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Roger Hunt

{{short description|English footballer (1938–2021)}}

{{Other people}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Roger Hunt
{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=90%|commas=on|MBE}}

| image = Roger Hunt.jpg

| upright =

| caption = Hunt in 2006

| full_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|7|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Glazebury, Lancashire,Being north of the River Mersey, Glazebury was in Lancashire before 1 April 1974. England

| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|9|27|1938|7|20|df=y}}

| death_place = England

| height =

| position = Forward

| currentclub =

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = Croft Youth Club

| years1 =

| clubs1 = Stockton Heath

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 =

| clubs2 = Devizes Town

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| years3 =

| clubs3 = Stockton Heath

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 = 1958–1969

| clubs4 = Liverpool

| caps4 = 404

| goals4 = 244

| years5 = 1969–1972

| clubs5 = Bolton Wanderers

| caps5 = 76

| goals5 = 24

| years6 = 1971

| clubs6 = → Hellenic (loan)

| caps6 = 6

| goals6 = 4

| totalcaps = 486

| totalgoals = 272

| nationalyears1 = 1962–1969

| nationalteam1 = England

| nationalcaps1 = 34

| nationalgoals1 = 18

| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's football}}

{{Medal|Country|{{fb|ENG}}}}

{{Medal|Comp|FIFA World Cup}}

{{Medal|W|1966 England|}}

}}

Roger Hunt {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}} (20 July 1938 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward.

Eleven years with Liverpool, he was the club's record goalscorer with 285 goals until being overtaken by Ian Rush. Nonetheless, Hunt remains Liverpool's record league goalscorer with 244 goals. Under Bill Shankly, Hunt won two league titles and an FA Cup. In August 1964 he also scored the first ever goal seen on the BBC's Match of the Day. Regarded as one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Hunt is referred to as Sir Roger by the club's fans, ranking 13th on the 100 Players Who Shook the Kop, an official fan poll.

Hunt was a member of the England national team which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, playing in all England's six games, scoring three times. Hunt was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Club career

=Early career=

Born in Glazebury, Lancashire, Hunt played for Croft Youth Club, Stockton Heath and Devizes Town during his formative years.{{ENFA}}

=Liverpool=

He was signed for Liverpool by manager Phil Taylor in July 1958, joining from Stockton Heath.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58721150|title='Gentleman, modest and one of Liverpool's greatest'|work=BBC Sport}} Hunt made his debut and scored his first goal for the club on 9 September 1959 in a Second Division fixture at Anfield against Scunthorpe United; Hunt scored in the 64th minute to give the Reds a 2–0 victory. This goal was the first of many – he went on to score 286 goals for the club, 244 of them in the league, which remains a club record.{{cite news |title=Liverpool FC mourns passing of Roger Hunt |url=https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/445003-liverpool-fc-mourns-passing-of-roger-hunt |access-date=28 September 2021 |agency=LiverpoolFC}}File:Liverpool-spelers in Hilton, St. John (links) en Roger Hunt kopen kaarten voor t, Bestanddeelnr 919-8539.jpg in 1966]]

After Bill Shankly replaced Taylor, Shankly and his fellow 'Boot Room' coaching staff embarked upon a clear out of 24 players. Hunt however was retained and was a major factor in the Reds' success in the 1960s.{{Cite web|url=http://qosfc.com/HeadlineNews/ViewFullStory/tabid/151/selectmoduleid/498/ArticleID/1228/reftab/36/Default.aspx|title=Reuben Bennett career profile on www.qosfc.com|access-date=24 May 2010|archive-date=10 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410192131/http://qosfc.com/HeadlineNews/ViewFullStory/tabid/151/selectmoduleid/498/ArticleID/1228/reftab/36/Default.aspx|url-status=dead}} Liverpool gained promotion to the First Division in 1962, after the club had finished 3rd or 4th, and thus just outside the promotion spots for five consecutive years from 1956 to 1961. Hunt appeared in 41 of the 42 league games and scored 41 goals in season 1961–1962. His goals helped propel Liverpool to a comfortable eight point title win over runners-up Leyton Orient and included five hat-tricks, coming against Leeds United, Walsall, Swansea Town, former club Bury and Middlesbrough. It was a similar story in 1963–64 and 1965–66 as Liverpool were English League champions. Hunt again the top scorer (as he was for eight straight seasons) scoring 31 goals from 41 games and 29 goals from 37 appearances respectively. On 22 August 1964, Hunt scored against Arsenal after 11 minutes in a 3–2 home win, the first ever goal seen on the BBC's flagship football highlights programme Match of the Day.{{cite web |title=History of Match of the Day |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/match_of_the_day/879960.stm |work=BBC Sport |date=14 February 2003 |access-date=26 July 2013}}

In between the two titles, in 1965 he was instrumental in the side winning the FA Cup for the first time. Hunt scored four times in a cup run that saw West Bromwich Albion, Stockport County, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Chelsea all defeated as Liverpool reached the final for the first time since 1950. In the final, after a goal-less 90 minutes, Hunt scored the opening goal in the 93rd minute and strike partner Ian St. John scored the second as the Reds recorded a 2–1 victory over Leeds United at Wembley. He scored Liverpool's only goal in the final of the Cup Winners Cup the following year, as they lost 2–1 after extra time to Borussia Dortmund.

