Player From the Past! Geoff Hurst

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Geoff Hurst

Tony Waddington's ability to attract the big-name players to Stoke was highlighted again in August 1972 when he tempted England 1966 World Cup hero Geoff Hurst to move from West Ham. At 31, the striker was arguably past his peak but he was still a major name in the game and remains the only player ever to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. In 13 years at Upton Park, where England colleagues Bobby Moore and Martin Peters were his contemporaries he scored 24 goals in 49 England outings, and won FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup medals. His tally of 252 goals in 502 games made him a Hammers legend.



Another 37 goals in 128 games followed his £75,000 move to City before he was sold to West Brom for £20,000 in 1975. After playing in Ireland and America he returned to England as player-manager of Telford United and had a spell as coach of England Under-21's and assistant manager of the senior side under his old Upton Park mentor Ron Greenwood. He also had a spell in charge at Chelsea and later coached in Kuwait. An all-round sportsman, he played cricket for Essex at County level and after football proved to be an astute businessman, rising to be a director of Insurance company Motorplan and was later knighted for his services to the game.