VETERAN sports writer and broadcaster Bob Crampsey was today remembered at his funeral service as a "multi-gifted" man.

Bishop John Mone, a lifelong friend, said: "Bob has been remembered as a teacher, a broadcaster, a writer, a historian, an after-dinner speaker - you name it."

The bishop told mourners he had known Bob for more than 70 years.

Bob died last weekend, aged 78, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

The Glasgow man famous for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the game worked on TV and radio and built up a loyal following with his popular Now You Know column in the Evening Times.

Around 400-500 mourners attended today's thanksgiving mass at Holy Cross Church in Crosshill - not far from the shadow of Hampden, where Bob grew up.

From football, the mourners included SFA supremo Gordon Smith, Scotland under-21 manager Billy Stark and Queen's Park president Jim Hastie - Bob was a lifelong friend of Queen's Park.

Arthur Montford, whom Bob first teamed up with shortly after joining Scottish Television in 1957, was also there.

Among the friends and colleagues attending were author Willie McIlvanney, Chick Young, Paul Cooney and Lord Macfarlane.

Bishop Mone told how he had married Bob and his wife Ronnie in Holy Cross Church 50 years ago.

He added: "At a time like this, each of us has an individual memory of Bob which is special, precious and unforgettable."

He said he and Bob had sat in the same class through primary and secondary school and had together sat their final leaving certificates in fifth year at nearby Holyrood School.

"I remember how we played football in the street with the proverbial tanner ball and how we gathered shrapnel from air raids on the South Side from the previous night," he added.

"I want to speak of my special memory of Bob, not as someone with a photographic memory, which he had, or as an original thinker, of which he was, but as a loyal friend who stood the test of time."

He raised smiles as he recalled Bob's idiosyncratic approach towards DIY.

"The family knew that, for all his talents, he could not change a lightbulb, so when asked he would say, as was his policy, do it yourself'."

After the service family and friends made their way to Linn Crematorium, the hearse flanked by four police motorcyclists.