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Geoff Hurst
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===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]] (1β2 on aggregate), but both were also in the team that won the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup (1β0 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 Β£7 a week with a Β£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 3β1.<ref name="page 31"/> He made only two further appearances in the [[1959β60 Football League|1959β60]] 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 [[1960β61 Football League|1960β61]] 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 [[1961β62 Football League|1961β62]] 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 4β2 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 [[1962β63 Football League|1962β63]] 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 [[1962β63 Football League|1962β63]] 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 [[1963β64 Football League|1963β64]] season, and went on to finish in 14th place. However, it was in the [[FA Cup]] where the team impressed. A comfortable 3β0 home win over [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]] was followed by another 3β0 home win over East End rivals [[Leyton Orient F.C.|Leyton Orient]] β though only following a tough 1β1 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]] 3β1 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 3β2 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 3β1, 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 3β2. 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 [[1964β65 European Cup Winners' Cup|1964β65]] season. They defeated Belgian side [[K.A.A. Gent]] in the First Round after an unconvincing 2β1 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 3β2 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]] 6β4 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 2β1 home win over Spanish club [[Real Zaragoza]] with a 1β1 draw at [[La Romareda]] to claim a place in the [[1965 European Cup Winners' Cup Final]] against [[TSV 1860 MΓΌnchen]] at Wembley.<ref>{{harvnb|Hurst|Hart|2002|p=74}}</ref> West Ham won 2β0, [[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 [[1965β66 Football League|1965β66]] season and then gone on to make himself a household name by winning the World Cup with England, Hurst was the subject of a Β£200,000 transfer offer by [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] manager [[Matt Busby]] β 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]], 5β3 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 [[1966β67 Football League|1966β67]] 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]] 7β0 in the League Cup, but they exited the FA Cup with a 3β1 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 8β0.<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>
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