July 30, 1966: England Win the World Cup

Captain Bobby Moore raises the Jules Rimet Trophy,

while his teammates raise him

July 30, 1966, 60 years ago: England win the World Cup, beating West Germany 4-2 after extra time, on home soil, at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

England had never done well in past World Cups, but were determined to show the world that the country that had invented the sport (though the Greeks and the Chinese had football-like games 500 years before the birth of Christ) just how it could play the sport, especially on home soil.

England were managed by Alf Ramsey, who had played right back for England at the 1950 World Cup, and on the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the Football League title in 1951; and was hired to manage England after leading Ipswich Town to the League title in 1962. These were the players he selected:

* Goalkeepers: Number 1, Gordon Banks, Leicester City; 12, Ron Springett, Sheffield Wednesday; 13, Peter Bonetti, Chelsea.

* Defenders: 2, George Cohen, Fulham; 3, Ray Wilson, Everton; 5, Jack Charlton, Leeds United; 6, Bobby Moore, West Ham United, England's Captain; 14, Jimmy Armfield, Blackpool; 15, Gerry Byrne, Liverpool; 18, Norman Hunter, Leeds United.

* Midfielders: 4, Norbert "Nobby" Stiles, Manchester United; 7, Alan Ball, Blackpool; 9, Bobby Charlton, Manchester United, younger brother of Jack; 16, Martin Peters, West Ham United; 17, Ron Flowers, Wolverhampton Wanderers; 20, Ian Callaghan, Liverpool; 22, George Eastham, Arsenal.

* Forwards: 8, Jimmy Greaves, Tottenham Hotspur; 10, Geoff Hurst, West Ham United; 11, John Connelly, Manchester United; 19, Terry Paine, Southampton; 21, Roger Hunt, Liverpool.

England played all of their games in Group 1 at the national stadium, the original version of Wembley Stadium in West London. They got off to a slow start with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, then beat Mexico and France, in each case by a 2-0 score, to win the Group. Uruguay also advanced.

Old Wembley

Group 2 was won by West Germany, with Argentina advancing as well. Group 3 was won by Portugal, with Hungary following. Two-time defending Champions Brazil only finished 3rd in Group 3, because defenders from Portugal and Bulgaria relentlessly fouled Pelé, by this point recognized as the best player in the world. Brazil would be back in 1970, but, for 1966, they were out.

And Group 4 was won by the Soviet Union, with another Communist nation, North Korea, surprising everyone by also advancing. North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, is the most embarrassing defeat in Italy's history. (The most infuriating one was also against Koreans, co-host South Korea, in the 2002 World Cup.)

In the Quarterfinals, West Germany beat Uruguay, 4-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, home of Sheffield Wednesday. The other games were considerably more dramatic. It took until Hurst's goal in the 78th minute for England to beat Argentina, 1-0 at Wembley. With memories of Soviet tanks crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 still fresh, the Soviet team beat Hungary, 2-1 at Roker Park in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

And at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of Everton, North Korea took a 3-0 lead on Portugal, before Eusébio -- one of several players from Mozambique that Portugal fielded before that African colony gained its independence in 1975 -- scored 4 goals, 2 spectacular ones from open play and 2 penalties, to lead Portugal to a 5-3 win. With Pelé literally kicked out of the tournament, Eusébio was its dominant player.

Bobby Charlton scored 2 goals for England in the Semifinal against Portugal at Wembley. A late penalty, converted by Eusébio, briefly put the game in doubt, but England held on for the 2-1 win. The other Semifinal, at Goodison Park, had echoes of both World Wars, but the opposite result of each, as West Germany defeated the Soviet Union, 2-1.

As a crowd of 96,924 filed into Wembley, "The Great War" and "The War" were on Ramsey's mind as he addressed his players before the Final: "Fear not if they shall defeat us at our national game on our soil; for, twice in this century, we have defeated them at their national game, on their soil."

England wore red, and West Germany wore white. Kickoff, as was traditional in England, came at 3:00 PM on a Saturday. In America, NBC aired the Final on a 2-hour film delay, using the black-and-white feed from the BBC. This marked the 1st time that soccer had ever been shown in the United States as a stand-alone television event.

In the 12th minute, disaster struck for England: Siegfried Held of Borussia Dortmund sent a cross into the penalty area. Wilson attempted to head it away, but sent it in the wrong direction, to Helmut Haller, then playing his "club football" for Italian side Bologna. He put the ball past Banks, and it was 1-0 to "Ze Germans."

The lead didn't last long, as Hurst put a header past Hans Tilkowski of Dortmund. The score remained 1-1 until the 78th minute, when England won a corner. Ball took it, and it reached Hurst, whose shot was deflected by Tilkowski, to Hust's West Ham teammate Peters, who scored. It was 2-1 England.

England just had to hang on for another 12 to 15 minutes. They couldn't: Jack Charlton fouled Uwe Seeler of Hamburg, West Germamy's Captain and best scorer, in the 89th minute. The ensuing free kick caused a scramble, where Wolfgang Weber of Köln took it, and shot. It deflected off Karl-Heinz Schnellinger of Italian team AC Milan, and went in past Banks. Banks claimed that the ball hit Schnellinger's arm, which would make the play, however unintentional, handball. But replays showed that the ball hit him on the back. And so, it was 2-2, and there would be extra time.

In the 95th minute, Bobby Charlton hit the post, took the rebound, and shot wide. Then, in the 101st minute, came the most controversial shot in the history of soccer. Ball put in a cross, Hurst took it, and fired. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down, and was cleared.

