EX-YORK City legends Denis Smith and Chris Topping have led the tributes to former Press sports editor and Wimbledon umpire Malcolm Huntington ahead of his funeral on Wednesday.

Smith has thanked Malcolm, who covered Minstermen matches from 1968 to 2013, for helping him understand the working relationship between managers and media after taking up his first post as player-boss at Bootham Crescent in 1982.

The long-serving 1970s stalwart Topping, meanwhile, smiled as he recalled how Malcolm dealt with a chastising from the centre back’s parents.

Smith would go on to become the first-ever manager to win 100 points in a league season as he guided City to the old fourth division title in 1984,

Now 69, he is also a member of the elite group of managers who have taken charge of more than 1,000 competitive matches, but admitted that Malcolm’s advice was of considerable assistance as he cut his teeth in the game’s hardest profession.

“I’m absolutely sorry to hear about Malcolm passing away,” Smith said. “He was my first close link with the press as a manager and he was very good to me.

“He taught me a lot as a young man coming into my first job, especially in terms of how to deal with the media and I was very grateful for that and the way in which we worked together. He made it easy for me and was a great bloke, who loved his tennis and football.”

Topping’s career at Bootham Crescent started just one season before Malcolm took over from Wilf Meek as The Press’ chief City reporter in 1968.

The Bubwith-born defender remains third on the club’s all-time appearance list with 463, only behind Barry Jackson and Andy McMillan, but he recalls an occasion when his parents took Malcolm to task over a headline on one of his stories that they deemed critical.

Indeed, the confrontation could have been good preparation for a few years later when tennis great John McEnroe sarcastically chastised him by saying: “For a guy who can’t add two plus two, you’re doing a wonderful job.”

“Touchwood, I had a reasonable career and I would have died for the club and always put my head where it shouldn’t have been, so he normally wasn’t critical of me,” Topping recalled of Malcolm’s match reports. “But, just once, I remember my mum and dad had a right go at him for a report after a game at Scunthorpe when the ball hit me and I gave away an own goal.

“The headline was something like ‘Topping own goal ruins the day’ and my parents were telling Malcolm I couldn’t have possibly helped what happened. He took it all in his stride though and I suppose he put up with worse from McEnroe!”

On his respect for Malcolm as a sports journalist, Topping added: “Back then, he travelled with the team to games. Maybe he shouldn’t have done, but he never once passed on anything he shouldn’t.

“He was part of York City and a good writer, who could read a game. I would count him as a friend and you could tell by his reports he knew the game.”

Malcolm’s funeral service will be held at St Paul’s Church in Heslington with a 1.45pm start and all mourners are invited to attend Fulford Golf Club afterwards.