Roger Hunt about to celebrate as Geoff Hurst scores in England’s 1966 World Cup final win over Germany
(Picture: Getty Images)Roger Hunt, a member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad and Liverpool’s second-highest goalscorer, has died at the age of 83.
Liverpool announced that the former striker passed away peacefully at home following a long illness on Monday evening.
Hunt was a key player in England’s World Cup triumph, scoring three times in six appearances during that tournament and 18 goals in 34 caps overall for his country.
He joined Liverpool from nearby amateur team Stockton Heath aged 20 in 1958 and spent 11-and-a-half hugely successful years at Anfield, scoring 285 goals for the club.
That record stood until Ian Rush surpassed it in 1992 but no player has ever scored more League goals for Liverpool than Hunt’s total of 244.
Hunt made his debut in a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe United at Anfield in September 1959 – and marked the occasion with a goal.
Under the management of Bill Shankly, who arrived at the club a few months later, Hunt would formed a fearsome strike partnership with Ian St John and went on to win the Second Division title in 1962, two First Division titles in 1964 and 1966 and the club’s long-awaited first FA Cup in 1965.
In a statement, Liverpool said: “Hunt’s achievements saw him bestowed with an honorary knighthood from the Kop and he will forever be known as ‘Sir Roger’ by supporters of the club he graced with such distinction. The thoughts of everybody at Liverpool FC are with Roger’s family and friends at this sad and difficult time.”