The referee was Gottlieb Dienst -- in spite of his German-sounding name, he was from Switzerland: Had he actually been from Germany, he would have been ineligible to officiate. He wasn't sure if the ball had gone in. He asked a linesman, Tofiq Bahramov, from Azerbaijan but then representing the Soviet Union: He said the ball crossed the goal line, and Dienst gave the goal. 3-2 England.

Ever since, the Germans have argued that the ball did not fully cross the goal line, and blamed "the Russian judge" for it. Since the coming of Video Assisted Refereeing (VAR), it has been argued more strenuously than ever that the Germans were cheated by a home-team call. And computer analysis has suggested that "only" 97 percent of the ball got over the line, roughly the percentage that cost Liverpool a goal in a game against Manchester City, and thus the Premier League title, in 2019.

Hunt immediately turned to celebrate the goal with Hurst. Hunt went to his grave insisting that, if he thought the ball hadn't gone in, he would have rushed forward to tap it in, which makes sense.

I've seen the play many times. The ball clearly hit the top of the net before it came back down. It was a legitimate goal. You don't believe me? Judge for yourself.

In the 120th and final minute of play -- not counting whatever stoppage time would be added on to the end of extra time -- West German manager Helmut Schön sent his defenders forward in one last desperate attempt. But Moore, got the ball, found an unmarked Hurst, and passed it to him.

Some fans ran onto the field, and got closer to Hurst than any German players did. He completed what remains the only hat trick, the only 3-goal performance, by a man in a World Cup Final, matched only by American Carli Lloyd in the 2015 Women's World Cup Final. And this 4th goal for England ensured that the disputed goal from earlier wouldn't matter.

Geoff Hurst

As Hunt approached his shot, BBC announcer Kenneth Wolstenholme made the most famous call in the history of sportscasting -- yes, more famous than "The Giants win the Pennant!":

And here comes Hurst! He's got... Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now! It's four!

Kenneth Wolstenholme

There was a minute of stoppage time, but the Germans could do nothing with it. England had won, 4-2. Captain Moore led the England players up the famous Wembley steps, and received the World Cup trophy from his head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

England have been inconsistent in international tournaments since. They didn't reach another Final until Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021, due to COVID). Their best World Cup performances since have been runs to the Semifinal in 1990 and 2018.

And so, in the 1960s, England, in the midst of Beatlemania, Swinging London and early James Bond, had a moment that brought the whole country together. Old rivalries were put aside for the greatest patriotic moment since the end of The War.

Famously, Denis Law, Manchester United teammate of Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and John Connelly, was such a Scottish patriot that, instead of watching the Final hosted and won by his arch-rival "country," he played golf.

America would have its great moment in 1969: We went to the Moon. England had theirs in 1966: They won the World Cup. Neither has been able to match it since.

The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 4 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich, and the Stade de France outside Paris.

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This was the 3rd year in a row that Moore, Hurst and Peters had won a Final at Wembley. Together, the 3 players had helped East London team West Ham United win the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup. Being together on the 1966 England team led Hammers fans to say, "West Ham won the World Cup."

A statue of Hurst, Peters, and Everton’s Wilson hoisting Moore on their shoulders as he lifts the trophy, labeled "Champions," was placed across from the Boleyn Ground, a.k.a. Upton Park, West Ham's stadium at the time. (When the old Wembley was torn down in 2000, and the new one opened on the site in 2007, a statue of Moore, England's only World Cup-winning Captain, was placed outside.

But this cup success did not lead to League honors. Moore played for West Ham from 1958 to 1974, and over that stretch, their best finish was 6th in his rookie year, 1958-59, and again in 1972-73. In their Cup win year of 1963-64, they were 14th; in 1966-67, 16th, barely avoiding relegation. As teammate Harry Redknapp, later a Cup-winning manager, put it, "We had Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, and we finished 17th every year. Which should tell you how crap the rest of us were."

Peters would later move to North London's Tottenham Hotspur, where he won the 1971 and 1973 League Cups and the 1972 UEFA Cup. Earlier, Greaves had played for Tottenham, a.k.a. "Spurs," winning the 1962 and 1967 FA Cups and the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup.

With Manchester United, Bobby Charlton won the 1957 League title; and, having added Stiles, and Scotland’s Denis Law, and Northern Ireland’s George Best, won the 1965 and 1967 League titles; the 1963 FA Cup; and the 1968 European Cup. Connelly won the League with Burnley in 1960 and Man United in 1965.

With Liverpool, Byrne, Callaghan and Hunt won the 1964 and 1966 Football League titles, and the 1965 FA Cup. Callaghan stayed long enough to also win the 1973, 1976 and 1977 League titles; the 1974 FA Cup; the 1973 and 1976 UEFA Cups; and the 197 and 1978 European Cups.

Flowers was the senior player. With Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. "Wolves," he won the 1954, 1959 and 1959 Football League titles, and the 1960 FA Cup. With Leicester City, Banks won the 1964 League Cup. With Stoke City, he and Eastham won the 1972 League Cup. With Chelsea, Bonetti won the 1965 League Cup, the 1970 FA Cup, and the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup.

With Everton, Wilson won the 1966 FA Cup. They then purchased Ball from Blackpool, and he helped them win the 1970 League title, by which time Wilson had been sold. Oddly, he played for 3 teams in the season after they won the FA Cup: 1966 Everton, 1971 Arsenal, and 1976 Southampton – but never won it himself. He then went to the North American Soccer League, and won the league title in 1979.

