Legendary BBC football commentator John Motson dies at 77

John Motson, the legendary BBC football commentator, has died aged 77.

Motson covered 10 World Cups, 29 FA Cup finals, 10 European Championships and over 200 England games during a 50 year career with the broadcaster.

A Methodist minister’s son, he began his career at Barnet Press and Sheffield Morning Telegraph.

In 1968, he joined the BBC full-time after working for BBC Radio Sheffield as a freelancer. He joined the corporation’s flagship football highlights show Match Of The Day in 1971, and made his first major breakthrough during the 1972 FA Cup replay between Hereford and Newcastle.

Originally billed as a five-minute segment, Hereford’s shock 2-1 win – thanks to Ronnie Radford’s famous 30-yard strike – saw the match promoted to the main game with John providing an extraordinary commentary that put him firmly on the map.

From 1979 to 2008 he was the Beeb’s voice on major cup finals such as the FA Cup, European Championships and World Cup. That run included his record-breaking sixth World Cup final in Berlin in 2006 and his 29th FA Cup final in 2008; an achievement not matched by any other commentator.

His final TV commentary was a match between Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion and was broadcast on Match of the Day on 13 May 2018.

Motson became an OBE in 2001 for services to sports broadcasting. That year he also topped a poll on the BBC Sport website to be crowned Britain’s most beloved commentator.