Former Messenger editor pays tribute to Tony Gubba (From Messenger Newspapers)

Former Sale and Altrincham Messenger editor pays tribute to Tony Gubba

6:00am Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

A FORMER Messenger editor has paid tribute to TV sports presenter Tony Gubba, who has died aged 69 following a short illness.

South Manchester-born Mr Gubba began his career in journalism on the Sale and Stretford Guardian in the 1960s.

He later worked for the Daily MIrror before beginning his TV career in the late 1960s with with Southern TV, based in Southampton.

He returned to Manchester as a general news reporter with the BBC regional news magazine Look North and later moved into sport.

He worked on Sportsnight, Match of the Day and Grandstand. He also worked as a commentator on ITV series Dancing On Ice following its launch in 2006.

Former Messenger editor David Massey, who worked at the Altrincham Guardian when Mr Gubba worked in Sale, said: “He was determined from a very young age to 'make it' in television and his journalistic and 'people' skills made him one of the best all-round presenters of his age.”

Mr Massey was editor of Messenger for a decade until 1986.

Mr Gubba commentated on hockey, table-tennis, golf, tennis, bobsleigh, ski-jumping, darts and ice-skating for the BBC. He also covered every Olympic Games, both summer and winter, from 1972 to 2012, as well as every World Cup from 1974 to 2006.