Contents. the build up. Foreword by Sir Geoff Hurst MBE 6 World Cup posters 8 Introduction 10 Official publications 14

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1 the build up Contents Foreword by Sir Geoff Hurst MBE 6 World Cup posters 8 Introduction 10 Official publications 14 The Build-Up The nation prepares 18 Venue place mats 24 Sir Alf Ramsey 26 World Cup Willie 30 The team prepares 34 Pickles saves the day 38 The Players: Defence 1. Gordon Banks George Cohen Ray Wilson 52 World Cup ads Jack Charlton Bobby Moore 62 Group Stage Group One: London 70 England v Uruguay 76 Pinewood Studios 80 England v Mexico 82 England v France 86 Group Two: Midlands 90 West Germany in training 96 Group Three: North West 98 Pele 104 Group Four: North East 106 North Korea 112 Just had to be there 114 The Players: Midfield 4. Nobby Stiles Alan Ball 122 World Cup beer Bobby Charlton Martin Peters 132 Toys and games 136 The England camp 138 World Cup collectibles 142 Knockout Stages Quarter-finals 154 England v Argentina 160 Geoff Hurst celebrates 164 The aftermath 166 Semi-finals 168 West Germany v USSR 168 England v Portugal 172 Eusebio & Third-place play-off 178 The Players: Attack 10. Geoff Hurst Roger Hunt 188 The squad 192 The Final Build-up 198 The shirt 200 England v West Germany 202 The third goal 211 The final whistle 212 The presentation 214 The ball 218 The photographer 220 Celebrations Saturday night and Sunday morning 226 The banquet 230 The front pages 232 Cover stars 235 Letters to Alf Ramsey 236 The final word 238 Acknowledgements 240 Roll Of Honour

2 Introduction the players Foreword Sir Geoff Hurst MBE I am delighted to welcome you to : The 50th Anniversary, a spectacular book produced by The FA that rolls back the years to that incredible summer of when England hosted, and of course won, the World Cup. Looking at all the pictures, newspaper cuttings and fantastic memorabilia on these pages transports you back in time to those magical weeks when the whole country was mesmerised by football s greatest tournament and the realisation slowly set in that we might actually win it. Following the great Bobby Moore up the Wembley steps to be presented my winners medal by Her Majesty the Queen seems like yesterday. But even then I knew that life would never be the same again, that it would be shaped forever by this moment in fact, three moments that had happened in the previous two hours. The fact that I am writing this foreword now as Sir Geoff, that my name will forever be synonymous with England s World Cup triumph, is of course because I was lucky enough to become the first man and so far the only one ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final. But even now, when I think about it, I still have to pinch myself to believe that it really happened. Before the finals I was just happy to be in the squad. I wasn t considered the best striker in England and I wasn t even the best player at West Ham. But I got my chance and, as they say, the rest is history. People always ask me about my second goal in the final. Was it over the line? But to this day I can honestly say that I really don t know. I was on my backside at the time and the ball bounced behind the West German keeper so I probably had the worst view in the stadium. But Roger Hunt, who was the closest player to the ball, has always insisted it was clearly over and that s good enough for me. For the fourth goal, which sealed my hat-trick and our victory, I was completely unaware that there were people running on the pitch. I thought the ref must be about to blow his whistle so I just hit it. In fact I mis-hit it and it flew in. It was an incredible moment, although Alan Ball was furious at me for not passing to him. When the final whistle did blow, my first emotion was one of relief. We d done it! In front of our own supporters, at the home of football, England had won the World Cup. It wasn t long before relief turned into huge pride. That feeling has never left me, and not a day goes by without someone wanting to talk about that day and what it meant to them. The enjoyment of winning the World Cup lasts forever June

3 the build up World Cup posters More than 100,000 posters were plastered on billboards around the country to publicise the forthcoming tournament 8 9

