Mr Gration began working for the BBC in 1978 and Look North in 1982. In 2020, he gave his final performance.
Throughout his career, he received two Royal Television Society (RTS) awards for sports documentaries and twice received the RTS Best Presenter award.
Helen Gration, Mr Gration’s wife, paid tribute to her husband, saying, “He will always be with us.”
“Our three boys and I adored Harry,” she added. We had a lot of fun with him, and our house became his home.
“Harry Gration MBE was an outstanding broadcaster and commentator,” said BBC Director-General Tim Davie.
He had a real connection with the public, who saw him as one of their own, and he will be hugely missed by his many fans and friends everywhere, but especially in Yorkshire.” In this difficult time, our thoughts are with his family.
Mr Gration, who was born in Bradford, began filing match reports for the BBC in the mid-1970s while working as a history teacher.
During his time at the corporation, he contributed to Match of the Day and Grandstand, as well as commentating on several Olympic and Commonwealth Games and hosting South Today.
He said he had “always lived the story” when he left the BBC in October 2020, the day before his 70th birthday.
He said events like Jo Cox’s death, the Bradford riots, the Hillsborough disaster, and recent flooding in Yorkshire had “always affected me.
Mr Gration said one of his favourite memories from his time at the BBC was raising over £800,000 for charity while riding a tandem with fellow presenter Amy Garcia, pushing a sofa and tied to Look North colleague Paul Hudson.
In 2016, he completed a 121-mile (193-kilometer) three-legged walk across North, South, and West Yorkshire, raising more than £190,000 for Sport Relief.
In 2013, he was appointed MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list for his work in broadcasting.
He described the MBE as a “overwhelming honour.” Something I never expected to happen to me.”
“I know my mum and dad would have loved to have been there for this day for a lad born in a back-to-back in Bradford,” he added.
