Gordon Lawton, programme editor, club commentator and media manager and secretary has died at the age of 63. Big Gord had been at Oldham Athletic since 1986 and former manager Joe Royle and former CEO Alan Hardy have led the heartfelt tributes.
Royle said, “It's terrible news - a real shame. Gordon was part of the Latics legend at the time. He was a great character and we had some fun with the lads on away trips. Gordon had a tremendous sense of humour, with a deadpan face. He was a wind-up merchant. He was once said that he was a young goalkeeper for Rochdale, but no-one could see the net. He played the part as well. My heart goes out to his wife Lorraine.”
Hardy recalled, “It was in 1986 when I took on Gordon to help launch the lottery. He did some fantastic work on that. He was always very willing. A unique character, he was a lovely person with a heart of gold. Having worked with someone for 26 years, it makes for wonderful memories. I remember in the shop one Christmas. It was a busy time, there were late nights, and everyone was serving behind the counter. We decided to have a competition between ourselves to see who could sell the most mugs. Fans were coming in to buy shirts and scarves and we'd say to them 'what about a mug to go with it?' It was good fun and times such as those will never leave me. We kept in touch after I left in 2012. When he got the job as football secretary, he said can I call you for advice and I replied any time. I popped in during January when players were signing contracts in the transfer window, just to help him in some way. Gordon will be sadly missed.”