Sports Broadcaster Tony Gubba dies aged 69
Sports commentator and presenter Tony Gubba has died aged 69 after a short illness.
Gubba joined BBC Sport in 1972.
He worked on Sportsnight, Match of the Day and Grandstand. Most recently he worked as a commentator on ITV series Dancing On Ice following its launch in 2006. He was absent from the latter part of this years series with Simon Reed taking over.
He was known as being as sports all-rounder who commentated on hockey, table-tennis, golf, tennis, bobsleigh, ski-jumping, darts and ice-skating for the BBC. Gubba also covered every Olympic Games, both summer and winter, from 1972 to 2012, as well as every World Cup from 1974 to 2006.
Fellow commentator John Motson led the tributes to Tony Gubba: “Tony was a great friend and colleague for over 40 years and I shall miss him greatly,” he said. “He was one of the original probing reporters – never afraid to ask a difficult question.”
Gubba leaves his partner of 15 years, Jenny, his two daughters, Claire, 40, and Libby, 38, and three granddaughters.
The BBC’s head of TV sport Philip Bernie said. “Tony was an outstanding sports journalist and a formidable broadcaster, whose death will sadden everyone at BBC Sport. He worked on a huge range of sports during his time at the BBC, always displaying his trademark tenacious, single minded approach.”