With Leeds United, Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter won the 1968 League Cup, the 1968 and 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, the 1969 League title, and the 1972 FA Cup. Hunter was still there for the 1974 League title.

All of the England players lived to see the 25th Anniversary of the achievement. All lived to see the 30th and the 40th, except for Bonny Moore: He died of colon cancer on February 24, 1993. He was only 51.

Alan Ball, the youngest member of the team, died on April 25, 2007. He was only 61. His father had also died young, in a car crash at age 57. John Connelly died on October 25, 2012, apparently of heart failure. He was 74. Ron Springett died on September 12, 2015, also apparently of heart failure. He was 80. Gerry Byrne died on November 28, 2015, of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

In addition to Byrne's battle with Alzheimer's, 4 other members of that team had experienced dementia by the time of the 50th Anniversary in 2016. Wilson, Stiles and Peters had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's; and Jack Charlton says, "I haven't got a memory now. I forget things easily." He is no longer allowed to drive, or to go fishing alone. His brother Bobby, the most beloved of living English footballers at the time, would also be diagnosed with dementia.

Stiles also battled cancer, as did Banks and Greaves. Greaves, the Football League's all-time leading goalscorer, had strokes, which left him wheelchair-bound.

Their numbers do not include Jeff Astle, perhaps the English footballer best known for having had football-related dementia. He starred as a forward for West Midlands club West Bromwich Albion, and played for England in the 1970 World Cup. He died in 2002. Nor do they include Gerd Müller, the German star who did not make that World Cup, but would eliminate England from the 1970 edition and win it in 1974, and was diagnosed in 2015, and died in 2021.

Pat Wilson, Ray's wife, said, "There are people he played with at Huddersfield and Everton with Alzheimer's. They are all over. They have talked about heading the leather ball causing it." The balls of that era were heavier than they are today, and, being made of leather, got heavier still when wet.

The surviving players had a golf outing every year, for as long as they could. John Stiles, Nobby's son, said, "It's a real shame he can't go to the get-together anymore, because he loved going. He loved the camaraderie they had. That is what made them so special. But, unfortunately, like so many who played in that era and headed those heavy balls, my father has now got dementia. Many other players have some sort of degenerative brain disease."

When an event like winning a world championship happens, they say the participants and the spectators "will never forget." Sadly, we now know that this is not necessarily true.

In 2018, Jimmy Armfield died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on January 22; and Ray Wilson died of Alzheimer's disease on May 15. In 2019, Gordon Banks died of cancer on February 12, and Martin Peters died of Alzheimer's disease on December 21.

In 2020, Peter Bonetti died on April 12, of what was only listed as "a long illness"; Norman Hunter died from COVID-19 on April 17; Jack Charlton died of lymphoma on July 10, also having dealt with dementia; and Nobby Stiles died on October 30, from the combined effects of cancer and dementia.

In 2021, Jimmy Greaves died of cancer on September 19; Roger Hunt died on September 27, of what was only listed as "a prolonged illness"; and Ron Flowers died on November 12, of an undisclosed cause. George Cohen died on December 23, 2022. Bobby Charlton died on October 21, 2023. George Eastham died on December 20, 2024.

So, as of July 30, 2026, the following 3 players are still alive: Geoff Hurst, now 84; Terry Paine, 87; and Ian Callaghan, 84 -- and only Hurst among those who played in the Final. All 3 were interviewed on the subject of the 60th Anniversary of their triumph, and appeared to be in good health.

How Long It's Been: England Won a Major Soccer Tournament

July 30, 1966, 50 years ago today: England wins the World Cup, beating West Germany 4-2 after extra time, on home soil, at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

Geoff Hurst became the only man to score a hat trick in a World Cup Final -- the only person, until Carli Lloyd did so for America in the Women's World Cup Final against Japan last year.

His 2nd goal was controversial, in that some people think it didn't cross the goal line. His 3rd came in the 120th minute, the last minute of extra time (not counting stoppage time), as fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate what seemed to be a 3-2 win. BBC announcer Kenneth Wolstenholme made the most famous call in the history of sportscasting -- yes, more famous than "The Giants win the Pennant!":

And here comes Hurst! He's got... Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now! It's four!

Captain Bobby Moore led the England players up the famous Wembley steps, and received the World Cup trophy from his head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

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Here's England's performance in major tournaments since then:

* Euro 1968: Semifinal.
* 1970 World Cup: Quarterfinal.
* Euro 1972: Did not qualify.
* 1974 World Cup: Did not qualify.
* Euro 1976: Did not qualify.
* 1978 World Cup: Did not qualify.
* Euro 1980: Eliminated after Group Stage.
* 1982 World Cup: Eliminated after 2nd Group Stage. (Effectively, Round of 16.)
* Euro 1984: Did not qualify.
* 1986 World Cup: Quarterfinal. (Cheated by Argentina's Diego Maradona.)
* Euro 1988: Eliminated after Group Stage.
* 1990 World Cup: Semifinal. (Went out to West Germany on penalties.)
* Euro 1992: Eliminated after Group Stage.
* 1994 World Cup: Did not qualify.
* Euro 1996, on home soil: Semifinal. (Went out to the reunited Germany on penalties.)
* 1998 World Cup: Quarterfinal.
* Euro 2000: Eliminated after Group Stage.
* 2002 World Cup: Quarterfinal.
* Euro 2004: Quarterfinal. (Went out to Portugal on penalties.)
* 2006 World Cup: Quarterfinal. (Went out to Portugal on penalties.)
* Euro 2008: Did not qualify.
* 2010 World Cup: Round of 16. (Went out to Germany in normal time.)
* Euro 2012: Quarterfinal. (Went out to Italy on penalties.)
* 2014 World Cup: Eliminated after Group Stage.
* Euro 2016: Round of 16. (Went out to Iceland. Iceland!)

