Mike Parkinson, son of the umpire's best friend Sir Michael Parkinson, said he "inspired love".
The son of Dickie Bird's closest lifelong friend has paid tribute to the iconic former cricket umpire following his death aged 92.
Mike Parkinson, son of journalist and broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson, said Dickie "inspired love, and my father loved him".
The pair, who used to open the batting for Barnsley Cricket Club as teenagers, were "very similar people" in that they "couldn't quite believe where they had come from", he said.
Dickie, whose real name was Harold, became one of the most famous faces in the game despite his playing career being cut short by injury.
He officiated in 66 Tests and 76 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals, between 1973 and 1996.
"If you think about those two young men sitting together at the end of play, there's no way they could've imagined where they would end up," Mr Parkinson added.
He said Dickie had lived "in a wonderland of his own creation, and he never lost that".
"As people get older, sometimes you can become cynical and bitter about things - he had none of that," he added.
"Every day was a new day for him, which is why he was so infectious to be around."
He said Dickie would show up to "everything" relating to his father, including the unveiling of a blue plaque in his honour in Cudworth, Barnsley.
Mr Parkinson said after his efforts to pull the curtain led to the fixture falling off the wall, Dickie had told him, "don't mind lad, that normally happens to me".
"All through his life, he was so full of these terrible mishaps," he added.
He described Dickie as a "terrible worrier" who would bite his nails through his gloves before going up to bat.
"One day, he was so nervous - he had managed to tie his pads together but got things wrong, so when he stood up, he fell over on his face," he said.
Another mishap saw him try to cut grapes from the vine but cause them to "explode off the bunch" at a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II.
"It hit the Queen and fell on the floor," Mr Parkinson said, "and [he] thought, 'that's it, I'm going to the tower'.
"But the Queen turned to Dickie and said, 'don't worry, it's alright, the corgis will sort that out'.
"Lo and behold, the door opened, the corgis came in and Dickie watched as they ate the discarded grapes."
He said Dickie "shone" in the company of others and would turn up to any event where he could talk to new people.
Chris Barron, secretary of the Wombwell Cricket Lovers' Society of which Dickie was president, said he would be "missed immeasurably and is irreplaceable".
He came to present his Dickie Bird Award to the society's most promising youngster every year, right up until last March, Mr Barron said.
Cricketers from all over the world who came to speak at The Wombwell were often "delighted to find Dickie Bird sitting unassumingly among the audience", the society said.
His home county side Yorkshire, for which he served as president, described him as a "national treasure, known not only for his umpiring excellence but also for his eccentricities and warmth".
"He leaves behind a legacy of sportsmanship, humility and joy," the club said.
Andy from Helmsley, who grew up in Barnsley, said he had the "privilege" as a youth of being umpired by Dickie.
"He had presence around the pavilion and the dressing rooms, you just knew he would go on an make a fantastic name for himself," he said.
He described him as an "icon, a legend, Barnsley through and through".
"Barnsley, yesterday, lost one of its finest ever gentleman," he added.
"There won't ever be another Dickie Bird. They don't make them like that anymore."
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
- 'The players loved him, cricket was his life': Tributes paid to umpire Dickie Bird
- Mark Arthur: 'Probably the greatest umpire that England & the world has ever seen'
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