Geoff Hurst: only hat-trick hero in WC final

Sir Geoffrey Charles "Geoff" Hurst MBE was born on 8 December 1941. He is a former England international footballer. A striker, he remains the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final as England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at the old Wembley in 1966.

Geoff Hurst

Surname: Hurst

Firstname: Geoff

Country: England

Date of birth: 1941-12-08

Birthplace: Ashton

Height: 180 cm

Weight: 82.0 kg

Playing Career

Position: Centre-forward

Clubs: West Ham (1959-72), Stoke City (1972-74), West Bromwich Albion (1974-75)

International appearances: 49

International goals: 24

International debut: 23/02/1966, England-West Germany (1-0)

Last international appearance: 29/04/1972, West Germany-England (3-2)

First international goal: 02/04/1966, Scotland-England (3-4)

Last international goal: 01/12/1971, Greece-England (0-2)

Playing Honours

International

World Cup: winner (1966), quarter-finalist (1970), 2 appearances, 6 matches, 5 goals

Club

-Cup Winners' Cup (1965)

-English FA Cup (1964)

Other Honours

Awarded OBE (Order of the British Empire - 1977)

Awarded Knighthood (1998)

Coaching Career

Clubs: Telford United: Player-Manager (1976-1977), Chelsea (1979-1981)

National Coaching Career

Teams: England assistant coach (1977-1982)

The one and only

England's Geoff Hurst made World Cup history when he scored a record three goals in his nation's one and only World Cup victory, a 4-2 triumph against great rivals West Germany in 1966.

He remains the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a final, although the decisive second goal which gave England a crucial 3-2 lead was as controversial as any goal scored in the history of the tournament.

After the Germans had grabbed a late equaliser to send the game into extra-time, Hurst controlled a cross from Alan Ball, swivelled smartly before smashing a shot that ricocheted off the cross-bar and apparently fell behind the German goal line.

Fans and players alike waited anxiously before the referee finally pointed to the centre circle, signalling a goal and effectively breaking the Germans' spirits.

Then, with time running out and both sets of players exhausted, Hurst ran clear and smashed a left foot shot that nearly took the netting off the back of the German goal.

Four-two to England, no time left on the clock and nothing left for England skipper Bobby Moore to do apart from accept the World Cup from Queen Elizabeth II.

Luxury replacement

Hurst began to repay the faith shown in him by manager Alf Ramsey as early as the quarter-final, when he grabbed the only goal of the game to see off a tough Argentina side.

In the semi-final he also set up Bobby Charlton for one of his two goals as England continued their charge towards the Cup with a 2-1 win over the great Eusebio and his Portuguese team.

Four years later in Mexico, Hurst was still part of the England picture as the champions went into the 1970 World Cup as one of the strong favourites.

However it was to be a sad end to his World Cup career as West Germany got their revenge with a come-from-behind 3-2 in a thrilling quarter-final.

On the domestic front, Hurst was a West Ham player nearly all of his career, playing in over 400 first team matches and scoring 180 goals.

Following his playing days, he had brief stints as manager of Chelsea as well as lesser known Telford United.

Hurst even worked alongside England manager Ron Greenwood in the national set-up before moving into the insurance business.

He was knighted in 1998, becoming Sir Geoff Hurst, 32 years after his triumph at Wembley.