A former sports journalist who spent 47 years with his hometown daily has died aged 72.

Tributes have been paid to Mally Richardson, pictured left, who worked for the Hull Daily Mail between 1958 and his retirement in 2005.

Mally went from supporter to reporter on his favourite football team, Hull City, when he joined the Mail.

Over time, Mally took on responsibility for the paper’s sporting publication, the Saturday Green Mail and became know as ‘Mr Greenmail’ to colleagues.

When he first joined the paper, Mally would report on the club’s junior teams every Saturday lunchtime, before jumping on his bicycle to watch the senior side play at their former Boothferry Park home.

In a tribute piece in Saturday’s Mail, current sports editor James Smailes wrote: “From fan to reporter, Mally soon became an integral part of the sports desk, developing an unrivalled and almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the local sports scene.

“If you wanted to know about the local darts league, who were the form batsmen in the Hull cricket league or which were the rising names in athletics, Mally was your man.

“For the generations who grew up reading the Saturday Green Mail, Mally was the man responsible for not just pulling it all together, but for ensuring those tight Saturday teatime deadlines were met.”

Mail news reporter Angus Young added: “I had the pleasure of working alongside Mally for 21 years. A true gentleman, he was a first-class sports journalist with a list of contacts as long as your arm.

“He had an outstanding knowledge of local sport and a particular passion for Hull City, which was only matched by his love of Elvis Presley.”

After his retirement, Mally continued to write for the Mail’s sports pages with his regular Mally’s Memories column, drawn from the paper’s sporting archives.

Having battled illness in recent weeks, Mally passed away at Hull Royal Infirmary in the early hours of Friday, leaving behind two children, Helen and Mark, and granddaughter Chloe.

Mally’s funeral will be held int he large chapel at Chanterlands Avenue Crematorium, Hull, at 10.30am on Friday.