50 years. 25 tournaments. No wins. No Finals. 2 Semifinals. 3 times eliminated by Ze Germans. 5 times (out of the last 14) eliminated on penalties. 7 outright failures to qualify.

For half a century, the English have been telling the world that they "invented football." They did not: The Greeks and the Chinese were playing it 500 years before the birth of Christ. Then they'll say they popularized it and brought it to the world. Well, you don't see Harvard (or, even more ridiculously, the school that played the first American football game, which was really a 25-a-side soccer game: Rutgers) talking about their role in popularizing that sport.

And when you point out that English "football" is terrible now, they say, "Has your country won the World Cup?"

No, not the men's version. And for 50 years, neither has yours. These same English who make fun of the Scots for still talking about the Battle of Bannockburn, over 700 years later, are clinging to the fact that England won the World Cup within the lifetimes of many people still alive today.

Including 17 of the 22 players on that England squad: Gordon Banks, George Cohen, Ray Wilson, Nobby Stiles (the one with the missing teeth in the photo above), Jack Charlton, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Charlton (Jack's brother), Hurst, Peter Bonetti, Jimmy Armfield, Martin Peters, Ron Flowers, Norman Hunter, Terry Paine, Ian Callaghan, Roger Hunt and George Eastham. Moore died in 1993. Manager Alf Ramsey died in 1999, Alan Ball in 2007, John Connelly in 2012, and Ron Springett and Gerry Byrne both died last year.

UPDATE: Armfield and Wilson died in 2018. Banks died in 2019.

July 30, 1966. Exactly 50 years. How long has that been?

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England hasn't won the World Cup since. Brazil and Germany have won it 3 times since. Argentina and Italy have won it twice, France and Spain have won it once.

The World Cup has since been held in Mexico twice, Germany twice, Argentina, Spain, Italy, America, France, Japan, Korea, South Africa and Brazil. The Olympics have since been held in America 4 times, Canada 3 times, France twice, Japan twice, Russia twice, Mexico, Germany, Austria, Bosnia, Korea, Spain, Norway, Australia, Greece, Italy, China and Britain. Next week, you can add Brazil to that list.

Since England last won it, the Football League and its successor the Premier League have been won by Manchester United 14 times, Liverpool 11 times, Arsenal 6 times, Chelsea 4 times; Everton, Leeds United and Manchester City 3 times each; twice each by Derby County; and once each by Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City.

Liverpool had just won the Football League, while Everton had just won the FA Cup. The defending World Champions in North American sports were the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, the Green Bay Packers in football, the Boston Celtics in basketball, and the Montreal Canadiens in hockey. Muhammad Ali was the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Of the 8 stadiums used in that World Cup, 4 still stand: Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield (home of Sheffield Wednesday, now infamous for the disaster that killed 96 people there during the 1989 FA Cup Semifinal), Villa Park in Birmingham (home of Aston Villa), Old Trafford in Salford (home of Manchester United), Goodison Park in Liverpool (home of Everton),

Wembley has been demolished and replaced by a new stadium of the same name on the same site. The White City Stadium in London (built as the main stadium for the 1908 Olympics) is now the site of the BBC's (British Broadcasting Corporation) headquarters and main studios. Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough and Roker Park in Sunderland have both been demolished and replaced by low-cost housing, and their home clubs have built new stadiums.

Most English stadiums had "terraces" behind the goal, without seats, where people would stand. These were disasters waiting to happen, and Hillsborough 1989 was the last of a few incidents that killed people, or could have. Most stadiums had poor concession and restroom facilities, and the seated stands along the sidelines ("touchlines," they would say) had little legroom. Nearly every stadium in England would be either replaced entirely or seriously modernized in the 1990s and 2000s.

Of the 19 men (the role is currently vacant at Hull City) who are starting the 2016-17 season as managers of Premier League teams: Arsene Wenger of Arsenal was 16, Claudio Ranieri of Leicester City was 14, Francesco Guidolin of Swansea City was 10, Tony Pulis of West Bromwich Albion was 8, Alan Pardew of Crystal Palace was 5, Claude Puel of Southampton and Walter Mazzarri of Watford were 4; Ronald Koeman of Everton, Jose Mourinho of Manchester United and David Moyes of Sunderland were 3, Mark Hughes of Stoke City was 2; and Eddie Howe of Bournemouth, Sean Dyche of Burnley, Antonio Conte of Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool, Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, Aitor Karanka of Middlesbrough, Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham Hotspur and Slavin Bilic of West Ham United weren't born yet.

In English football in 1966, if a player was said to be "foreign," that usually meant he was from Scotland, Wales, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. Occasionally, there would be a player from outside the British Isles, but not often.

Queen Elizabeth is still on the throne. Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister. He would lose the office to Edward Heath, then regain it from him. Counting the 2 tenures of this 1 person, Britain has had 9 Prime Ministers -- despite Wilson holding the job for a total of 8 years, Margaret Thatcher for 11 and Tony Blair for 10. Theresa May just became the country's 2nd female Prime Minister. America has had 9 Presidents, and will soon have a 10th. The Prime Minister of Canada was Lester Pearson. The holder of the Nobel Peace Prize was UNICEF.

