John Motson, a legendary commentator who was 77 years old, passed away unexpectedly after a distinguished career in broadcasting.
The well-known broadcaster was born in Salford, Lancashire, and began his career with the BBC in 1968, when he was employed as a sports presenter for Radio 2. He remained with the BBC for the entirety of his 50-year career.
Because of his work in the industry, he was awarded an OBE in the year 2001 for his contributions to sports broadcasting.
It is with great grief that we report that John Motson OBE passed away peacefully in his sleep today (Thursday),” his family said in a statement.
The following was stated in a statement released by the BBC to confirm his passing: “Before to his retirement from BBC Sport in 2018, Motson had covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships, and 29 FA Cup finals during his time with the organization.
“He had worked on Match of the Day since 1971 and commented on approximately 2,500 broadcast games,” “Motty” was his nickname, and he was widely known in the football community.
Motson, who later became famous for his sheepskin coat, began his career as a journalist at the Barnet Press and the Sheffield Morning Telegraph. He is most known for his coat. While he was working in Sheffield, he had the opportunity to perform duties behind the microphone for the first time.
Motson remembered, “One night when I was sitting on the sports desk at the newspaper, I watched a senior sub-editor screwing up his face as he read my stuff.”
When a period of time had passed, he stated, “John, based on the evidence of this copy, I really think you should attempt the world of the voice rather than the world of the written word.”
He moved to the BBC, and his big break came in 1972 when Hereford United produced a miraculous FA Cup upset against Newcastle in a third round replay that was bumped up to the prime slot on Match of the Day.
Before he retired in 2018, Motson said, “I don’t think I would be here talking to you now if Ronnie hadn’t scored that goal and Hereford hadn’t beaten Newcastle.” Motson had made these comments previous to his retirement.
“That completely altered the course of my life. At the time, I was in the process of being evaluated by the BBC; I did not have a contract at that point. I had been working in radio, and they took me on as somewhat of a trial run for a year, if you are interested in finding out how well I did.”
In 1977, he was a late replacement for David Coleman and was put in command of an FA Cup final for the first time. Soon after, he became the voice of every major final on the BBC, including the World Cup, and he remained in that role until 2008.
During that time, he presided over a record six finals of the World Cup, the most recent of which was the event held in Germany in 2006, in addition to 29 finals of the FA Cup and two Olympic Games.
Motson’s comment that “the Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club” in reference to Wimbledon’s victory over Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final was made as he was working the microphone during Wimbledon’s stunning victory against Liverpool.
Tragically, he was also in the gantry for the horrific events that occurred at Hillsborough the following year during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. He would later go on to give evidence at the inquest regarding the events that transpired.
His last match in the gantry for Match of the Day was Crystal Palace’s match against West Bromwich Albion, after which he was invited onto the pitch and given a huge applause by the fans of both teams. He announced that he would be retiring from the BBC at the end of the 2017-18 season. His last match was also his final one working for the BBC.