James Alexander Gordon, who was most popular for reading the classified football results on BBC radio for 40 years before stepping down in 2013, has passed away at the age of 78.
Gordon, one of the most recognizable voices in British broadcasting, retired from his radio career following throat surgery after he was diagnosed with cancer.
On the Scottish radio broadcaster's death, Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker tweeted that a voice they all know, the voice of the football results, James Alexander Gordon has died, The BBC reported.
Nicknamed 'Jag' because of his initials, Gordon attracted an army of followers with his distinctive Scottish accent and unique style, which involved altering his tone of voice to indicate whether a result was a home or away win, or a draw.
Richard Burgess, head of BBC Radio Sport, said that Gordon was an iconic radio voice, who turned the classified football results on BBC radio into a national institution, adding that he was also a true gentleman, who was loved and admired by his colleagues.
Burgess also said that Gordon took enormous pride in his work and was greatly touched by all the tributes he received upon his retirement last year.
Former England captain Jimmy Armfield, a BBC Radio 5 live colleague of Gordon, was among the many football personalities to pay tribute. He said that Five Live and the football results have lost a friend.
Mark Pougatch, as a presenter of Radio 5 live's Saturday tea-time show Sports Report, introduced Gordon on many occasions, and tweeted that it was a honour to say the Gordon's name on so many Saturdays Jag. He added 'Tonight it's Heaven 1 Earth 0' to his tweet.
Former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland defender Mark Lawrenson, now a BBC analyst and BBC Radio 5 Live's senior football reporter Ian Dennis also paid tribute to Gordon.
Gordon's legion of followers included comedian Eric Morecambe, on whose early-career radio show Gordon had been an announcer. In a 2012 interview, Gordon had said that Morecambe always greeted him with a famous tongue-twister scoreline involving Scottish sides East Fife and Forfar, one that never happened, yet became closely associated with the BBC's voice of the classified football results.
When Morecambe died in 1984, Gordon received a tribute from the comedian's wife Joan.
Gordon, born in Edinburgh in 1936, contracted polio when he was six months old and spent much of his childhood in hospital. He worked in the music business before moving into radio, promoting artists such as Bert Kaempfert and James Last.
He joined the BBC in 1972, reading the news and presenting various programmes on Radio 2, even Newsbeat on Radio 1, before he began reading the classified football results in 1973.
Gordon, who lived in Berkshire, was married to Julia, with a son, David, and two grandchildren, Molly and Martha, the report added.