The President of the United States was Lyndon Johnson. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry Truman, their wives, and the widow of John F. Kennedy were still alive. Richard Nixon was in political exile. Gerald Ford was the Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. Jimmy Carter was in the State Senate in Georgia, and was embarking on his 1st campaign for Governor. So was former actor Ronald Reagan, in California. George H.W. Bush was running for the House of Representatives, and his son George W. was at Yale University. Bill Clinton was at Georgetown University, and his eventual wife Hillary Rodham was at Wellesley College. Donald Trump was at the University of Pennsylvania. Barack Obama was about to turn 5 years old, and his eventual wife Michelle Robinson was 2.

The Governor of the State of New York was Nelson Rockefeller. The Mayor of the City of New York was John Lindsay. The Governor of New Jersey was Richard J. Hughes. Andrew Cuomo was 8 years old, Bill de Blasio was 5, and Chris Christie was about to turn 4.

Major novels of the year included In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Magus by John Fowles, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (which was adapted into the Cliff Robertson movie Charly 2 years later), The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry, The Fixer by Bernard Malamud, The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott, The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron, and the best-selling novel in America since World War II, Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann.

Stephen King was at the University of Maine. George R.R. Martin had just graduated from Bayonne High School in New Jersey. J.K. Rowling would have her 1st birthday the day after the World Cup Final. No one had yet heard of Alexander Portnoy, Lestat de Lioncourt, T.S. Garp, Arthur Dent, Jason Bourne, Hannibal Lecter, Forrest Gump, Jack Ryan, Alex Cross, Bridget Jones, Robert Langdon, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan or Katniss Everdeen.

Major films of the Summer of 1966 included a film version of the new Batman TV series (released on the very day of England's World Cup win), Daleks -- Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (the 1st film based on Doctor Who, starring Peter Cushing as The Doctor), The Glass Bottom Boat, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, How to Steal a Million, Fantastic Voyage, the Elvis Presley film Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (a modernized comedy version of Robinson Crusoe starring Dick Van Dyke), and a Steve McQueen film whose name would be appropriated for the 1st great soccer bar in America: Nevada Smith.

Gene Roddenberry was getting ready to premiere Star Trek. George Lucas was at the University of Southern California. Steven Spielberg was at California State University at Long Beach. No one had yet heard of Billy Jack, Michael Corleone, HAL 9000, Harry Callahan, Cheech & Cong, John Shaft, Paul Kersey, Leatherface, Rocky Balboa, Howard Beale, Michael Myers, Jake & Elwood Blues, Mad Max Rockatansky, Jason Voorhees, Ash Williams, John Rambo, the Terminator, the Ghostbusters, Freddy Kreuger, Marty McFly, Robocop, John McClane, Jay & Silent Bob or Austin Powers.

Rawhide, Mister Ed, The Donna Reed Show, Ben Casey, The Addams Family and its copy (or was it vice versa?) The Munsters, McHale's Navy, The Patty Duke Show, Perry Mason and The Dick Van Dyke Show had all closed their runs on network TV; The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and My Favorite Martian soon would. The iconic Westerns Gunsmoke and Bonanza were still clippity-clopping along nicely. So were the spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E and the spy spoof Get Smart. Soon to premiere were Mission: Impossible, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Green Hornet, The Time Tunnel, The Monkees, That Girl, Family Affair, The Rat Patrol and The Hollywood Squares.

Bob Holiday had recently starred in the Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman.
Adam West had recently debuted as Batman. William Hartnell was still playing Doctor Who's First Doctor. There had not yet been live-action versions of Wonder Woman or Spider-Man. The comic book characters Ghost Rider, Luke Cage, the Punisher, Iron Fist, Cyborg, V (for Vendetta), Deadpool and Rick Grimes had yet to be created.

No one had yet heard of Hawkeye Pierce, Columbo, Scooby-Doo, Big Bird, Carol Brady, Monty Python, Mary Richards, Keith Partridge, Archie Bunker, Kwai Chang Caine, Fred Sanford, Bob Hartley, Theo Kojak, Arthur Fonzarelli, Barney Miller, Basil Fawlty, J.R. Ewing, Mork from Ork, William Adam, Arnold Jackson, Ken Reeves, Sam Malone, Christine Cagney & Marty Beth Lacey, He-Man, Goku, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Thundercats, Bart Simpson, Zack Morris, the Seinfeld Four, Buffy Summers, Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Ross Geller & Rachel Greene, Doug Ross, Xena, Carrie Bradshaw, Tony Soprano, Jed Bartlet, Jack Bauer, Omar Little, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Don Draper, Walter White, Richard Castle or Sarah Manning.

The Number 1 song in America was "Wild Thing" by The Troggs. Elvis, as I said, was in the doldrums of the movie phase of his career. Frank Sinatra was enjoying a renaissance as he approached his 50th birthday: "Strangers In the Night" had hit Number 1, his album September of My Years and his TV special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music were both big hits, and his daughter Nancy had recently hit Number 1 with "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'." The day before England won the World Cup, Bob Dylan had a nasty motorcycle crash that kept him from doing anything in music for over a year. His absence from the public eye led many people to think that the crash had actually killed him.

A car crash later in the year did not injure Paul McCartney of The Beatles, but, eventually, rumors would abound that he had been killed, and replaced by a double. Having recently released their album Revolver, the band was in the middle of a world tour and about to arrive in America, where, for what turned out to be the only time in his public life, John Lennon apologized for something: Saying that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus now. (He was right: They were.) After the tour ended in San Francisco on August 29, they decided never to tour again. They never did -- at least, not together.

