Photographs of the footballer Bobby Moore have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery and have gone on display to mark this year’s World Cup and the 25th anniversary of his death.
They include some unusual images of a working footballer: winning the ball from George Best, playing chess with Franz Beckenbauer. And the more everyday: lying on a sofa watching TV, posing with family on the drive of an extravagant house.
The photographs have been acquired from the collection of Roberta Moore, his daughter. She said: “My father emanated grace both on and off the pitch. He was self-effacing, kind and humble with a dry humour and tremendous sense of fun. This display is a wonderful tribute to the high esteem in which he is held.”
Moore was one of the best defenders in the game. At 21 he became captain of West Ham United and at 22 he was named captain of England. He went on to lead the national side to the momentous 4-2 victory over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.
The photographs are a mix of Moore on and off the pitch, with his team-mates and with his family. One portrait by the Daily Mirror photographer Monte Fresco shows Moore after training with team-mate Johnny Byrne, both jumping in the air and holding an umbrella. Byrne joined West Ham in 1962 for a then-record transfer fee of £65,000.
Another photograph, by Terry O’Neill, reflects the growing media attention paid to footballers and their private lives. It shows Moore with his wife and two children posing outside their luxury home in Chigwell, Essex, which, according to the papers, hosted many gatherings for players and film stars and cost an extraordinary £100,000 to build. The Daily Mail ran a feature calling it the “superpad for superstar Bobby Moore”.
Elsewhere in the display is the shot of Moore playing chess with Beckenbauer, who after Moore’s death aged 51 called him “the best defender in the history of the game”.
• Bobby Moore: First Gentleman of English Football is on display in Room 32 of the NPG, 5 March-January 2019.