He became Liverpool's record goalscorer on 7 November 1967 in an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup tie against TSV 1860 Munich of West Germany, in which he scored his 242nd goal for the club. His final tally for the club was 286 goals by the time he left the club in 1969 to join Bolton Wanderers, a record that was not broken until Ian Rush 23 years later.{{cite web |url=http://www.lfchistory.net/Stats/Article/2561 |title=A timeline for Liverpool Football Club - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC! |last=LFChistory.net |website=www.lfchistory.net}} He also held the record of scoring 100 top-flight goals in fewer games (152) than any player in Liverpool history, until Mohamed Salah reached the milestone in one game less in September 2021.{{cite news |title=Is Mohamed Salah Ready To Take Lionel Messi's Mantle As The World's Best? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesnalton/2021/09/27/is-mohamed-salah-ready-to-take-lionel-messi-mantle-as-the-worlds-best/ |access-date=28 September 2021 |work=Forbes}}

=Later career=

He signed for Bolton Wanderers in December 1969. In 1971, he moved on loan to Hellenic F.C. in South Africa's National Football League.{{cite journal |last1=Bolsmann |first1=Chris |title=Professional Football in Apartheid South Africa: Leisure, Consumption and Identity in the National Football League, 1959–1977 |journal=The International Journal of the History of Sport |date=2013 |volume=30 |issue=16 |pages=1947–1961 |doi=10.1080/09523367.2013.861128 |s2cid=143966092 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523367.2013.861128?needAccess=true&journalCode=fhsp20 |access-date=3 October 2021}} He retired in 1972, and had a testimonial with Liverpool in April 1972, attended by 56,000 people.

International career

Hunt was capped 34 times for his country, with his debut given to him by Walter Winterbottom whilst he was still a Second Division player on 4 April 1962, in a friendly against Austria at Wembley. He scored on his international debut as England won 3–1.{{cite web |title=Roger Hunt |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersH/BioHuntR.html |website=England Football Online |access-date=28 September 2021}} He was part of the England squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, but was not selected to play.{{cite web |title=England in Chile 1962 |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/cmpwc/CmpWC1962Squad.html |website=England Football Online |access-date=28 September 2021}}

England had been chosen to host the 1966 FIFA World Cup, and Hunt, along with Liverpool club mates Ian Callaghan and Gerry Byrne, were selected by manager Alf Ramsey for the 22-man squad.{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/29/gerry-byrne|title=Gerry Byrne obituary|date=29 November 2015|website=The Guardian}}

Hunt was one of three forwards selected for the tournament. He initially partnered Tottenham Hotspur striker Jimmy Greaves up front, but following a leg injury to Greaves he played alongside Geoff Hurst of West Ham United.{{cite web |title=England 1966 |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/cmpwc/CmpWC1966Squad.html |website=England Football Online |access-date=28 September 2021}}{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Jim |title=Jimmy Greaves was supposed to be England's 1966 hero but injury meant 'the big one' eluded him - and it hurt |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/09/19/jimmy-greaves-supposed-englands-1966-hero-injury-meant-big-one/ |access-date=28 September 2021 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=19 September 2021}}

He played in all six games, scoring three times, twice against France and once against Mexico, as England went on to win the Jules Rimet trophy after a 4–2 extra time win over West Germany in the World Cup Final at Wembley.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/sep/28/roger-hunt-obituary|title=Roger Hunt obituary|date=28 September 2021|website=The Guardian}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/sep/28/roger-hunt-england-world-cup-winner-and-liverpool-striker-dies|title=Roger Hunt, England World Cup winner and former Liverpool striker, dies aged 83|date=28 September 2021|website=The Guardian}}

A section of the England fans (from the south of England) blamed Hunt (a northerner who played for a northern team) for replacing Greaves in the World Cup Final, and would boo him on his subsequent appearances for England (even though it was actually the Londoner Geoff Hurst who replaced Greaves). Following this, Hunt eventually told Alf Ramsey in 1969, following a game against Romania, that he no longer wished to play for England, and retired from international football.{{Cite news |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |date=2006-04-07 |title=The best of times |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/apr/08/newsstory.sport |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |date=2021-09-28 |title=Roger Hunt obituary |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/liverpool-and-england-legend-roger-hunt-dies-aged-83-lww0lb6dg |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}

