Roger Hunt has been described as a ‘giant’, a ‘legend’ and a ‘true gentleman’ as tributes were paid from across the world of football following his death at the age of 83.
Hunt, a World Cup winner with England back in 1966, was confirmed to have died peacefully on Monday night following a long illness.
He is Liverpool’s second all-time leading scorer and fans of the Merseyside club quickly paid their respects to a man they feel encapsulates what it is to be a legend of the sport.
Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher described Hunt as ‘one of the greatest goal scorers’ the Reds have ever had.
‘RIP Sir Roger Hunt, one of the greatest goal scorers our club has ever seen. Sir Roger along with the other Legends from the 60’s made @LFC the club it is today,’ he tweeted.
Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge was left ‘absolutely gutted’ by news of Hunt’s death.
Aldridge tweeted: ‘I’m absolutely gutted to hear of the passing away of one, if not THE BEST LFC strikers SIR ROGER HUNT. What a striker and a true Gentlemen, I had the great pleasure of being with him on many occasions. RIP My Nu 1 Legend and Hero. YNWA’
Liverpool legend Roger Hunt died on Monday evening at the age of 83 following a long illness
The striker (pictured centre between Gordon Banks – in yellow – and Sir Bobby Moore) won the 1966 World Cup with England and is remembered as one of the sport’s all-time great players
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was effusive in his praise of Hunt’s Anfield legacy
John Aldridge described Hunt as a ‘true gentleman’ and said he was his ‘No 1 legend and hero’
Ian Rush, who surpassed Hunt’s overall goal tally at Liverpool, echoed the thoughts of peers
Sir Kenny Dalglish used his tribute to thank Hunt for his contributions while a Liverpool player
Jan Molby, who spent 12 years at Liverpool, tweeted a poignant tribute for Hunt and Ian St John, who passed away earlier this year
Mark Lawrenson, who represented Liverpool in the 80s, also spoke of the Hunt-St John reunion
Ex-Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler was among a host of former professionals to pay tribute
Neil Mellor who was a striker at Liverpool early in his career paid his respects to Hunt’s passing
Alan Kennedy described Hunt as a ‘wonderful footballer and even better man’ in his tribute
Jan Molby, who spent 12 years at Liverpool, tweeted a picture of Hunt alongside Ian St John, who died earlier this year.
Molby tweeted: ‘Take care of Sir Roger for us Saint. RIP Roger Hunt #Legend #YNWA’
To echo those thoughts, Mark Lawrenson, who played for Liverpool during the 1980s, said: ‘Another Top Player/Gentleman has left us today.. Hopefully Roger & the Saint are renewing their Brilliant Partnership wherever they may be…. Love to the Hunt family…We feel your pain…RIP Roger.’
Robbie Fowler and Neil Mellor both paid their respects after news of his passing was confirmed by Liverpool.
Everton’s official account put any allegiance aside to pay a tribute of their own.
They wrote: ‘Our thoughts are with Roger Hunt’s loved ones and everyone at @LFC at this sad time. RIP’
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that Hunt ‘comes second to no-one’ in the story of Liverpool’s history.
Hunt and Liverpool would become the champions of England twice, winning the First Division in 1964 and 1966
Hunt (pictured left) relished working alongside legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly (right) and spoke in glowing terms about their relationship working together at Anfield
England’s official account stated that the national team is ‘extremely saddened’ by the news
Everton put any allegiance to one side as they wanted to pay respects to the passing of Hunt
The Premier League offered their condolences to Hunt’s family as they paid their own tribute
The English Football League said they have been left ‘devastated’ by news of Hunt’s death
‘It’s really sad news and our thoughts and our love go to his family,’ Klopp said.
‘Unfortunately, it feels too frequent in this moment we are saying farewell to these giants of our club.
‘Roger Hunt comes second to no-one in his importance in the history of Liverpool FC, that much is clear.
‘To be the goalscoring catalyst of the Shankly team to actually achieve promotion and then go on to win those precious league titles and the FA Cup puts him in a bracket of LFC legends who are responsible for making us the club we are today. Not only that, he was also a World Cup winner in 1966, too.’
Hunt leaves behind three surviving starters from that ’66 final in George Cohen, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst.
Sir Geoff Hurst, one of three survivors left from that ’66 team, shared an old photo with Hunt
In his tribute, Hurst wrote: ‘Very sad day. Roger was an absolutely lovely man. Picture is of Roger and Bally after my goal @England v Argentina. Great memories.’
Fans and journalists who cover Liverpool were effusive in their praise of Hunt and the legacy he leaves behind at Anfield.
‘A light has gone out at Anfield. One of the giants, a man who set standards and smashed records,’ Sportsmail’s Merseyside correspondent Dominic King wrote.
‘His statistics tell you about him as a player, those who knew him tell you he was an absolute gentlemen. That is what matters.’
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.
