Football commentator John Motson, who became synonymous with English football during his distinguished 50-year career with the BBC, has died aged 77.
Motson retired in 2018 after covering 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships, 29 FA Cup finals and more than 200 England matches.
'Motty', who began working for Match of the Day in 1971 and commentated on more than 2,500 games, was hugely popular with generations of football fans and was famous for his sheepskin coat.
Motson was the son of a Methodist minister, born in Salford, Lancashire. After starting out as a newspaper reporter in Barnet and at the Sheffield Morning Telegraph, he joined the BBC in 1968 as a sports presenter on Radio 2.
Motson's commentary on Ronnie Radford's famous long-range strike which helped non-league Hereford knock top-flight Newcastle out of the FA Cup in 1972 saw him take top billing on Match of the Day - pushing him into the spotlight and the affections of the sporting public.
His enthusiasm and deep knowledge of the game, its players and managers, earned him a place in the hearts of fans for five decades.
Current Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has described Motson as "a quite brilliant commentator and the voice of football in this country for generations".
Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler said he was the standard-bearer for those that followed.
"John was the standard-setter for us all," Tyler said. "We basically all looked up to him - his diligence, his dedication, his knowledge. He was a very serious broadcaster but he was a real fun guy to be around."
Fellow commentator Clive Tyldesley wrote on Twitter: "As a teenager I just wanted to be John Motson. Nobody else."
Fellow broadcaster Jim Rosenthal saluted the "king of the football mic".
The broadcasting contemporaries enjoyed a friendship dating back to the early 1970s as they established themselves as household names in British sports coverage, and Rosenthal has little doubt over Motson's place in that pantheon.
He said: "The reality is there are so many football commentators now that it’s very hard for anyone to grip the nation like Motty did because there were only two shows in town and let’s be honest, the BBC was the main show and Motty had that era.
"I know he and Barry Davies were always played off against each other, but it was possible for commentators to dominate sports. Motty dominated football, Peter O’Sullevan dominated racing, Bill McLaren dominated rugby.
"It was a different era and in that era, Motty was king of the football mic beyond any doubt."
Motson's long career also took in two Olympic Games and Wimbledon's memorable 1988 FA Cup final triumph against Liverpool at Wembley.
Rosenthal, 75, said: "He was iconic, just a wonderful broadcaster. He came out with big lines when it mattered – 'The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club' – and a voice that was instantly recognisable as well. You only needed a couple of words to go, ‘That’s Motty’.
"He had a wonderful career and away from it all, was always generous, a generous human being with his time.
"He’s been a great friend for a large number of years. We played together in our little commentators’ football team – and he was a vastly better commentator than a player, as he would admit.
"It’s a sad day for broadcasting, it’s a sad day for a lot of people on a personal level as well."
Motson hung up his microphone for the BBC at the end of the 2017-18 Premier League season and after his final game - Crystal Palace v West Brom - he was invited on to the pitch.
Palace boss Roy Hodgson made a special presentation and Motson was warmly applauded by fans.