4 Introduction Introduction Far right: Alf Ramsey takes a break during preparations for the World Cup with Roger Hunt (left) and Geoff Hurst A full half century may have passed since England won the World Cup in, but key images from that glorious July afternoon remain bright and vivid: Geoff Hurst smashing in his hat-trick goal to seal victory while some excited fans, who thought it was all over, were running on to the pitch; captain Bobby Moore collecting the Jules Rimet Trophy from the Queen and holding it aloft to the cheering crowd; and pint-sized hardman Nobby Stiles skipping across the Wembley turf, a picture of pure joy. However, looking at the grainy black-and-white TV pictures England s triumph can feel rather dim and distant. Even more so when you recall that this was a World Cup before the introduction of substitutes, penalty shoot-outs, red or yellow cards, the back-pass rule or, of course, goal-line technology. On the other hand, certain elements of the team s momentous achievement have a distinctly modern texture. For example, the tactics of manager Alf Ramsey, which saw England adopt a narrow formation to earn them the tag of the wingless wonders, could easily be mirrored by a Premier League side today without causing uproar among the TV studio pundits. Consider, too, the shooting prowess of Hurst and Bobby Charlton, the tireless running of Martin Peters, Alan Ball and Roger Hunt, the stout defending of Stiles, Jack Charlton, George Cohen and Ray Wilson, the peerless reading of the game by Moore and the reliably excellent goalkeeping of Gordon Banks, all combining together to create a truly formidable whole. Or as Alan Ball once put it: We had players with pace, players with power, players with stamina and skill. We knew we would be extremely difficult to beat. Most present-day managers, surely, would be delighted if their team shared the same individual and collective qualities. Similarly, away from the football on the pitch, the World Cup was tied to both the future and the past in different and often intriguing ways. The tournament blazed a trail for commercialism, for instance, with an explosion in merchandising in particular. A huge variety of products branded with the features of World Cup Willie, a lion in a Union Jack waistcoat and the tournament s first official mascot, found their way into the market, although the response from consumers was rather muted. A lot of the merchandise ended up stacked up in a London warehouse but, happily, their association with England s fabled victory has since made the assorted hats, T-shirts, beer glasses and tea towels highly prized by collectors of both football memorabilia and 60s kitsch. Technological developments in communications, meanwhile, helped make the finals in England the first genuinely global World Cup. Television was still in its relative infancy, but nonetheless images from the matches were beamed to 69 different stations around the world and the final attracted a then record audience of 400 million across the planet. And while only 16 nations actually competed at the finals, press accreditation was provided for reporters, photographers and radio and TV folk from four 10 11

5 Introduction spread tbc times as many countries, including Iran, Iraq and Sudan. Yet, at the same time as this great coming together of the world s media, the British government decided that the best way to publicise the The final itself was described at the time by The New forthcoming tournament in this country was by the somewhat Yorker as a kind of national fairy tale and England s epic dated means of the poster, hundreds of which were stuck on the triumph has since taken its place in the country s folklore, walls at airports, train stations and social clubs. It s a wonder a never-to-be-forgotten event to be cherished even by those town criers weren t roped in to announce the latest World Cup who weren t alive in. The celebrations that evening in news in market squares up and down the country the capital and elsewhere were also extraordinary, with many Fan culture, too, demonstrated aspects of the old and the new. Chanting at football matches had only just seeped into British football, originating from The Kop at Anfield, but as the tournament went on the home support increasingly found its Above: FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous checks out the Slazenger match balls Attendances at some of the early fixtures, especially in the north east, were rather disappointing, compounding the sense that the tournament had got off to a low-key start following England s dreary goalless draw with Uruguay in the opening eyewitnesses comparing the scenes of wild jubilation to those seen in London on VE night in Perhaps one 13-year-old boy who went to the final best summed up what England s victory meant when he described it simply as the most wonderful Above: A chair numbered voice, with cries of Eng-land! and Ram-sey! echoing around Wembley as win followed win. Scarves, rosettes, rattles and flags in England s case the Union Jack, rather than the red cross of St George were must-have accessories for many fans, the Right: The Radio Times and TV World prepare for a World Cup ratings war match. All the indications so far are that as a national prestige booster the World Cup is going to be a resounding flop, predicted one newspaper on its front page. It wasn t long, though, before virtually the whole nation was hooked on the moment in the history of the universe. This 50th anniversary, then, is an opportunity to reflect upon the greatest moment in English football and the delight it brought to fans from Cornwall to Cumbria. Most of all, 66 from the old Wembley majority of whom were male and dressed in sober suits and ties unfolding drama, following not just England s thrilling progress though, it s a time to pay tribute to the boys of 66 and Stadium complete with a with not a replica shirt in sight. The often wacky, eye-catching to the final but the surprise early eliminations of football titans their inspirational manager, Sir Alf Ramsey. It s such a huge World Cup Willie seat cushion and colourful fashions of the Swinging Sixties may have been Brazil and Italy, and the unexpected success of giant-killing achievement, and they deserve all the praise they ve had over all the rage on the King s Road in Chelsea, but clearly they had minnows North Korea. By the end of the tournament average the years for making history in this country, says England s Right: An official corner still to catch on with football fans in Birmingham, Liverpool or attendances were better than at any previous World Cup, and captain in 2016, Wayne Rooney. As an England player, captain flag for the tournament even London. were only eventually surpassed at USA 94. and fan I d like to say thank you

6 the build up Official publications Left: The official World Cup preview book Below: A visitor s guide to the seven host towns and cities Below: The World Cup Bulletin, a publication for the FA and FIFA Right: The official souvenir programme for all the matches except the final 14 15