1966 and All That: My Autobiography - Hardcover

Geoff Hurst; Michael Hart

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747241759 ISBN 13: 9780747241751

Publisher: Headline, 2001

Synopsis

Catapulted to fame in only his eighth international, Geoff Hurst scored a hat trick against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. His final goal, 'They think it's all over ... It is now', has been played so many times that it has dominated his life ever since. This revealing and thoughtful autobiography shows that there is far more to the man than that one day. He relives the golden era in which he played, reveals some astonishing behind-the-scenes stories of events with England and his club sides that have never previously emerged, and he offers his authoritative views on the modern game.

About this title

Review:

How many "years of hurt" is it now? As England World Cup hero Geoff Hurst relates in his evocative, challenging autobiography 1966 and All That hardly a day goes by without someone reminding him of the hat-trick he scored in the Wembley Final that brought football "home" the last time.

The referee had the whistle in his mouth ... Bobby Moore, untroubled and completely in control as usual, chested the ball down, played a short pass to Alan Ball, received the return and looked upfield to see where to play it next. I remember Jack Charlton screaming at him, "Kick the f****** thing out of the ground!"

Moore didn't, of course. With the final seconds ticking away he conjured a perfect pass to the galloping Hurst--the young West Ham striker with just seven international caps, who found himself spearheading Alf Ramsey's "wingless wonders" in English football's biggest ever game.

The rest you probably think you know, but 1966 and All That is far from a rehash of rosy memories of the glory days. Hurst reflects on the "Ramsey years" with a critical eye, relating it all with refreshing candour--Ramsey's fierce loyalty to his players, matched only by his failure to grasp the first principles of public and personal relations; the anguish of Jimmy Greaves, the man Hurst controversially replaced; England's rise and fall, which saw Ramsey sacked in 1974--along the way revealing sides of legends like Pele, Beckenbauer, Banks and the Charltons, that put flesh on the fables, including the inside take on one of the most bizarre stories in World Cup history, when England captain Moore was arrested for jewellery theft at the 1970 tournament.

There's also plenty of fascinating, forthright stuff on the "forgotten" Hurst--his phenomenal scoring record at club level, (though spending the bulk of his career at West Ham and Stoke kept medals to a minimum); a management career which will probably be best remembered for an acrimonious dismissal by Chelsea, that ended up in the courts; and his involvement in promoting England's 2006 World Cup bid, which provides a revealing glimpse at the political machinery driving football's world authorities.

Hurst has plenty to say--not least on the England players who have inherited the weight of expectation he helped create in 1966--and the status accorded to a living sporting legend gives him the licence to speak freely. It's a combination that makes for engrossing reading. --Alex Hankin

Review:

There was a whole-page interview with Geoff Hurst in the Mirror 1/9

He was the subject of It's Your Funeral in Night & Day: Mail on Sunday 2/9

and of My First Home in the Daily Telegraph 1/9

He was featured in the World Cup Diary in the Daily Telegraph 1/9

Stands out from the standard ghosted autobiographies ... the period detail gives it huge charm (Simon Barnes, The Times)

Riveting (Mike Pattenden, The Times)

the Times `riveting autobiography' 29/9

'sheds an interesting new light on some of the legends of the game' 26/8 (The Sunday Express)

Sir Geoff Hurst's Perfect Hat Trick was featured in the Observer Life magazine with a strapline for the book 26/8 (The Observer)

1966 And All That was no.1 in the Sunday Express, no.2 in the Observer and and Sunday Times and Independent sports books bestseller lists

1966 And All That was no.2 in the Sunday Times and the Observer and no.3 in the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and no.1 in the Independent and Independent On Sunday bestseller lists

There were two pieces about Geoff Hurst in Metro, talking about the book 6/8

There was a whole-page extract from 1966 And All That in the Mail On Sunday 12/8

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0747241759
• ISBN 13: 9780747241751
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 308