Hunt was adored at Liverpool, where the fanbase nicknamed him ‘Sir Roger’ and it stuck
Sportsmail’s Merseyside reporter Dominic King described Hunt as ‘one of the giants’ at Anfield
Fans were quick to laud the achievements of Hunt and ensure he is remembered as a ‘legend’
Shankly’s relationship with Hunt has been told through the generations of Liverpool fans
Hunt 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.
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.
Roger Hunt’s death at the age of 83 leaves just THREE surviving members of the England team that started the 1966 World Cup final with six of Alf Ramsey’s side passing away since May 2018
The death of Roger Hunt at the age of 83 leaves just three surviving members from the England team that won the World Cup in 1966.
Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Geoff Hurst and George Cohen are now the only living players from the team that famously and thrillingly defeated West Germany 4-2 after extra time at Wembley.
It remains England’s only major tournament triumph, though Gareth Southgate’s current crop were agonisingly close to beating Italy in the Euro 2020 final this summer.
Hunt started the ’66 final in attack but his industrious performance was always likely to be overshadowed by the hat-trick scored by his strike partner Hurst.
However, Hunt netted three times during the tournament – once in the 2-0 win over Mexico during the group stage and twice in the victory over France by the same scoreline that followed it.
He is a club legend at Liverpool, where he scored 261 goals in 416 matches and remains their all-time leading scorer in league competition.
Fans affectionately referred to Hunt as ‘Sir Roger’ even though he was never formally knighted. He received the MBE in 2000.
Here’s what happened to the rest of the England team that started the 1966 World Cup final.
Gordon Banks – One of English football’s most distinguished goalkeepers, Banks played 73 times for England in addition to 356 matches for Leicester City and 250 for Stoke City. He pulled off one of the finest saves ever seen to deny a certain goal by Brazil’s Pele in the 1970 World Cup. Banks died in February 2019 at the age of 81.
George Cohen – England’s right-back that afternoon at Wembley was a one-club man, turning out 459 times for Fulham during a 13-year playing career there. Cohen was capped 37 times for his country and played each of England’s six matches during the 1966 tournament and was the team’s vice-captain to Bobby Moore. Now aged 81.
Jack Charlton – The centre-back was another to play for just one club, spending a remarkable 21 years in the Leeds United squad and amassing 762 games and 95 goals. That included a league title, FA Cup and League Cup wins and two European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup successes. Played 35 times for England and later managed the Republic of Ireland in three major tournaments. Died in July 2020 at the age of 85 after suffering from lymphoma and dementia.
Bobby Moore – One of the finest defenders to ever play the game, Moore captained England to glory in 1966, famously wiping his hands so as not to dirty the Queen’s pristine white gloves during the trophy presentation. Spent the majority of his career at West Ham, making 647 appearances and captaining them for over a decade. Pele described Moore as the best defender he ever faced. Moore died aged 51 in February 1993 after suffering bowel and liver cancer.
Ray Wilson – Left-back who played for Everton at the time of the 1966 win having started his career at Huddersfield Town. He’d lifted the FA Cup at Wembley just before the World Cup glory. Wilson won 63 caps for England and also played in the Euro 1968 finals. He was the oldest player in the England side in the 1966 final at 31. He died in May 2018, aged 83, having suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for 14 years.
Nobby Stiles – Danced on the Wembley pitch with the Jules Rimet trophy in one hand and his false teeth in the other. Stiles was a no-nonsense defensive midfielder charged with hunting down dangerous opposition players and winning the ball back. In the semi-final with Portugal, he marked Eusebio out of the game. Spent the bulk of his career at Manchester United, achieving great success. Died in October 2020 at the age of 78. He had prostate cancer and advanced dementia.
Alan Ball – The midfielder was admired by Ramsey for his stamina and hard work and that would win him 72 caps for his country. Moved from Blackpool to Everton in the summer of ’66 and would later play for Arsenal and Southampton before moving into management. Died of a heart attack in April 2007 aged 61.
Bobby Charlton – An England legend who was the national team’s record goalscorer with 49 until surpassed by Wayne Rooney. When he retired from international duty in 1970, he was also the team’s record caps winner on 106. A long and remarkable career was dominated by 17 years in Manchester United’s first team which saw him survive the Munich air disaster and win the European Cup a decade later. Now 83, Charlton was diagnosed with dementia last year.
Martin Peters – West Ham’s Peters scored the second of England’s four goals against West Germany. It was only his eighth cap but he would go to win 67, scoring 20 times. Played over 700 matches in his professional career for West Ham, Tottenham, Norwich and Sheffield United. Another to suffer from Alzheimer’s in later life, he died in December 2019 aged 76.
Geoff Hurst – Arguably the best known of the 1966 heroes and certainly to a modern generation, Hurst scored a hat-trick to sink West Germany. His third goal, in the closing stages of extra time was accompanied by Kenneth Wolstenholme’s immortal commentary: ‘They think it’s all over… it is now!’ Scored 24 goals in 49 England games, playing at two more tournaments and was prolific for West Ham, with 242 goals in 500 outings. Now aged 79.