Later and personal life

After retiring as a player, he joined his brother Peter, in taking over Hunt Brothers, as the third generation of the family-run haulage business. It was originally established by Richard and Harry Hunt in 1929.{{cite news |title=End of the road for Hunt haulage yard |url=https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/5255579.end-of-the-road-for-hunt-haulage-yard/ |work=Warrington Guardian |date=19 December 2002|accessdate=28 September 2021 }}

In 2000 he was awarded an MBE for his World Cup victory. He continued to be known as "Sir" Roger Hunt by the Liverpool supporters, despite the absence of a formal knighthood.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liverpoolfc.com/history/past-players/roger-hunt#|title=lfc_fixture_past_player_profile|website=Liverpool FC}}

Hunt was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006, recognising his achievements in the English game.{{cite web |title=Roger Hunt |url=https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/halloffame/roger-hunt/ |website=National Football Museum |access-date=28 September 2021}} He was voted at number 13 by Liverpool fans on the official Liverpool Football Club in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop poll, also in 2006.{{cite book|first=Frank|last=Worrall|author-link=Frank Worrall|title=Luis Suarez: The Biography of the World's Most Controversial Footballer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTitDwAAQBAJ&dq=100+Players+Who+Shook+The+Kop+roger+hunt&pg=PT211|year=2014|publisher=John Blake Publishing|isbn=978-1-7841801-9-5}} In 2016 he was made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Warrington.{{cite news |title=Remembering Roger Hunt MBE |url=https://www.warrington.gov.uk/news/remembering-roger-hunt-mbe |work=Warrington Borough Council |date=28 September 2021 |accessdate=29 September 2021 |archive-date=28 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928184547/https://www.warrington.gov.uk/news/remembering-roger-hunt-mbe |url-status=dead }}

Hunt was married in 1959 to Patricia O'Brien (whom he met when working at her brother-in-law's nightclub) and they had two children.{{cite news |last1=Verney |first1=Harriet |title=A game of two halves: Meet the footballers' wives rewriting the rules |url=https://www.tatler.com/article/footballers-wives |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=Tatler |date=9 October 2018}} They divorced in 1981 after Hunt had an affair with a woman whom he had met in the local pub. He lived with his second wife Rowan (Green), near Warrington.{{cite news |last1=Squires |first1=Theo |title=Liverpool legend Roger Hunt on his Reds career, favourite current stars, Jurgen Klopp and much more |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-roger-hunt-exclusive-interview-17513220 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=Liverpool Echo |date=12 January 2020}}

Hunt died on 27 September 2021 at the age of 83.{{cite news |title=Liverpool FC mourns passing of Roger Hunt |url=https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/445003-liverpool-fc-mourns-passing-of-roger-hunt |website=liverpoolfc.com |publisher=Liverpool FC |date=28 September 2021 |accessdate=28 September 2021 }} His funeral was held on 14 October at Liverpool Cathedral.{{cite news |last1=Cavilla |first1=Tom |title=Liverpool legends pay respects to Roger Hunt at Liverpool Cathedral funeral service |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/roger-hunt-funeral-liverpool-legends-21858272 |access-date=22 October 2021 |work=Liverpool Echo |date=14 October 2021}}

Career statistics

=Club=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition{{cite web |url=http://www.lfchistory.net/players/player/profile/326 |title=Liverpool career stats for Roger Hunt - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC! |website=LFChistory.net }}{{cite web |url=http://www.lfchistory.net/Articles/Article/3453 |title=Sir Roger loses a goal but gains a record |access-date=27 December 2015}}

rowspan="2"|Club

!rowspan="2"|Season

!colspan="3"|League

!colspan="2"|FA Cup

!colspan="2"|League Cup

!colspan="2"|Europe

!colspan="2"|Other

!colspan="2"|Total

DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
rowspan="12"|Liverpool

|1959–60

|Second Division

|36

212200colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–3823
1960–61

|Second Division

|32

151133colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–3619
1961–62

|Second Division

|41

415100colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–4642
1962–63

|First Division

|42

246200colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–4826
1963–64

|First Division

|41

315200colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–4633
1964–65

|First Division

|40

2585009{{efn|name=EC|Appearances in European Cup}}71{{efn|name=FACS|Appearance in FA Charity Shield}}05837
1965–66

|First Division

|37

2911007{{efn|name=CWC|Appearances in European Cup Winners' Cup}}21{{efn|name=FACS}}04632
1966–67

