Roger Hunt set a number of records and achieved enormous success during his career as professional footballer but the Liverpool legend, who died on Monday night, made football broadcasting history back in 1964.
Hunt, who died peacefully at home following a long illness at the age of 83, is Liverpool’s second-highest goalscorer of all time with 285 in 492 appearances and won the World Cup with England.
But he also scored the first-ever goal to be broadcast on Match of the Day when the iconic BBC highlights programme was aired for the first time back in August 1964.
England and Liverpool legend Roger Hunt (pictured in 1969) died at the age of 83 on Monday
Hunt scored the first goal to be broadcast on Match of the Day when it was shown in 1964
The identity of the match that was to be broadcast was kept a secret from viewers until 4pm, amid fears crowds would not attend matches if they could watch extended highlights of it on the TV.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the attendance for the game at Anfield was 47,620 but only 20,000 watched the highlights later on the BBC.
Back then, Match of the Day showed highlights of just one game but the highlights lasted around an hour with Kenneth Wolstenholme and Walley Barnes providing commentary on this encounter.
Hunt lined up for Billy Shankly’s Reds against Arsenal at Anfield as they prepared to defend their First Division title in the 1964/65 season.
It was a Liverpool team that included the likes of Tommy Lawrence, Ron Yeats and Ian Callaghan and the teams came onto the pitch alongside the famous Beatles hit ‘She Loves You’.
On a black and white broadcast of Match of the Day, Hunt netted after just 11 minutes in front of the Kop to put Liverpool in front.
Liverpool manager Bill Shankly sent his champions out to play in an interesting formation
Hunt scored an outrageous cushioned volley in front of the Kop to give Liverpool the lead
Hunt (left) was mobbed by his team-mates as fans back at home could enjoy the goal on TV
It was a stunning finish as the forward hit a looping volley from Callaghan’s cross into the far corner of the net.
Gordon Wallace doubled Liverpool’s lead after the half-time interval but the Gunners replied with a quick-fire double from Geoff Strong and Joe Baker.
Wallace would not be denied a second though and his dramatic winner from distance secured victory for the reigning champions.
‘Well I’d call it the Match of the Century, I don’t know about the Match of the Day!’, commentator Wolstenholme joked at full-time.
It was the start of a disappointing season for Liverpool as they finished seventh in the First Division with Manchester United winning the title.
Fast forward over 50 years and Match of the Day is now the longest-running football TV show
However, Shankly’s team did win the FA Cup and reach the semi-finals of the European Cup.
Fast forward more than 50 years and Match of the Day is now the longest-running football TV show in the world – according to Guinness World Records.
The show, which has become a national institution, still broadcasts Premier League highlights on a Saturday night with Gary Lineker as the host.
Viewing figures were reported to be around seven million across all platforms back in 2019, meanwhile Match of the Day 2 has also been created to show highlights of matches played on a Sunday.
The entire football broadcasting landscape has changed with at least four Premier League matches shown across a weekend between Sky Sports and BT Sport.
England’s World Cup winner ‘Sir’ Roger Hunt – one of the finest strikers in Liverpool’s history and the unsung hero of the glorious 1966 team – dies at the age of 83
Roger Hunt, a member of England’s 1966 World Cup winning squad and Liverpool’s second-highest goalscorer ever, has died at the age of 83 following a long illness.
Hunt was central figure in Sir Alf Ramsey’s England squad that delivered the nation’s first and only World Cup win in ’66, playing in attack alongside Sir Geoff Hurst. He played in all six games for England in the tournament and scored three goals.
His death leaves just three surviving members of the England team that started the ’66 World Cup final – Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst and George Cohen – with six former players having passed away since May, 2018.
Hunt was overlooked for a knighthood, prompting Liverpool fans to affectionately coin the nickname ‘Sir Roger’. Hunt received an MBE in 2000.
Hunt, who was born in Glazebury in Lancashire in 1938, scored 285 goals in 492 matches for Liverpool, with his debut coming in September 1959. On the international scene, Hunt played 34 times for England and netted 18 goals.
He was key man under the guidance of legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, scoring 41 goals in 41 games in the side that won the second tier in 1961-62. His partnership in attack with Ian St John, who passed away in March, is fondly remembered in Liverpool’s glittering history.
Hunt also enjoyed the distinction of scoring the first goal ever shown on the BBC’s Match of the Day highlights programme, a looping volley into the top corner during a 3-2 win over Arsenal on August 22, 1964.
He lived near Warrington with his wife Rowan, having previously been married to Patricia O’Brien, with whom he had two children.
Roger Hunt, one of England’s heroes from the 1966 World Cup and a Liverpool legend, has died at the age of 83
Hunt (top row, fourth right) is pictured among the victorious England squad celebrating with the Jules Rimet Trophy after the 1966 World Cup final. Back row (left-right): Peter Bonetti, George Eastham, Harold Shepherdson, Jack Charlton, Gordon Banks, Hunt, Bobby Moore, George Cohen, Bobby Charlton. Front row: Nobby Stiles, Martin Peters and Ray Wilson
Hunt was one of the unsung stars of England’s World Cup winning squad of 1966 (left); he is also the second-highest scorer in Liverpool’s history with a huge total of 285 goals in 492 matches, and he won the league twice while at Anfield
The exact cause of Hunt’s death remains unknown, but Liverpool confirmed he had ‘passed away peacefully at home following a long illness on Monday evening’.
In 1965 Hunt opened the scoring when Liverpool beat Leeds 2-1 after extra-time at Wembley to win the FA Cup for the first time. Three years later, Hunt became Liverpool’s leading scorer in January 1968 with a goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Hunt and Liverpool would also become the champions of England twice, winning the First Division in 1964 and 1966.
Despite his relentless scoring record, one of the Shankly quotes that is engraved into Anfield folklore came when the Reds boss was quizzed about the forward missing chances.
‘Yes Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them,’ Shankly said.
Hunt recalled his fondness of Shankly in an interview with the Liverpool Echo in 2020.
Hunt and his wife Rowan are pictured at the 1966 World Cup Exhibition Launch at Wembley Stadium in July 2016
Here Hunt signs an autograph for a young supporter at Anfield before a First Division game against Burnley in 1969
Hunt pictured in his official 1966 World Cup suit alongside England team-mate Nobby Stiles (left), who died last year
The striker pictured parading the World Cup around Goodison Park with England team-mate Ray Wilson before the 1966 Charity Shield match between Liverpool and Everton – despite them playing for rival clubs
‘Mr Shankly was a great man,’ Hunt said. ‘He was great for me. We had a very good relationship. He played me and I scored lots of goals for him!
‘I knew he was special. He was the best person. He wasn’t the hard man people thought he was. I didn’t know straight away that he’d have such an impact but I was aware pretty soon.
‘We had a great team and I always thought to myself ‘I’m scoring today’. And I usually did score! I scored a lot of goals, I was a good player.’
He left Liverpool in 1969 and joined Bolton, where he scored 25 goals in 84 appearances before retiring in 1972.
Hunt was overtaken as Liverpool’s leading scorer by Ian Rush in 1992, with the Welshman going on to score 346 goals for Liverpool.
Hunt and Liverpool would become the champions of England twice, winning the First Division in 1964 and 1966
Hunt relished working alongside legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly (right) and spoke in glowing terms about him
Liverpool boss Shankly famously said about Hunt: ‘Yes Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them’