Newsweek

‘MY WORLD CUP HAT TRICK IN ‘66 CHANGED MY LIFE’

AGE: 80

POSITION: Striker

TEAM: English National, West Ham United (among others)

CLAIM TO FAME: The only player in history to score a hat trick in a World Cup final

PERSONAL: Currently touring the U.K. in live stage appearances talking about his life and career

AS EACH NEW WORLD CUP APPROACH-es, I always turn my mind back to July 30, 1966, and the day that changed my life forever. At the turn of that year, I hadn’t really considered being in manager Alf Ramsey’s World Cup squad for England, but there I was.

Jimmy Greaves, the most famous, and greatest, goal scorer of all time for my country had been injured in the last group stage game against France a few weeks earlier. So, I came into the team and did pretty well. But on the eve of the final, Jimmy was probably fit again and I’m not sure that I

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Newsweek

Newsweek1 min read
The Archives
“Fewer than 14 percent of AIDS victims have survived more than three years after being diagnosed, and no victim has recovered fully,” Newsweek reported during the epidemic. AIDS, caused by severe HIV, has no official cure. However, today’s treatment
Newsweek7 min readWorld
Resurgence of Global Mayhem
WITH MUCH OF INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION gripped by the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, the Islamic State militant group has been steadily ramping up operations across continents and setting the stage for a resurgence of global mayhem. This latent threat
Newsweek1 min read
Living On The Edge
An 18th-century cottage clings to the precipice following a dramatic cliff fall in the coastal village of Trimingham on April 8. The homeowner, who bought the property in 2019 for around $165,000, will now see the structure demolished as the saturate

Related Books & Audiobooks