Roger Hunt, 1938-2021

One by one, the members of the only England team to win the World Cup are slipping away.

Roger Hunt (no middle name) was born on July 20, 1938 in Glazebury, Cheshire, England. A forward, he was signed by Liverpool Football Club in 1958, scoring on his senior debut at their stadium, Anfield, against Scunthorpe United in a Football League Division Two match on September 9, 1959. It was the 1st of 286 goals he scored for the Mersey Reds. This was the club record, although it has been surpassed by Ian Rush.

With Bill Shankly coming in as manager, Liverpool were promoted to the Football League Division One in 1962, and Hunt helped them win the League in 1964 and 1966, and the FA Cup in 1965, including scoring a goal in the Final. On August 22, 1964, at the start of a new season, Liverpool hosted North London team Arsenal at Anfield, in the 1st match ever broadcast on the BBC's Match of the Day, and Hunt scored the show's 1st goal.

Despite still being a player for a team in Division Two, he won his 1st England cap in 1962, and was selected for the England team at that year's World Cup in Chile, but did not get into a game. That would not be the case in 1966, on home soil: He and Liverpool teammates Ian Callaghan and Gerry Byrne were selected.

He began the tournament in a forward pairing with Jimmy Greaves of North London team Tottenham Hotspur. In the Group Stage, Hunt scored 2 goals against France, and another against Mexico. After Greaves was injured, the new forward pairing was Hunt and Geoff Hurst, of East London team West Ham United. He played in all 6 games, including the Final, which England won over West Germany, 4-2 in extra time at the original Wembley Stadium in West London.

He remained with Liverpool until 1969, signing with Manchester area team Bolton Wanderers. In 1972, he retired, and was given a testimonial match at Anfield.

He and his brother Peter then became the 3rd generation of the family to run the Hunt Brothers haulage business. In 2000, he and the other England boys of '66 were awarded MBEs, the medal for the Member of the Order of the British Empire, for their service. For this reason, Liverpool fans called him "Sir Roger," even though he had not been knighted. (Of all the players on that team, only Manchester United's Bobby Charlton has ever been.)

In 1959, he married Patricia O'Brien, and they had 2 children. He later married Rowan Green, and lived in Warrington, Cheshire, not far from his birthplace.

Roger Hunt died on September 27, 2021, of what has only been listed as "a prolonged illness." He was 83 years old.

With his death, there are now: 

* 6 living players from Liverpool's 1964 League Champions: Gordon Milne, Ron Yeats, Willie Stevenson, Ian Callaghan, Gordon Wallace and Chris Lawler.

* 4 living players from their 1965 FA Cup winners: Yeats, Stevenson, Callaghan and Lawler.

* 4 living players from their 1966 League Champions: Again, Yeats, Stevenson, Callaghan and Lawler.

* And 7 living players from the 1966 England World Cup team. Only 3 played in the Final: Charlton, Hurst and George Cohen. The 4 remaining reserves: Callaghan, Paine, Ron Flowers and George Eastham.