John Motson: BBC legend to be celebrated with evening of TV shows

Legendary football commentator John Motson is to be celebrated with a special night of BBC shows on 19 May.

BBC Two will dedicate an evening of shows to the 72-year-old - popularly known as 'Motty' - who is retiring after 50 years with the corporation.

Motson's final Match of the Day commentary is Crystal Palace v West Brom on Sunday, 13 May, the last day of the Premier League season.

His first radio commentary was Everton v Derby in December 1969.

A special episode of Mastermind hosted by Motson will be broadcast at 20:30 BST, followed by a one-off documentary, Motty: The Man Behind The Sheepskin, and then a programme celebrating his best commentating moments.

On the BBC Sport website there will be a range of Motson content, including a column in his own words on his career highlights and anecdotes from his time covering 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships, 29 FA Cup finals and more than 200 England games.

There will also be a quiz, classic clips and a full video and live text re-run of the 2006 FA Cup final, won by Liverpool on penalties against West Ham and which featured his commentary.

"I'm truly humbled that the BBC is dedicating such a special evening to me," said Motson.

"I've been very lucky to have witnessed some incredibly special moments in football and I look forward to sitting down with my family, and many football fans in the country, to look back on the past 50 years."