A regular at St. James' Park over five decades, Bob brought much cheer to the United press box, with his match reporting being second to none.

Former United captain Bob Moncur was close to Bob and said: "He was always the joker in the pack, but above all a lovely man and superb journalist. He'd praise you when it was deserved but his critical analysis was always sound and well delivered.

"One of the best memories I have of him was back in 1969 when we won the Fairs Cup in Budapest. Bob was late getting to the ground and couldn't get into the press seats so Joe Harvey just said to him, 'come on Bob, just sit on the end of our bench next to us, no-one will know'. And that was about as close to the action as you could get.

"Bob was great company and will be sadly missed by us all."

And John Gibson, a former colleague of Bob's with the Newcastle Chronicle and Sunday Sun said: "It's a very sad day for all us journalists. Bob was such a wonderful character but it was his way with words that stood him apart from the rest of us.

"We used to travel to all the United away games in the 1970s and his company was outstanding - he was one of the warmest people I knew, full of enthusiasm, such fun too, and that never waned with age.

"He was an old-fashioned journalist in the nicest possible sense but the contacts he had were incredible and he enjoyed the respect of every major figure in the game.

"Bob epitomised everything that was good about his profession. The light goes out when we lose someone of Bob's standing."

Newcastle United extends their sorrow and condolences to the Cass family.