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Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE (12 April 1941 - 24 February 1993) was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup
He won a total of 108 caps for the England team, which at the time of his international retirement in 1973 was a national record. Although this record was later broken by 125-cap goalkeeper Peter Shilton, Moore remains the most capped outfield player ever to play for England.
In 1960, Moore earned a call up to the England under 23 squad. His form and impact on West Ham as a whole earned him a late call-up to the England squad by Walter Winterbottom and the Football Association selection committee in 1962, when final preparations were being made for the summer's World Cup finals in Chile. Moore was uncapped as he flew to South America with the rest of the squad, but made his début on 20 May 1962 in England's final pre-tournament friendly - a 4-0 win over Peru in Lima. Also débuting that day was Tottenham Hotspur defender Maurice Norman. Both proved so impressive that they stayed in the team for the whole of England's participation in the World Cup, which ended in defeat by eventual winners Brazil in the quarter finals at Viña del Mar.
On 29 May, 1963, 22-year-old Moore captained his country for the first time in just his 12th appearance after the retirement of Johnny Haynes and an injury to his successor, Jimmy Armfield. He was the youngest man ever to captain England at the highest level.
England defeated Czechoslovakia 4-2 in the game. Armfield returned to the role of captain afterwards, but new coach Alf Ramsey gave Moore the job permanently during a series of summer friendlies in 1964, organised because England had failed to reach the latter stages of the inaugural European Championships.
1964 turned out to be quite an eventful year for Moore. As well as gaining the England captaincy, he lifted the FA Cup as West Ham defeated Preston North End 3-2 in the final at Wembley, courtesy of a last-minute goal from Ronnie Boyce. On a personal level, Moore also was successfully treated for testicular cancer and was named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
The FA Cup success would become the first of three successful Wembley finals in as many years for Moore. In 1965, he lifted the European Cup Winners Cup after West Ham defeated 1860 Munich 2-0 in the final with both goals coming from Alan Sealey. By now he was the shoo-in skipper for England with 30 caps, and around whom Ramsey was building a team to prove correct his prediction that England would win the 1966 World Cup, to be held on home soil. 1966 had a mixed start for Moore, however - he scored his first England goal in a 1-1 draw with Poland, but then skippered West Ham to the final of the League Cup - in its last season before its transfer to Wembley as a one-off final - which they lost 5-3 on aggregate to West Bromwich Albion. For Moore, who had scored in the first leg, and his West Ham team-mates Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, considerable consolation lay ahead. Moore scored his second and ultimately final England goal in a friendly against Norway, two weeks before the World Cup would begin.(Wikipedia)
A statue of Moore outside Wembley Stadium.
Bobby Moore Picture
