‘Such a nice fella’ – Tribute paid in Boston to Pilgrims fan John Motson

John Motson, pictured in 1987, as the guest of honour at the Probus Club of Boston.

While Motty, as he was affectionately known, was born in Salford, in Greater Manchester, he had strong ties to Boston.

His father and mother both came from the area and he was even baptised at the town’s Centenary Methodist Church, in Red Lion Street.

As a child, he would visit family in Swineshead and go to see Boston United in action.

John Motson at St Botolph's Church, in Boston, in 2008, with the then Mayor of Boston Coun Peter Bedford.

Speaking to The Standard at an annual dinner event at the Stump in 2008, he said he believed watching the Pilgrims with his uncles may have been his first football experience.

He would go on to cover 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and 29 FA Cup finals for BBC Sport before retiring in 2018.

“The greatest match to go to was in Midland League,” he said in 2008. “The derby was Boston and Peterborough and it was always on Boxing Day. It used to have crowds of 10,000 to 12,000.”

Motty told the paper that he had kept a connection with Boston United over the years through the club’s secretary general manager (and, today, its president), John Blackwell.

Speaking to The Standard this week, Mr Blackwell said: “He used to say to me his two favourite teams were Boston United and Barnet.”

Mr Blackwell spoke of Motty as a friend, saying they would meet up if Boston United were playing away near where Motty lived or if Motty was visiting family in or around Boston. This friendship stretched back decades to when Motty introduced himself to the club due to his local connections.

One special memory Mr Blackwell has of Motty comes from the early ‘90s when his oldest daughter, Lisa, was being treated for a heart defect at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London. On learning she was in hospital, so far away from home, Motty not only paid her a visit, but brought with him a card signed by England internationals Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne. Today, aged 44, she still has the card, Mr Blackwell said.

He described Motty as ‘tremendous’, personally and professional – as ‘such a nice fella’ and ‘very, very friendly’, but also as a first-class broadcaster.

“His preparation was unbelievable,” he said.