That Summer, Bobby Fuller was murdered at what looked like the beginning of a great rock and roll career. Comedian Lenny Bruce was found dead of a drug overdose, but rumors that he was murdered would also persist. Frank Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention, released their album Freak Out! McCartney would later cite this, and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, as inspirations for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Other albums released that Summer included Aretha Franklin's Soul Sister, The Supremes A' Go-Go, The Temptations' Gettin' Ready, The Byrds' Fifth Dimenson, And Then... Along Comes the Association, Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, Tim Hardin 1, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, The Mamas & the Papas, The Exciting Wilson Pickett, and James Brown's It's a Man's Man's Man's World.

Inflation has been such that what $1.00 bought then would cost $7.40 now. Or, more to the point of the country in question, what £1.00 bought then would cost £17.45 now. This was before the decimalisation of the pound on February 15, 1971.

Credit cards were still a relatively new thing, and there were no automatic teller machines in America. There were artificial kidneys, but no artificial hearts. Transplanting a kidney or a lung was possible, but not a heart or liver. There were birth control pills, but no Viagra. The U.S. space program was in the middle of Project Gemini, the middle stage of trying to get to the Moon.

Most American TV shows had gone over to color broadcasts, but only about 1/3rd of U.S. households had color TV sets. There were no hand-held calculators, no video games, no digital watches, no cable televisions, no mobile telephones, no VCRs, no personal computers, and no Internet. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Tim Berners-Lee were all 11 years old.

In the Summer of 1966, the Vatican abolished their index of banned books. Prime Minister Wilson, President Charles de Gaulle of France, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India and Secretary General U Thant of the United Nations each made visits to the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong announced his Great Leap Forward in China. A gang led by Harry Roberts killed 3 London police officers.

In America, race riots struck the West Side of Chicago, the East Side of Cleveland, and in the Michigan capital of Lansing. Martin Luther King led a civil rights march in Chicago, and was hit with a rock thrown by a white counter-demonstrator. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) endorsed what it called "Black Power." The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that policemen must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them. The National Organization for Women (NOW) and the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) were founded. Richard Speck in Chicago and Charles Whitman in Austin, Texas became notorious murderers. The New York Herald Tribune ceased publication. Caesars Palace opened in Las Vegas. And ground was broken in New York for the original World Trade Center.

Delmore Schwartz, and Montgomery Clift, and Ed "Strangler" Lewis, the leading professional wrestler of the interwar years, died. Dikembo Mutombo, and Mike Tyson, and Gianfranco Zola were born.

July 30, 1966. England won the World Cup on home soil. It was the greatest moment in the history of British sport.

England have not won it since. They have not even been to a World Cup Final since. Only once since have they even made a World Cup Semifinal. And, based on their performances at the most recent editions of the World Cup and the European Championships, they're not getting appreciably close to doing it again.

I don't know what they're doing wrong. But they truly inspire a few rounds of that classic terrace chant: "You don't know what you're doing!"

July 11, 1966: England Begins Its Victorious World Cup

July 11, 1966, 50 years ago: The World Cup gets underway in England, with the host nation playing Uruguay to a 0-0 draw at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

England would go on to win the tournament, defeating West Germany 4-2 in extra time at Wembley on July 30.

Hail the Champions:

* Alfred Ernest Ramsey, a.k.a. Alf Ramsey, manager, born January 22, 1920 in Dagenham, East London. As player (a right back): 1943-49 Southampton, 1949-55 Tottenham Hotspur (a.k.a. Tottenham or Spurs, North London). As manager: 1955-63 Ipswich Town (Suffolk), 1963-74 England, 1977-78 Birmingham City (West Midlands), 1979-80 Panathinaikos (Athens, Greece).

* 1 Gordon Banks (no middle name), goalkeeper, born December 30, 1937 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. 1958-59 Chesterfield, 1959-67 Leicester City, 1967-72 Stoke City (Staffordshire, including their 1967 appearance in the United Soccer Association as the Cleveland Stokers), 1977-78 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (of the old North American Soccer League).

* 2 George Reginald Cohen, right back, born October 22, 1939 in Kensington, West London. 1956-69 Fulham (West London).

* 3 Ramon Wilson (no middle name), a.k.a. Ray Wilson, left back, born December 17, 1934 in Shirebrook, Derbyshire. 1952-64 Huddersfield Town (Yorkshire), 1964-69 Everton (Liverpool), 1969-70 Oldham Athletic (Greater Manchester), 1970-71 Bradford City (Yorkshire, player-manager).

* 4 Norbert Peter Stiles, a.k.a. Nobby Stiles, midfielder, born May 18, 1942 in Manchester. 1960-71 Manchester United, 1971-73 Middlesbrough, 1973-75 Preston North End. Managed the NASL's original Vancouver Whitecaps 1981-84.

* 5 John Charlton (no middle name), a.k.a. Jack Charlton, born May 8, 1935 in Ashington, Northumberland. 1952-73 Leeds United.

* 6 Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore, a.k.a. Bobby Moore, the Captain, born April 12, 1941 in Barking, East London. 1958-74 West Ham United, 1974-77 Fulham, 1976 on loan to the NASL's San Antonio Thunder, 1978 Seattle Sounders (the original NASL version), 1978 Herning Fremad (a club in Denmark that later merged with another to form FC Midtjylland). Despite his name and his London origin, he never played for West London club Chelsea.

