Tributes have poured in for Sparks from a variety of people, including former Plymouth Argyle players and managers as well as celebrity fans, former colleagues and civic figures in Plymouth.
Sparks' career as a football commentator began in 1984, when he was asked to cover Argyle's FA Cup semi-final against Watford at Villa Park for hospital radio. He later commentated on the Pilgrims' fortunes for Plymouth Sound before moving to the BBC in 2001.
His transfer to BBC Radio Devon coincided with Argyle's rise to the Championship under Paul Sturrock and this was of course followed by the managerial reigns of Bobby Williamson, Tony Pulis and Ian Holloway.
By the end of the decade, Sparks was combining his commentary duties with presenting Radio Devon's breakfast show. At this stage Argyle were gripped by the financial crisis that saw them slide down the leagues and into Administration. During this period, Sparks wasn't afraid to ask members of the club's hierarchy difficult questions when they appeared on his show about the situation affecting the Pilgrims.
In 2016, Sparks decided to concentrate solely on the breakfast show and left his role as a commentator with his final match he covered being the 2016 League Two play-off final where the Pilgrims were beaten 3-0 by AFC Wimbledon.
After retiring from commentating, Sparks remained a regular at Home Park and wrote a regular column for the Plymouth Argyle website - he wrote a similar column for the Plymouth Herald for many years previously - and the Press Box in the newly redeveloped grandstand was named in his honour.
He is survived by his wife Heather, his two daughters Holly and Kirsty and his granddaughter.
From a personal point of view, Sparksy was always a welcoming presence in the Argyle Press Room at Home Park and would often entertain allcomers with numerous jokes and funny stories. He would often that former Pilgrims defender Danis Salman was his twin! (they were both born on exactly the same day).
He was a true one-off and unlikely that we will ever see his like again.
Footnote: As well as being born on the same date as Danis Salman, the pair also share the exact date of birth with former Pilgrims manager Ian Holloway - March 12, 1961.
