COVENTRY City Football Club sadly mourn the passing of former club promotions and commercial manager Arthur Pepper earlier this month.

The married father-of-one passed away on Thursday, August 5, aged 80.

A hugely charismatic figure at the football club for more than 25 years, Arthur started his Sky Blues career in 1963, just before the start of the club's emphatic rise to the top flight of English football.

Originally starting out as a promotions manager selling bingo tickets, Arthur then introduced the Sky Blues Pool where, for a shilling, members could predict final scores for prizes rising up to more than £3,000.

He eventually rose to the organization of away day travel for Coventry City fans, done in his own inimitable style such as running bingo cards on coaches and providing discos on away day trains.

Following Coventry City's promotion into the First Division in 1967, Arthur then began visiting city centre pubs carrying out hugely popular bingo draws, a scheme which led to him becoming a highly popular figure with fans, and also sportsman's dinners featuring celebrity guest speakers such as footballing great Maurice Setters.

Arthur was also instrumental in the arrangement of travel for the Sky Blues' trip to Wembley for the 1987 FA Cup Final, laying more than 50 coaches for City fans to travel to London to watch Coventry City lift the FA Cup trophy before celebrating 25 years at the club the following year.

Friend John Oughton said: "Arthur was such a likeable character and will be very sorely missed by so many people.

"He was a revered man in the city of Coventry, especially so among City supporters, and he was devoted to the club, working six days a week and often at 12 or 14 hours at a time.

"He loved Coventry City and we will all be that little bit poorer now that he has passed on."

Arthur, who leaves wife of 59 years Mary and grown son David, will be cremated at Charter Chapel Coventry Crematorium on Tuesday, August 24 at 10.45pm.