The striker whose goals secured the Three Lions their only major trophy entertains, informs and uplifts on an evening organised by Bang & Olufsen of Cheltenham at Club Ocho in the heart of the town.
It was a huge honour last week to spend some time in conversation with Sir Geoff Hurst in front of an audience assembled by Bang & Olufsen of Cheltenham Dealer Principal and Owner Jason Briggs.
Jason has been a stalwart supporter of Sport and Life since 2020 and it was a treat to be part of such a buzzing and uplifting evening with one of the true legends of English football. It was a fantastic event expertly hosted by the ever-welcoming team at Club Ocho.
Ever since breaking down in floods of tears as a small boy when England succumbed to West Germany at Italia 90, I’ve held a deep reverence for what Geoff and his team achieved on July 30 1966. That, and a massive desperation for it to happen again!
And what I got from speaking to the former West Ham striker is a sense that so much of that singular success stemmed from Sir Alf Ramsey’s ability to prioritise assembling the best team – rather than picking the best 11 players.
As they say…
Serendipity of course played its part. For Geoff and the team. Geoff – still fit as a fiddle at 84 years old – was on the outside looking in at the start of England’s campaign 60 years ago.
But then Jimmy Greaves picked up a nasty gash in the final group game against France… Hurst came in and scored the only goal against Argentina in the quarter-final – a beautifully judged header from a whipped Martin Peters cross. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Another thread that emerged in our chat was the importance of that understanding between the West Ham trio: Hurst, Peters and Bobby Moore grew up together.
And nothing underscored their instinctive knowledge of each others’ games than Moore’s two assists for Hurst against West Germany in the final. That included the ridiculous composed clip forward that lead to Geoff’s game-sealing thunderbolt with his so-called weaker left foot. The “they think it’s all over” moment.
Cautious optimism
Seeing how vivacious, energetic and humorous Geoff remains, it was hard to believe he’s the last member of the starting 11 of 66 still with us. And you could feel the power of his emotions for Peters, Moore and the rest of his teammates when he spoke of them.
I wonder if the current England side will miss that deep understanding of a core of players from one club – arguably the Three Lions haven’t had that since the days of Manchester United players like Gary Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
Geoff also admitted to being surprised at some of current manager Thomas Tuchel’s selection decisions, but expressed a cautious optimism about the chances of Harry Kane and company bringing home the cup.
After 60 years, cautious optimism is perhaps the best any of us can muster. But I can’t help but wonder – with all the negative news headlines assailing us at the moment – how big another World Cup triumph would be for the country.
Surely, it would only bring happiness and unity – if only for a little while? Certainly, Geoff, a Cheltenham resident for more than 20 years, made us happy on a warm summer evening.
I’m massively grateful for a chance to relive the heady days of 66 with the man whose goals brought glory to the nation.
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