Retro photos: West Ham striker Geoff Hurst's fantastic England career in pictures
From Talksport
During his career, Sir Geoff Hurst earned himself a reputation as a prolific goal scorer and in 49 England appearances he found the back of the net 24 times
An apprentice at West Ham, joining in 1959, Hurst was a member of the victorious Hammers side that won the FA Cup in 1964 where they beat Preston 3-2. A year later the club saw off 1860 Munich 2-0 in the Cup Winners Cup final, with both matches taking place at Wembley. In the defeat of Preston (above) Hurst scored West Ham's second goal
Five months after winning his first England in cap February 1966 where Alf Ramsey's side beat West Germany 1-0, the striker was in the World Cup squad and got his break in the quarter final clash with Argentina when he headed in the winner with 12 minutes remaining. It was an ill-tempered encounter and was play was held up for 10 minutes when Argentina captain Antonio Rattin was sent off and refused to leave the pitch
After England saw off the challenge of Portugal in the semi final, they faced West Germany at Wembley in the final and Hurst got the nod ahead of a fit again Jimmy Greaves. Hurst had replaced the Tottenham man in the quarter finals after Greaves had suffered an injury. England won 4-2 in extra-time and Hurst scored a hat-trick, though England's third goal, pictured above, remains controversial to this day. To eliminate doubt, Hurst blasted home his hat-trick to ensure it really was "all over"
Three of England's key players in the triumph, Hurst, fellow goal scorer Martin Peters and captain Bobby Moore, were all West Ham players. Hurst's quarter-final winner and the first in the final were goals practiced to perfection at West Ham, under the tutelage of future England boss Ron Greenwood
England played rivals Scotland a year later in the 1967 British Home Championship at Wembley - that's Hurst above, during the game. Despite goals from Jack Charlton and Hurst, Scotland triumphed 3-2, delivering a first defeat to the world champions. A year later England narrowly failed to add the European Championship to their world title, finishing third
Hurst and England went on to exit the 1970 World Cup at the quarter-final stage, losing 3-2 to old foes West Germany, despite taking a 2-0 lead. The Germans beat England in the last eight of the 1972 European Championships, too, which was Hurst's last involvement as a player with the national team. After retiring in 1976, Hurst moved into coaching and management, assisting his old West Ham boss Ron Greenwood (pictured above) when he became England manager in 1977
