A Walk Down Memory Lane When Got UK The World Cup
· Free Press Journal
London was the place to be in the summer of 1966—it was the centre of the sports, fashion, and pop music worlds and at the heart of the Swinging Sixties, as that era was dubbed. Carnaby Street in London’s West End was where youth-inspired vibrant colours were given shape by fashion designers; the miniskirt conceptualised by designer Mary Quant was all the rage.
The pop/rock music scene was led by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who and many others. They gave voice to a generation of rebellious teens, who were determined to forge their own identity in music, clothes, and hairstyles—boys long, girls short—even as their parents looked on in a mixture of horror, concern, and dismay. Tired of the mass hysteria of their female fans, whose screams drowned out the music and ushered in the era of Beatlemania in the early 60s, the legendary quartet quit giant venues and retreated to the peace and comfort of the studio at London’s Abbey Road, where they concentrated on crafting brilliant albums. The next year, they released their masterpiece—Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
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The summer of ’66 in England was also one of the most glorious in the country’s storied sporting history, and this was the year when this writer, aged seven, began his love affair with sports. Our father was posted in England from 1965 to 1967, and while my elder brother (by two years) got hooked on music—which remains his abiding passion—both of us were captivated by the eighth World Cup football, staged in eight cities across England. The action unfolded on our small black-and-white TV screen, with the iconic Wembley Stadium a brisk 15-minute walk from our home in leafy Kingsbury, a Northwest London suburb.
By a wonderful coincidence the summer also saw the victorious West Indies cricket team return to England after three years, led by one of the game’s immortals, the peerless all-rounder Garry Sobers.
To top it all, in May was staged the return bout of world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali and London’s very own Henry Cooper, who, three years earlier, had, for the first time in Ali’s storied career, knocked the man self-acclaimed as The Greatest onto the canvas, though Ali won the fight. The 1966 bout at Arsenal Stadium attracted a crowd of 46,000. Thirsting for revenge, Ali pounded Cooper into submission in six rounds.
Rounding off the glorious parade of Black Supermen of sport that summer was Portugal’s Mozambique-born Eusebio, who emerged as the top scorer of the World Cup with nine goals. Brazil was going for an unprecedented hat-trick, having won the two previous titles in 1958 and 1962, and all eyes were on Pele. But they were dumped in the group stage itself. For two little Indian boys, who had never been exposed to such sporting riches back home, it was a treat for the eyes and senses, the wonder of which stays vivid even after six decades.
Even as the World Cup was winding its way through England, cricket lovers were treated to breathtaking feats by Sobers and his merry men. The captain had a glorious series with 722 runs (average 103.14, inclusive of three centuries), 20 wickets, and 10 catches. The West Indies crushed England 3-1 and earned Sobers the sobriquet ‘King Cricket’. He was ably supported by batsmen Rohan Kanhai, Seymour Nurse, Conrad Hunte, and Basil Butcher and fast bowlers Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, and champion off-spinner Lance Gibbs. There was a magical moment when Ali was ushered into the West Indies’ dressing room at Lord’s during their tour match against MCC to meet the star-struck cricketers. The photos of Ali and Sobers together in the same frame were like manna from heaven for sports lovers—if only Pele had been present too!
Still, nothing could take away from the magic of football—or Association Football as it was originally named—being staged in its place of birth for the first and, still, the only time. Held between July 11 and 30, the entire nation’s eyes were riveted on Bobby Moore and his men. But months before the start, there was the sensation of the Jules Rimet Cup, to be presented to the winners, being stolen from an exhibition centre in London. The nationwide hunt ended a week later with a dog named Pickles finding it while out on a walk with his owner, David Corbett, who thus received the astronomical reward money of nearly 5,000 pounds sterling.
Manager Alf Ramsey was the brains behind England’s victory and became almost as famous as the players. Just as England have never again hosted the World Cup, nor have they again reached the final, even failing to qualify for the 1974 and 1994 editions.
England beat Argentina in the quarter-finals and Portugal in the semis. In the other semifinal, West Germany defeated the Soviet Union, two nations whose names are now part of history. The final had strong political overtones since it was just two decades since the end of World War II and the defeat of Germany led by Britain and its allies. The residents of London still had bitter memories of the Blitz when the Nazi war machine bombed the city into rubble.
The match at Wembley was thrilling, with the West Germans making it 2-2 in the last minute of full time and the match going into extra time. Then came a controversial goal by England’s Geoff Hurst—3-2. Hurst and England then sealed the deal with the fourth goal and Hurst’s third, still the only hat-trick in a final. The young Queen Elizabeth II presented Moore with the cup that five months earlier had been stolen, then found by Pickles. Joy spread to all corners of the island nation. Sixty years on, only hat-trick hero Hurst remains of that famous team.
The writer is the author of 20 sports books and has been following sports for 60 years, 46 of them as a journalist.