|First Division

|39

1431005{{efn|name=EC}}31{{efn|name=FACS}}14819
1967–68

|First Division

|40

2592206{{efn|name=ICFC|Appearances in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup}}3colspan="2"|–5730
1968–69

|First Division

|38

1341322{{efn|name=ICFC}}1colspan="2"|–4717
1969–70

|First Division

|18

600202{{efn|name=ICFC}}1colspan="2"|–227
colspan="2"|Total

!404

2444418105311731492285
rowspan="4"|Bolton Wanderers

|1969–70

|Second Division

|17

50000colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–175
1970–71

|Second Division

|24

80000colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–248
1971–72

|Third Division

|35

110000colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–3511
colspan="2"|Total

!76

24000000007624
colspan="3"|Career total

!480

2684418105311731568309

{{noteslist}}

=International=

International goals

class="wikitable"
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.4 April 1962London, England{{fb|AUT}}align=center|3–0align=center| 3–1rowspan=6| Friendly
2.2 June 1963Leipzig, East Germany{{fb|DDR}}align=center|1–1align=center| 2–1
3.rowspan=4| 27 May 1964rowspan=4| New York City, United Statesrowspan=4| {{fb|USA}}align=center|1–0rowspan=4 align=center| 10–0
4.align=center|3–0
5.align=center|6–0
6.align=center|7–0
7.4 June 1964São Paulo, Brazil{{fb|POR}}align=center|1–1align=center| 1–1Taça das Nações
8.8 December 1965Madrid, Spain{{fb|ESP|1945}}align=center|2–0align=center| 2–0Friendly
9.rowspan=2| 2 April 1966rowspan=2| Glasgow, Scotlandrowspan=2| {{fb|SCO}}align=center|2–0rowspan=2 align=center| 4–3rowspan=2| 1965-66 British Home Championship
10.align=center|3–1
11.26 June 1966Helsinki, Finland{{fb|FIN}}align=center|2–0align=center| 3–0rowspan=2| Friendly
12.5 July 1966Chorzów, Poland{{fb|POL}}align=center|1–0align=center| 1–0
13.16 July 1966rowspan=3| London, England{{fb|MEX}}align=center|2–0align=center| 2–0rowspan=3| 1966 FIFA World Cup
14.rowspan=2| 20 July 1966rowspan=2| {{fb|FRA}}align=center|1–0rowspan=2 align=center| 2–0
15.align=center|2–0
16.22 October 1966Belfast, Northern Ireland{{fb|NIR}}align=center|1–0align=center| 2–01966–67 British Home Championship
17.24 May 1967rowspan=2| London, England{{fb|ESP|1945}}align=center|2–0align=center| 2–0rowspan=2| Friendly
18.22 May 1968{{fb|SWE}}align=center|3–0align=center| 3–1

Honours

Liverpool

England{{cite web|url=http://www.thefa.com/england/All-Teams/Players/H/Roger-Hunt|title=Roger Hunt|first=The Football|last=Association|website=www.thefa.com}}

  • FIFA World Cup: 1966[https://web.archive.org/web/20131220190138/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/worldcup/england1966/index.html "Hurst the hero for England in the home of football"]. FIFA. Retrieved 11 November 2014

Individual

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • [https://www.liverpoolfc.com/info/roger-hunt Profile] at the Liverpool F.C. website
  • [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=326 LFCHistory.net profile]
  • {{FIFA player}}
  • {{UEFA player}}

{{Navboxes

| title = England squads

| bg = white

| fg = #0B0B3F

| bordercolor = #0B0B3F

| list1 =

{{England squad 1962 FIFA World Cup}}

{{England squad 1966 FIFA World Cup}}

{{England squad UEFA Euro 1968}}

}}

{{Navboxes

|title=Awards

|fg=navy

|bg=gold

|list1=

{{English First Division top scorers}}

{{English Second Division top scorers}}

{{Liverpool F.C. Hall of Fame}}

{{English Football Hall of Fame}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Roger}}

Category:1938 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:English men's footballers

Category:Men's association football forwards

Category:England men's international footballers

Category:Warrington Town F.C. players

Category:Devizes Town F.C. players

Category:Liverpool F.C. players

Category:Bolton Wanderers F.C. players

Category:Hellenic F.C. players

Category:1962 FIFA World Cup players

Category:1966 FIFA World Cup players

Category:FIFA World Cup–winning players

Category:UEFA Euro 1968 players

Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire

Category:People from Warrington (district)

Category:English Football League players

Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees

Category:English Football League representative players

Category:National Football League (South Africa) players

Category:English expatriate men's footballers

Category:English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa

Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa

Category:Footballers from Cheshire