Editing Geoff Hurst (section)

==Club career==
===West Ham United===
Hurst's football career began when he was [[Apprenticeship|apprenticed]] to [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] at the age of 15.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=28}}</ref> He played alongside [[Bobby Moore]] in the 1959 [[FA Youth Cup]] final team that lost to [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] (1–2 on aggregate), but both were also in the team that won the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup (1–0 v [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]) later that year.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theyflysohigh.co.uk/1959-fa-youth-cup-final/4558481154 | title=1959 FA Youth Cup Final / The Class of 1959 | publisher=Fly So High | access-date=17 August 2020 | archive-date=7 September 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907213735/http://theyflysohigh.co.uk/1959-fa-youth-cup-final/4558481154 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Manager [[Ted Fenton]] first selected him for a senior game in a [[Southern Professional Floodlit Cup|Southern Floodlit Cup]] tie with [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]] in December 1958.<ref name="page 31">{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=31}}</ref> He turned professional at the club four months later, and was paid £7 a week with a £20 signing-on fee.<ref name="page 31"/> His first competitive appearance came in February 1960 when injuries forced Fenton's hand; Hurst put in an indifferent performance and the team lost 3–1.<ref name="page 31"/> He made only two further appearances in the [[1959–60 Football League|1959–60]] season, and realised that [[Bobby Moore]] was making better progress in the same position than he was.<ref name="page 32">{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=32}}</ref> He played six times in the [[1960–61 Football League|1960–61]] campaign and seriously considered turning his main focus to cricket.<ref name="page 32"/> In April 1961 [[Ron Greenwood]] took over as manager, and drastically changed team training by putting a focus on footballing skill rather than physical fitness.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=37}}</ref>

Hurst missed the start of [[1961–62 Football League|1961–62]] pre-season training due to his cricketing commitments, but went on to make 24 appearances at left-half, and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 victory over [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] in December 1961.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=39}}</ref> However, he again missed pre-season training the following summer and was dropped after proving to be unfit during the opening game of the [[1962–63 Football League|1962–63]] season.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=40}}</ref> In September of that season Greenwood tried playing Hurst as a striker, after deciding that the defensive side of his game was a weakness for the young midfielder.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=41}}</ref> He formed a successful partnership with [[Johnny Byrne (footballer)|Johnny Byrne]] and went on to score 13 goals in 27 [[Football League First Division|First Division]] games whilst Byrne scored nine in 30 games in the [[1962–63 Football League|1962–63]] season.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=42}}</ref> In the summer of [[1963 International Soccer League|1963]] he joined the club on their pre-season tour of [[New York (state)|New York]], and greatly benefited from playing against top-quality players from clubs across the world in the [[International Soccer League]], a friendly tournament.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=50}}</ref>

Hurst and West Ham had a poor start to the [[1963–64 Football League|1963–64]] season, and went on to finish in 14th place. However, it was in the [[FA Cup]] where the team impressed. A comfortable 3–0 home win over [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]] was followed by another 3–0 home win over East End rivals [[Leyton Orient F.C.|Leyton Orient]]&nbsp;– though only following a tough 1–1 draw at [[Brisbane Road]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=64}}</ref> Greenwood named the same 11 players, including Hurst, in all the club's seven FA Cup fixtures as West Ham progressed to the final. Hurst scored one against Charlton and two against Orient, and claimed another goal in the fifth round as West Ham beat Second Division [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] 3–1 at the [[County Ground (Swindon)|County Ground]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=67}}</ref> [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]] provided a stern test in the quarter-finals, but a 3–2 home win took West Ham into the semi-finals, where they faced [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] at [[Hillsborough Stadium|Hillsborough]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=68}}</ref> West Ham won 3–1, with Hurst scoring the final goal of the game after being set up by Bobby Moore.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=69}}</ref> West Ham faced Second Division [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]] at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]] in the [[1964 FA Cup Final]], and had to come from behind twice to win the match 3–2. Hurst scored his side's second equaliser with a header that bounced under the crossbar and ended up just over the goal line.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=70}}</ref>

The club's success won them a place in the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners Cup]] for the [[1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup|1964–65]] season. They defeated Belgian side [[K.A.A. Gent]] in the First Round after an unconvincing 2–1 aggregate victory.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=72}}</ref> Czechoslovakian side [[AC Sparta Prague]] awaited in the second round, and West Ham progressed with a 3–2 aggregate victory despite the absence of Moore.<ref name="page 73">{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=73}}</ref> Despite beating Swiss team [[FC Lausanne-Sport]] 6–4 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, Hurst had still not registered a goal in the competition as he was played in a withdrawn role behind [[Johnny Byrne (footballer)|Johnny Byrne]] so as to strengthen the midfield.<ref name="page 73"/> In the semi-finals, West Ham defended a 2–1 home win over Spanish club [[Real Zaragoza]] with a 1–1 draw at [[La Romareda]] to claim a place in the [[1965 European Cup Winners' Cup Final]] against [[TSV 1860 München]] at Wembley.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=74}}</ref> West Ham won 2–0, [[Alan Sealey]] scoring both goals, to give the club their first European trophy.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=75}}</ref>

Having scored 40 goals in 59 competitive games in the [[1965–66 Football League|1965–66]] season and then gone on to make himself a household name by winning the World Cup with England, Hurst was the subject of a £200,000 transfer offer by [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] manager [[Matt Busby]]&nbsp;– the offer was rejected by Greenwood.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=167}}</ref> He was in the West Ham side which lost the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] [[1966 Football League Cup Final|final]], 5–3 on [[Aggregate score|aggregate]] to [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gallery/west-bromwich-albion-1966-league-8901893|title=West Bromwich Albion 1966 League Cup triumph|first=Mat|last=Kendrick|date=23 March 2015|website=birminghammail}}</ref>

