Jimmy Hill: Football Legend Dies Aged 87

Footballing legend Jimmy Hill has died at the age of 87 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The former BBC Match of the Day presenter, who was one of the most influential figures in the modern game, is to be cremated at a private ceremony.

:: How Jimmy Hill Transformed Football

His agent Jane Morgan said: "It is with great sadness that Bryony Hill and the children of Jimmy Hill have announced that Jimmy passed away peacefully today aged 87 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Bryony was beside him."

A service for his friends and colleagues will be held in the new year, she added.

Tributes have been paid to the TV pundit, who first made his name playing for Fulham in the 1950s and was Coventry manager in the 1960s.

Gary Lineker, who followed in his footsteps to become a presenter on Match of the Day, wrote on Twitter: "Deeply saddened to hear that Jimmy Hill has left us.

"A football man through and through who gave the game so much in so many ways #RIPJimmy."

Pundit and former England striker Alan Shearer said: "Very sad news about Jimmy Hill. Footballers and football have so much to thank him for. A man who loved the game."

Former England goalkeeper David James described him as "a legend".

Hill, who had also been chairman at Coventry, Charlton and Fulham, transformed the modern game.

There is also a statue of him at Coventry's Ricoh Arena stadium.

:: As chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, he led a successful campaign to scrap a £20-a-week maximum wage for players and also fought for the right for clubs to wear sponsors' logos on their shirts.

:: In a bid to liven up the game he led calls for the three points for a win system - instead of two - to be introduced which he achieved in 1981.

:: As manager at Coventry City he is credited with revamping the club, dubbed the Sky Blue Revolution, where his ideas were adopted by other sides.

:: Hill commissioned the first English all-seater stadium during his time at Coventry.

:: In his role as presenter he introduced the panel of pundits format, which was quickly embraced in football coverage around the world.

Hill also made more than 600 appearances on Match of the Day as both a presenter and pundit.

After more than three decades at the BBC he joined joined Sky Sports in 1999 to front programmes including Jimmy Hill's Sunday Supplement.

Hill received an OBE in 1984, and a CBE in 1995 at Buckingham Palace.