* 7 Alan James Ball, a.k.a. Alan Ball or Alan Ball Jr., midfielder, born May 12, 1945 in Farnworth, Lancashire. 1960-61 Ashton United (Greater Manchester), 1962-66 Blackpool (Lancashire), 1966-71 Everton, 1971-76 Arsenal (North London), 1976-80 Southampton (Hampshire), 1978-79 on loan to the NASL's Philadelphia Fury, 1979-80 on loan to the Vancouver Whitecaps, 1980-81 back to Blackpool, 1981-83 back to Southampton, 1983 Bristol Rovers (Gloucestershire). Later managed arch-rivals Southampton and Portsmouth, and yet was beloved by both clubs' fans. His father, James Alan Ball or Alan Ball Sr., had also played and managed.

* 8 James Peter Greaves, a.k.a. Jimmy Greaves or Greavsie, forward, born February 20, 1940 in Manor Park, East London. 1957-61 Chelsea, 1961 AC Milan (Italy), 1961-70 Tottenham Hotspur, 1970-71 West Ham United, then bounced around the south of England until 1980. Was injured in the Group Stage and did not play in the knockout rounds. Later co-hosted Saint and Greavsie, a soccer-themed TV talk show with former Liverpool star Ian St. John.

* 9 Robert Charlton (no middle name), a.k.a. Bobby Charlton, forward, born October 11, 1937 in Ashington, younger brother of Jack. 1956-73 Manchester United, 1974-75 Preston North End (player-manager), 1976 Waterford United (Ireland). Also played county cricket for the Essex youth team.

* 10 Geoffrey Charles Hurst, forward, born December 8, 1941 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. 1959-72 West Ham United, 1972-75 Stoke City, 1975-76 West Bromwich Albion, 1976 Seattle Sounders. He is the only man ever to score a hat trick (3 goals) in a World Cup Final. His 2nd goal made the difference, but many people still think it didn't cross the line. (I've seen the film a few times. I think it the goal was correctly given.)

* 11 John Michael Connelly, winger, born July 18, 1938 in Barrowford, Lancashire. 1956-64 Burnley, 1964-66 Manchester United, 1966-70 Blackburn Rovers (Lancashire), 1970-73 Bury (Greater Manchester). Played only in the opening game against Uruguay.

* 12 Ronald Deryk George Springett, a.k.a. Ron Springett, goalkeeper, born July 22, 1935 in Fulham, West London. 1955-58 Queens Park Rangers (a.k.a. QPR, West London), 1958-67 Sheffield Wednesday (Yorkshire), 1967-69 QPR again. Although he was England's starting goalkeeper in the 1962 World Cup, he did not play in the 1966 edition.

* 13 Peter Phillip Bonetti, goalkeeper, born September 27, 1941 in Putney, West London. 1960-79 Chelsea, 1975 loan to St. Louis Stars (NASL), 1979 Dundee United (Scotland), came out of retirement to play 2 games for Woking (Surrey) in 1986. Did not appear in the 1966 World Cup, and famously took the heat for England getting knocked out in 1970 when he filled in for Banks, who was ill.

* 14 James Christopher Armfield, a.k.a. Jimmy Armfield, right back, born September 21, 1935 in Denton, Lancashire. 1954-71 Blackpool. Although he was acclaimed "the best right back in the world" during the 1962 World Cup, an injury kept him out of the 1966 edition. Later managed Leeds to the 1975 European Cup Final, losing to Bayern Munich.

* 15 Gerald Byrne (no middle name), a.k.a. Gerry Byrne, left back, born August 29, 1938 in Liverpool. 1957-69 Liverpool. Famously helped Liverpool win the 1965 FA Cup Final despite playing most of the game with a broken collarbone. Selected for the 1966 World Cup team, but did not play in the tournament.

* 16 Martin Stanford Peters, midfielder, born November 8, 1943 in Plaistow, East London. 1959-70 West Ham United, 1970-75 Tottenham Hotspur, 1975-80 Norwich City (Norfolk), 1980-81 Sheffield United (Yorkshire), 1982-83 Gorleston (Norfolk).

* 17 Ronald Flowers (no middle name), a.k.a. Ron Flowers, midfielder, born July 28, 1934 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. 1952-67 Wolverhampton Wanderers (West Midlands), 1967-69 Northampton Town, 1969-71 Telford United (Shropshire). Although he played for England in the 1962 World Cup, he did not appear in the 1966 edition despite being selected for the team. His brother John Flowers was a successful player for hometown club Doncaster Rovers. So was their uncle George Flowers.

* 18 Norman Hunter (no middle name), centreback, born October 29, 1938 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. 1962-76 Leeds United (Yorkshire), 1976-79 Bristol City (Gloucestershire), 1979-82 Barnsley (Yorkshire). The epitome of the "Dirty Leeds" teams of the latter half of the Sixties and the first half of the Seventies, during the 1972 FA Cup Final in which Leeds beat Arsenal, a Leeds fan held up a banner reading "NORMAN BITES YER LEGS." He was known as Bites Yer Legs Hunter from then on. Legend has it that, when he broke his own leg in training, someone told the club trainer, "Norman has broken a leg," and the trainer said, "Whose is it?" He was named to 2 World Cup squads, but only made 1 appearance, in 1970.

* 19 Terence Lionel Paine, a.k.a. Terry Paine, winger, born March 23, 1939 in Winchester, Hampshire. 1957-74 Southampton (Hampshire), 1974-77 Hereford United, 1979-80 Cheltenham Town (Gloucestershire). Injured in the match with Mexico, and never played for England again.

* 20 Ian Robert Callaghan, midfielder, born April 10, 1942 in Liverpool. 1960-78 Liverpool, 1978 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (NASL), 1978-81 Swansea City (Wales), 1981-82 Crewe Alexandra (Cheshire). Did not play in the World Cup.

