In all the obituaries of the great Jimmy Hill, one detail in particular stood out.
In addition to being a former professional footballer with Fulham, a trade union leader who abolished the maximum wage, a manager who lifted Coventry City from the Third Division to the First Division in five years, a presenter and pundit on Match of the Day, the man credited with switching to three points for a win, Scotland's pantomime villain in chief... Jimmy Hill was also a qualified referee.
During a top of the table clash between Arsenal and Liverpool in Highbury in late 1972, the linesman Dennis Drewitt pulled a muscle and had to leave the field.
It looked likely that the game would have to be abandoned. A call went out from the tannoy asking could anyone step in.
Jimmy Hill was seated in the crowd. It transpired that he was a qualified referee as well. Few had known until that time. As the Guardian noted, it was somehow not surprising in the slightest.
On top of all that, Coventry City, a club whom Hill transformed from a lowly Third Division club into a top flight team, have released a lovely tribute video to Hill.
