A GENIUS ANDA GENTLEMAN
A tribute to the great ‘Sir’ Roger Hunt - Liverpool legend and one of England’s immortal boys of ’66
ROGER HUNT, in recent years, had a favourite chair in his living room. He would spend most weekends perched on it, studying and marvelling at the Premier League’s sharpest shooters.
He adored Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, two men who do what all great Liverpool strikers must do and plunder goals on a regular basis. Hunt was enthused by the guile of Tottenham’s Harry Kane and the cunning of Jamie Vardy, the Leicester totem.
‘He loves them all,’ his wife Rowan told the Liverpool Echo in December 2019. ‘Goalscorers… it’s his heaven.’
It was heaven because he was a master of the craft. He marvelled at the current generation because it took him back to the time when he was doing it so successfully, when he conquered the world with England in 1966.
Though it is more than 50 years since Hunt last played for Liverpool, an idea of the role he plays in the club’s history is the fact he set the standards — in so many ways — to which every other striker who has followed has had to aspire.
Jurgen Klopp, the current manager, was so in awe, he wrote to Hunt — whom The Kop dubbed ‘Sir Roger’ — on his 80th birthday to express his admiration for all he achieved.
Nobody has eclipsed Hunt’s 244 League goals for the club, only Ian Rush has bettered his all-time haul of 285 in 492 appearances. As thrilling as Salah has been, his League century for Liverpool — which he notched at Brentford on Saturday — came in his 151st game. Hunt got there in 148.
Hunt was the young man, fresh out of the army, who Phil Taylor, the then Liverpool manager, signed from Stockton Heath in the Cheshire League in 1958 on a contract of £12 a week. He netted on his debut against Scunthorpe, a strike that opened the floodgates.
It was Bill Shankly’s arrival in December 1959 that really set him alight, his 41 goals in 41 games helping them win the Second Division in 1962. He would add two first division titles plus the FA Cup in 1965, when his header set Liverpool on the way against Leeds United.
He was the leading scorer for eight consecutive seasons, the first man to score in a European final for Liverpool, the first man to have a goal shown on Match of the Day; he was artistic with beautiful timing in front of goal but also had a relentless desire to work hard. His attributes would have fitted easily into this current team.
That is why his passing on Monday evening after a long illness is so profound, another light at Anfield going out. Hunt was one of the pillars on which the modern Liverpool was built, a man whose name commanded reverence. You didn’t have to watch him in person to be in awe of who he was or what he achieved.
‘I was fortunate to meet him a number of times around the club when I was playing and at other functions later on,’ Robbie Fowler said. ‘You don’t need me to tell you what he did in front of goal, it’s there for everyone to see. He was a genius, really, ahead of his time in terms of finishing.
‘What I will say is, more than anything, he was just a gentleman, a lovely person to be around. Whenever you were in his company, you knew he was so humble and quiet. Everyone loved him, everyone looked after him. He was just a hero to so, so many.’
For club and country. The 1966
World Cup final cannot be discussed without Hunt’s name entering the conversation, as it was he who wheeled away in celebration as Geoff Hurst’s shot crashed down off the crossbar. His reaction swayed Azerbaijani linesman Tofiq Bahramov to award the goal.
‘1966 was my year, wasn’t it?’ Hunt, who was capped 34 times by England and scored 18 goals, said in that same December 2019 Liverpool Echo interview. ‘It was so amazing to win the match. And a relief. There was so much pressure. I feel very proud. We won it. And yes (it crossed the line), to answer your next question!
‘I was then actually back in training with Liverpool for pre-season two weeks after winning the World Cup and the first person I saw was Shanks. He said: “Well done, son.
But we’ve got better things to do now!” But it was a good year, as we’d won the League as well.’
The FA will honour Hunt next month, ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Hungary, and it should not be forgotten the crucial role he played in 1966 — he started all six matches and scored three times, including both in the 2-0 defeat of France.
An intensely private and modest man, he worked for the pools panel for more than 30 years after he retired — management never appealed. Hunt may have been in raptures watching the stars of today but his achievements tell you something profound.
For all they are doing, they still have some distance to go to stand comparable to the late, great ‘Sir Roger’.