MORE AND MORE FOR BOBBY MOORE

Robert Frederick Chelsea “Bobby” Moore (born 12^th April 1941) at the age of 17 made his senior debut for West Ham on September 8^th 1958 against Manchester united. The Hammers won 3-2. he then went on to make 646 appearances for his club.

He joined the youth team in 1956 at 15 years old and two years later, Malcolm Allison's illness opened the door for Moore to step in as a centre half.

In 1961 he was made captain and he earned a reputation for being a technically gifted and intelligent footballer. Although West Ham never made it to the top of the division, the club did win the FA Cup in 1964 and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965 winning 2-0 over 1860 Munich. In 1966, West Ham also reached the final of the League Cup losing 3-5 on aggregate to WBA. 

Then, of course, Moore led his country to victory in the 1966 World Cup Final. Who will forget the moment Moore lifted the World Cup from the Queen at Wembley? He thoughtfully wiped his hands clean of the match's sweat and soil, on the velvet cloth decorating the royal box front! She was wearing white gloves.

With all that success in 1966 he was voted BBC Sports' Personality of the Year and presented with the OBE.  He was also the subject of the TV programme “This is your Life”.

Moore stayed at West Ham until 1974, when he moved to Fulham and then had spells in the USA and Denmark before retiring in 1978.

He retired from international football after winning 109 caps and was voted into the World Team of the 20^th Century, being cited by Pele as the best defender he had played against. Many will have seen his “perfect tackle” against their speedy Jairzinho, in a match against Brazil in the 1970 World Cup match.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=72z5H9hkYGM

Management did not suit him and he worked in media for a while.

Moore also played cricket for Essex County schools' cricket in the same team as Geoff Hurst.

In 1991 he had an operation to remove a cancer but in February 1993 he announced he had cancer again and then a few days later he helped his friend Jonathan Pearce commentate on an international match against San Marino; Moore died 7 days later aged 51.

He leaves a massive legacy notably the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer and his statue looks down Wembley Way, a path he would have taken many times.