John Motson dead at 77 as legendary commentator remembered after four decades on the mic

Legendary commentator John Motson has died aged 77.

Affectionately known to all within football as “Motty,” the broadcaster became the voice of English football, synonymous with the big games domestically and abroad when covering England at World Cups. He began his career at the BBC in 1971, but was a football writer before getting behind the mic, working in Barnet before joining the Sheffield Morning Telegraph. He regarded his breakthrough moment as his commentary on Ronnie Radford’s famous goal that saw hereford knock Newcastle United out of the FA Cup in 1972.

Motson would go on to commentate on more than 2000 matches across as 40-year career, including 10 world Cups and 10 European Championships. He announced his retirement from calling live matches in 2008, but continued to work on the iconic Match of the Day, voicing highlights packages of the English Premier League games on the Saturday night flagship football show.

In 2018, he confirmed he was coming out of retirement to resume his commentary duties on talkSport. On 19 May 2018, BBC Two celebrated Motson's career with an evening featuring three special programmes – Motty Mastermind – The Man Behind the Sheepskin and Countdown to the Full Motty.

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