John Motson, the soccer commentator whose animated voice was inseparable from most of the sport’s largest moments over his 50 years on the BBC, died on Thursday. He was 77.

The BBC confirmed his dying, citing a press release from his household. The household didn’t specify a trigger however mentioned he “died peacefully in his sleep.”

The community turned to Mr. Motson, who retired in 2018, for its prime matches, together with 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and 29 F.A. Cup finals. He additionally provided evaluation on “Match of the Day,” the BBC’s weekly highlights present.

“John Motson was the voice of a footballing era,” the BBC director-general, Tim Davie, mentioned in a press release, including that “like all of the greats behind the mic, John had the best phrases, on the proper time, for all the massive moments.”

Mr. Motson, usually identified by his nickname, “Motty,” was born on July 10, 1945, in Salford, England. He dreamed of turning into a print reporter, beginning his profession when he left faculty at 16 on the weekly Barnet Press and the day by day Sheffield Morning Telegraph, in accordance with a 2008 profile in The Impartial.

He was chosen to take part in an area radio station’s experiment that relied on print reporters. An editor, after listening to his work on the radio, informed him: “John, on the proof of this copy, I actually suppose you need to attempt the world of the voice,” he informed The Impartial.

He thrived on native radio, and joined the BBC in 1968 earlier than beginning on “Match of the Day” in 1971. He went on to turn out to be the station’s main voice, calling almost 2,500 video games in his profession, together with greater than 200 involving England’s nationwide workforce.

He was additionally in Hillsborough Stadium in 1989 when 96 followers of Liverpool’s workforce have been fatally crushed and trampled and 700 extra have been injured, a tragedy that has remained within the information many years later.

For a lot of soccer followers in Britain, the information of his dying impressed remembrances of their favourite calls, a lot of which have been hooked up to beloved video games as they grew to like the game. Gary Lineker, the present host for “Match of the Day,” was amongst these paying tribute, saying on Twitter that Mr. Motson was a “fairly sensible commentator and the voice of soccer on this nation for generations.”

Mr. Motson is survived by his spouse, Anne, and son, Frederick, in accordance with the BBC.