licence in 1964. He hosted a game show called The Numbers Game a variant on the gameshow "Concentration".
His first foray into hosting a sporting television show was in 1973 when he hosted Sportscene on BTQ for five years.
In the late 1970s, he stepped away from on-air roles and worked for International Sports Management, owned by Barry Maranta, where he contributed to rugby league development initiatives.
He returned to worked as a sports presenter for TVQ’s Eyewitness News, becoming not just the first face of TVQ's sport, but the first ever sports presenter for the station.
Billy in his television days.
In those days the only game of Brisbane Rugby League that was televised was the Match of the Round played at Lang Park each Sunday. If you wanted to watch the game on TV, you had to wait for ABC’s edited 55-minute broadcast at 6pm or the full game on TVQ.
Each station had their own cameras covering the action and Billy became the chief caller for TVQ – O alongside former international prop and Queensland Member of Parliament Mick Vievers.
A feared front rower he was the perfect foil for the quick-witted Billy who tagged the laconic Vievers ‘the Farmer.”
"We were calling a match one day at Lang Park and I said something outlandish … and he said, 'Mick, that's just like a farmer' and from then on, I was 'The Farmer'."
Billy’s energetic style quickly became associated with rugby league at Lang Park. In 1980 it was he and Vievers who described history when they called that very first State of Origin rugby league clash.
In 1984 Billy called various sports for Channel Ten's L.A. Olympics coverage before returning to wrap up the BRL season. It was his final season calling Brisbane's local league due to a major opportunity.
Billy hosted the television show It's A Knockout with Fiona McDonald (Jackie’s younger sister) and it became a rating’s success. He made the sportsfield at Dural in north west Sydney the show was filmed at sound like it was Lang Park and over 100 episodes he became a household name across the country.
An It's A Knockout board game was even released, with Billy and Fiona's faces on the front. Though the show was popular across the country it came to a sudden and unexpected end in 1987 thanks to noise issues from surrounding residents.
Fiona McDonald and Billy J
When the show was revived in 2011 it offered "The Billy J. Smith Cup" as its grand prize.
It was the 1988 Olympic year that again reinvigorated his career when he returned to the sports desk for the popular TVQ newshour. He again commentated on the Olympics from Seoul and was there for the birth of old mate Barry Maranta’s Brisbane Broncos.
He teamed with David Fordham to call TVQ's Saturday night games with both the Broncos, and the Giants/Seagulls: as well as a Queensland specific call for the 1990 State of Origin series.
Ten’s financial troubles saw them lose the rights to the NSWRL in 1991 and they were picked up by Channel Nine. They asked Billy to come across and his role was calling Broncos game, covering the era of the club’s move from Lang Park to QEII at Nathan and the first two Broncos premierships.
In 1994 his role expanded and have him the chance to fulfil a dream of hosting a variety show; albeit in the form of the Queensland variant of the Footy Show. Unlike the Sydney version of the show the Brisbane Footy Show wasn't afraid to talk about the "other code": AFL, and other sports.
The first show was proof when it was held days after Queensland first ever Sheffield Shield win. The show also went to great effort to promote women as part of the program and Sam Newmans weekly appearance became a highlight.
With staff at STEREO 10 and Rick Astley
Billy was eventually phased out of hosting in favour of Chris Bombalas, before the program was axed, at the height of the Super League war.
Approaching his fifties the, self-appointed, “Teenage Idol" made a strategic move to ease into becoming one of Brisbane's most requested MC's. It was not a major shift as he had a reputation for his MCing Brisbane Rugby League Award nights and other events.
As well as calling many of the Broncos early games he also hosted the club’s major functions. He was also well-known in racing circles where for over 40 years he was a prominent emcee for a variety of Calcuttas and on-track functions.
“While he was synonymous with rugby league, his legacy extends well beyond Lang Park and he was a prominent – and much loved - racing identity.” Reflected Racing Queensland Chief Executive Officer Brendan Parnell.
“While he had an acid tongue and you never wanted to be on the end of his focus with a microphone in hand, he was generous, funny, irreverent and a good man to boot. Queensland has lost one of its great entertainers.”
It was that acid tongue and quick wit that gained him a new nickname of "The Corporate Assassin." and nobody was safe from his barbs; even the Emperor of Lang Park.
Wally Lewis had his first big media gig at TVQ with Billy and shared a close bond. It didn’t stop Billy saying at a function Lewis attended, “Jacqui (Wally’s wife) said Wally spent half an hour combing and blow drying his hair and then left it at home.”
Upon his death Lewis called Smith the "ultimate entertainer of his time".
“He used to make even a boring game sound pretty good to watch” Wally said of Billy
"He used to make even a boring game sound pretty good to watch".
It was actually Wally that caused a great deal of consternation for Billy in 1982. With the addition of the Morris brothers Des and Rod Wynnum Manly stopped being the doormat of the Brisbane competition to make the semi finals.
Billy declared that Wynnum Manly couldn't make the 1982 grand final let alone win it and if they did he would walk the streets of Wynnum naked. The team standing between Wynnum and the Grand Final was the Wally Lewis led Valleys.
The Wynnum side had thrashed Redcliffe 35-0 in the minor semi the week before and pumped Wally’s side 26-5. The bayside based team won the Grand Final 17-3 against the Bob McCarthy coached Souths side.
Billy kept his promise – do a degree. Sparing the sight of a naked football commentator he rode on the back of a quad bike wearing a Wynnum jersey thru the streets of Wynnum before a pretty big crowd of Wynnum faithful.
In return he was greeted with a number of eggs thrown at him as well as some colourful words.
His fellow Radio 4BC announcer Mark Braybrook said Smith's positive mood was infectious and always brought a smile to his face.
"Like everywhere he went, work included, he would always light up the room and was an absolute pleasure to work with," he said. "He was always life of party and made things enjoyable no matter where he went."
Modern media star Daryl Brohman began his career for Brisbane Norths when Billy was at his best. Upon hearing of his passing he posted a heartfelt message.
“Just read that Billy J Smith has passed away. What a talent he was! He was one of the great M/Cs as well as a great footy caller.”
His final MCing gig was at Brisbane’s culinary icon, Gambaro's Seafood Restaurant, for their annual Mud Crab Cup. Four days later the voice that launched State of Origin football was walking down the street made famous by the same phenom when he slipped.
He suffered a bleed of the brain after falling on Caxton Street and died in hospital aged 73.