In the [[1966–67 Football League|1966–67]] season, West Ham demonstrated the inconsistency that would deny them a realistic prospect of winning a league championship under Greenwood. Hurst scored a hat-trick as they defeated full-strength title challengers [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] 7–0 in the League Cup, but they exited the FA Cup with a 3–1 defeat to [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] side [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=84}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|"When you're playing for a team that can score seven one day and four the next it's really quite good fun. When job satisfaction is that high, why would you want to play for anyone else?"|Like his manager, Ron Greenwood, Hurst valued entertaining attacking football played in a fair manner and was not prepared to sacrifice these values for silverware.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=86}}</ref>}}

Hurst scored six goals in a First Division match against [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] at Upton Park on 19 October 1968, which West Ham won 8–0.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whufc.com/articles/20091030/sunderland-match-preview_2236884_1842142 |title=Sunderland match preview |publisher=West Ham United F.C. |access-date=14 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827085449/http://www.whufc.com/articles/20091030/sunderland-match-preview_2236884_1842142 |archive-date=27 August 2011}}</ref> However, he regretted admitting that he handled the ball in his first goal which led to the back page headlines focusing on the illegitimate goal rather than the rare feat of one player scoring six goals in one game.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=81}}</ref>

In 1972, West Ham reached the semi-finals of the League Cup when they played [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] over two legs. In the home leg at [[Boleyn Ground|Upton Park]], they were awarded a penalty after [[Harry Redknapp]] was fouled in the box.<ref name="page 232">{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=232}}</ref> Hurst took the penalty and struck a powerful shot into the top corner which was saved by [[Gordon Banks]], who succeeded in deflecting the ball over the bar.<ref name="page 232"/> Stoke won the tie in the subsequent replay and denied Hurst one more final appearance at Wembley.<ref>{{cite web|date=2012-11-16|title=A night to remember: League Cup 71/72 - Part Two|url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog/name/93/post/1844601/headline|access-date=2020-09-02|website=ESPN}}</ref>

===Stoke City===
Hurst was sold to [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] for a £80,000 fee in August 1972.<ref name=whustats>{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics Geoff Hurst |url=http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=345&united=Geoff_Hurst |access-date=24 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019094706/http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=345&united=Geoff_Hurst |archive-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City">{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |title=The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City |year=1994 |publisher=Lion Press |isbn=0-9524151-0-0}}</ref> He was struck down with [[pneumonia]] early in 1973 and went to South Africa to recover, playing on loan for [[Roy Bailey (footballer, born 1932)|Roy Bailey]]'s [[Cape Town City F.C. (NFL)|Cape Town City]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=242}}</ref> He missed just four games for Stoke and upon his return he helped the side to maintain their [[Football League First Division|First Division]] status.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=243}}</ref>

In January 1974, "Potters" manager [[Tony Waddington]] asked Hurst to take in new signing [[Alan Hudson]] as a lodger so as to provide the talented but troubled midfielder with a stable home during his Stoke career.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=239}}</ref> Hudson adapted well to life in the Hurst household and Stoke recorded a fifth place in the [[1973–74 Stoke City F.C. season|1973–74]] season&nbsp;– a career high for Hurst.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=246}}</ref>

Hurst scored 11 goals in 41 games in the [[1974–75 Stoke City F.C. season|1974–75]] season and helped Stoke to finish in fifth place, just four points behind champions [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/655632001 |title=The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City Football Club, 1868 to 1994, Compiled by Tony Matthews : Ill |date=1994 |publisher=Stoke City f.c |isbn=0952415100 |location=[Place of publication not identified] |oclc=655632001}}</ref>

===West Bromwich Albion===
Hurst was sold to [[Johnny Giles]]'s [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] in the summer of 1975 for a fee of £20,000.<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> He played 12 times for the Baggies at the start of the [[1975–76 in English football|1975–76]] season, scoring twice, before deciding to leave for America.<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> Hurst later acknowledged that at the age of 34 he was too old to lead the line in the "Baggies" push for promotion out of the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=258}}</ref>

===Later career===
Hurst signed for [[Cork Celtic F.C.|Cork Celtic]] in January 1976, and remained in Ireland for one month.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sir Geoff Hurst, MBE |url=https://www.pressreader.com/spain/costa-blanca-news-9A60/20211210/282484302060155 |access-date=2022-05-26 | newspaper=Costa Blanca News | date=10 December 2021 |via=PressReader}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Network |first=Dean Murray for These Football Times, part of the Guardian Sport |date=2014-08-20 |title=Remembering George Best's forgettable spell with Cork Celtic in 1976 |url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football-times/2014/aug/20/george-best-cork-celtic-manchester-united-1976-ireland |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

He signed for the [[Seattle Sounders (1974–1983)|Seattle Sounders]] of the [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|NASL]] in 1976. Hurst rapidly proved his worth, and became a valuable member of the Sounders team. He was the team's second-leading scorer, helping the Sounders make it to the play-offs for the first time in their brief history, with eight goals and four assists in 23 regular season games, and one goal in the play-offs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sir Geoff Hurst |url=https://geoffhurst.com/career.html |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=geoffhurst.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1976 Seattle Sounders soccer Statistics on StatsCrew.com |url=https://www.statscrew.com/soccer/stats/t-NASEA/y-1976 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=www.statscrew.com |language=en}}</ref>