* 21 Roger Hunt (no middle name), forward, born July 20, 1938 in Glazebury, Cheshire. 1958-69 Liverpool, 1969-72 Bolton Wanderers (Lancashire). Hurst has always said that if there had been any doubt that his 2nd goal had crossed the line, Hunt would have rushed in to put it over. Instead, Hunt turned away to celebrated it, suggesting that it was totally legit.

* 22 George Edward Eastham, forward, born September 23, 1936 in Blackpool, Lancashire. 1953-56 Ards (Bangor, Northern Ireland), 1956-60 Newcastle United (Tyne and Wear), 1960-66 Arsenal, 1966-73 Stoke City (teammates with Banks, including in their sojourn in Cleveland), 1974-76 Hellenic (Cape Town, South Africa). Best known as the player whose legal case broke England's maximum wage for footballers. This did not stop him from playing for England in the 1962 World Cup, although he was not put into any of the games for the 1966 edition. Later fought apartheid in South Africa as a white manager of black teams.

On the books of these teams at the time: 3 for Liverpool, 3 for Manchester United, 3 for West Ham United, 2 for Blackpool, 2 for Leeds United, and 1 each for Arsenal, Blackpool, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Leicester City, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Including Ramsey, these men could be claimed at one time or another by these teams: 4 for West Ham; 3 each for Liverpool, Man United, Southampton, Stoke and Tottenham; 2 each for Arsenal, Blackpool, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Leeds and Preston; and 1 each for Ashton, Barnsley, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Bradford City, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Burnley, Bury, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra, Gorleston, Hereford, Huddersfield, Ipswich, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Oldham, QPR, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Swnasea, Telford, West Brom, Woking and Wolves.

Also with England at the 1958 World Cup: Bobby Charlton.

Also with England at the 1962 World Cup: Wilson, Moore, Greaves, Bobby Charlton, Connelly, Springett, Armfield, Flowers, Hunt, Eastham.

Also with England at the 1970 World Cup: Banks, Stiles, Moore, Ball, both Charltons, Hurst, Bonetti, Peters, Hunter.

Some of them might have made the team for England at the 1974 World Cup, but England did not qualify.

Queen Elizabeth II handed the World Cup itself, the Jules Rimet Trophy, to Captain Bobby Moore. There is a movement to convince her to grant him a posthumous knighthood. But if Horatio Nelson, Alan Turing and John Lennon aren't going to be posthumously knighted, then Moore stands little chance. Thus far, the Queen has knighted 2 members of the team: Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst.

All of the players lived to see the 25th Anniversary of the achievement. All lived to see the 30th and the 40th, except for Moore: He died of colon cancer on February 24, 1993. He was only 51.

Alan Ball, the youngest member of the team, died on April 25, 2007. He was only 61. His father had also died young, in a car crash at age 57. John Connelly died on October 25, 2012, apparently of heart failure. He was 74. Ron Springett died on September 12, 2015, also apparently of heart failure. He was 80. Gerry Byrne died on November 28, 2015, of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

Now, in addition to Byrne's battle with Alzheimer's, 4 other members of that team are experiencing dementia: Wilson, Stiles and Peters have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and Jack Charlton says, "I haven't got a memory now. I forget things easily." He is no longer allowed to drive, or to go fishing alone. Stiles, Banks and Greaves are also battling cancer. Greaves, the Football League's all-time leading goalscorer, has had strokes, and is now wheelchair-bound.

Their numbers do not include Jeff Astle, perhaps the best-known English footballer to have had football-related dementia. He starred as a forward for West Midlands club West Bromwich Albion, and played for England in the 1970 World Cup. He died in 2002. Nor do they include Gerd Müller, the German star who did not make that World Cup, but would eliminate England from the 1970 edition and win it in 1974, and was diagnosed last year. (UPDATE: He died in 2021.)

Pat Wilson, Ray's wife, says, "There are people he played with at Huddersfield and Everton with Alzheimer's. They are all over. They have talked about heading the leather ball causing it."

The balls of that era were heavier than they are today, and, being made of leather, got heavier still when wet.

The surviving players have a golf outing every year. John Stiles, Nobby's son, says, "It's a real shame he can't go to the get-together anymore, because he loved going. He loved the camaraderie they had. That is what made them so special. But, unfortunately, like so many who played in that era and headed those heavy balls, my father has now got dementia. Many other players have some sort of degenerative brain disease."

When an event like winning a world championship happens, they say the participants and the spectators "will never forget."

Sadly, we now know that this is not necessarily true.

UPDATE: In 2018, Jimmy Armfield died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on January 22; and Ray Wilson died of Alzheimer's disease on May 15.

In 2019, Gordon Banks died of cancer on February 12, and Martin Peters died of Alzheimer's disease on December 21.

In 2020, Peter Bonetti died on April 12, of what was only listed as "a long illness"; Norman Hunter died from COVID-19 on April 17; Jack Charlton died of lymphoma on July 10, also having dealt with dementia; and Nobby Stiles died on October 30, from the combined effects of cancer and dementia.

In 2021, Jimmy Greaves died of cancer on September 19; Roger Hunt died on September 27, of what was only listed as "a prolonged illness"; and Ron Flowers died on November 12, of an undisclosed cause.

George Cohen died on December 23, 2022. Bobby Charlton died on October 21, 2023. George Eastham died on December 20, 2024. That leaves Hurst, Paine and Callaghan, and only Hurst among those who played in the Final.