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Hurst scored England's winner against Argentina. Allsport Hulton/Archive |
Geoff Hurst remains the only man to have scored a hat trick in a World Cup final, a feat he achieved in England's 4-2 win over West Germany at Wembley in 1966.
The West Ham striker was an instant national hero and would later receive a knighthood for his achievement. Yet Hurst made his debut for England just five months before the tournament and only got his chance because of injury to the prolific Jimmy Greaves.
But Hurst made an instant impression in his first game, the bad-tempered quarterfinal against Argentina, grabbing a late winner to send the South Americans, whose spoiling tactics had got captain Antonio Rattin sent off, home in disgrace.
Bobby Charlton fired England to a 2-1 win over Portugal in the semis but Hurst performed so well that Ramsay preferred him to the fit-again Greaves for the final.
Hurst's hat trick was not without some good fortune. His first, which brought the score level, was a header, but if the West Germans hadn't equalized in the last minute of normal time Martin Peters would be remembered as the man who won the World Cup for England.
His second, in extra time, controversially bounced straight down off the bar -- whether it crossed the line remains a source of debate. The third, and most famous, was scored on a break in the dying seconds when, as BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme memorably put it, there were "some people on the pitch."
Hurst scored England's next World Cup goal as well, the winner in its 1-0 win over Romania in Mexico in 1970, but he failed to add to his total as the West Germans gained revenge with a come-from-behind win in the quarterfinals.
