Roger Hunt: The World Cup Winner Who Called This Area Home
On 30 July 1966, England beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley to win the FIFA World Cup. It remains the only time England have lifted the trophy. One of the eleven men on the pitch that afternoon was Roger Hunt, a forward who had played in every single one of England's six matches and scored three of their goals.
Early life and local roots
Roger Hunt was born in Glazebury on 20 July 1938. He attended Culcheth Secondary School and then Leigh Grammar School, and played youth football for Croft Youth Club in the Warrington League. Among his teammates at Croft was Tommy Lawrence, who would go on to become Liverpool's goalkeeper and line up alongside Hunt at Anfield for a decade. A third Croft player, Johnny Green, also turned professional, joining Blackpool.
That three players from the same local youth team went on to professional careers in the same era tells you something about the standard of football being played in this area in the late 1950s. Hunt left Croft and went on to play for Stockton Heath in the Mid-Cheshire League, where a Liverpool scout came to watch a player from an opposing team and noticed Hunt instead. He was signed by Liverpool manager Phil Taylor in July 1958 at the age of 20.
Liverpool and Bill Shankly
When Hunt arrived at Anfield, Liverpool were in the Second Division. Bill Shankly was appointed manager shortly after Hunt signed, and one of his first decisions was to retain Hunt when he cleared out much of the existing squad. It proved to be one of the more consequential judgements Shankly made.
Hunt scored on his Liverpool debut against Scunthorpe United in September 1959 and barely stopped scoring for the next decade. In the 1961-62 season, Liverpool won the Second Division title with Hunt scoring 41 goals in 41 league matches, a club record that still stands. Two First Division titles followed, in 1963-64 and 1965-66, along with Liverpool's first ever FA Cup in 1965, with Hunt scoring the opening goal in the final against Leeds United at Wembley in extra time.
Over eleven years at Anfield, Hunt scored 285 goals in 492 appearances. His record of 244 league goals for Liverpool was only surpassed by Ian Rush in 1992 in terms of overall goals, but his league goals record of 245 in 404 games has never been beaten and is likely to remain in Liverpool's history books in perpetuity. Liverpool fans gave him an honorary knighthood long before any official recognition arrived. He has been known as Sir Roger at Anfield ever since.
"Roger Hunt comes second to no one in his importance in the history of Liverpool FC. That much is clear." — Jurgen Klopp
The 1966 World Cup
Hunt was selected by England manager Alf Ramsey for the 1966 World Cup squad. He was the only England forward to start every game of the tournament. His three goals in the group stage, two against France and one against Mexico, were the contribution that secured England's progress to the knockout rounds.
In the final against West Germany, Hunt played alongside Geoff Hurst after Jimmy Greaves, who had been injured during the tournament, was not recalled to the starting eleven. Hunt's role in the most disputed moment in English football history is worth noting. When Hurst's shot struck the crossbar and bounced down in the second period of extra time, Hunt was the England player closest to the incident. His immediate reaction, turning away without attempting to tap the ball in, has always been cited as the instinctive confirmation of a man who had no doubt the ball had crossed the line.
England won 4-2. Hunt had his World Cup winner's medal. He was 27 years old.
After football
Hunt left Liverpool in 1969 and spent three seasons at Bolton Wanderers before retiring from professional football in 1972. He was awarded an MBE in 2000 and inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. He scored the first ever goal broadcast on Match of the Day, against Arsenal in August 1964. At his Anfield testimonial, 56,000 people attended to watch a team of England's 1966 World Cup winners play Liverpool's 1965 FA Cup winners.
He was, by all accounts, a straightforward and modest man. Martin Peters summarised him simply: we all knew Roger would run his socks off for the team. He never sought the spotlight and was spoken of by teammates and opponents with consistent warmth.
Roger Hunt died on 27 September 2021 in Warrington, aged 83. He had gone from the Warrington League and the fields around Croft to the top of world football and back again, and he remained rooted in this part of the world throughout.