Few voices in sport were as distinctive as that of Brian Moore who died on 1 September, 2001, aged 69.

In a broadcasting career that spanned almost four decades, Mr Moore covered all of football’s biggest occasions including FA, European and World Cup finals.

During what some people would call the golden age of English football in the 1970s, he presented ITV’s flagship football programme, “The Big Match,” which regularly drew large Sunday afternoon audiences.

But it was as a football commentator – knowledgeable, professional and passionate – that Brian Moore will be best remembered.

Brian Moore was born on 28 February, 1932, in Gillingham , Kent . He was educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent before he left to pursue a career that combined both of his passions – journalism and sport.

After national service in the RAF, Mr Moore began his journalistic career as a sub editor at ITV’s “World of Sport” before moving into print journalism with the Exchange Telegraph and later, The Times.

He joined the BBC in 1961 as a radio presenter and commentated on England ’s triumph in the 1966 World Cup Final. He also covered the FA Cup Final from 1964 to 1967 and the European Cup Winners Cup victories of Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.

In 1968, he moved to the fledgling London Weekend Television which was about to start broadcasting on the ITV network. ITV’s first foray into league football coverage, “The Big Match”, had him behind the desk and proved an immediate success.

But it was ITV’s coverage of the 1970 World Cup that brought in the viewers and effectively changed the face of football broadcasting. Mr Moore presented the late night shows and presided over a panel of experts in a format which soon became the norm for football coverage.

Although he continued to work as a commentator, he also presented the Saturday lunchtime football magazine, “On the Ball,” and “Midweek Sports Special.”

He covered the FA Cup Final on ITV every year from 1969 to 1988 as well as the European triumphs of Arsenal, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest , Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and Aberdeen .

He was the studio anchor for ITV’s coverage of the World Cup Finals from 1970 to 1990 before returning to the microphone for the tournaments up to 1998. He retired as a commentator after the 1998 World Cup Final between France and Brazil .

He continued to work as a sports broadcaster presenting shows on Sky Sports, Radio Five Live and Talk Sport. He was also a director of Gillingham , a club he had supported since boyhood.

Considering the volume of football that he commentated upon Mr Moore ’s gaffes were few and far between. One of the most notable came when he mistakenly told viewers Hamburg had won the European Cup in 1980 when it had actually been Nottingham Forest who lifted the trophy.

Mr Moore was a kind and modest man with many friends in football. He was also a fan of other sports, being particularly fanatical about cricket. He married Betty Cole in 1955 and they remained together until his death in 2001. They had two sons.

After Brian Moore’s death, his fellow broadcaster Bob Wilson said: “I think that if I had to give a tribute to Brian as a commentator it would be that I don't think there is anyone in the world of football, and football is a big world, who had a bad word to say about him.”