Roger Hunt

Early career

Born in Glazebury, Lancashire, Hunt played for Croft Youth Club, Stockton Heath and Devizes Town during his formative years.

Liverpool

He was signed for Liverpool by manager Phil Taylor in July 1958, joining from Stockton Heath. Hunt made his debut and scored his first goal for the club on 9 September 1959 in a Second Division fixture at Anfield against Scunthorpe United; Hunt scored in the 64th minute to give the Reds a 2–0 victory. This goal was the first of many – he went on to score 286 goals for the club, 244 of them in the league, which remains a club record.

After Bill Shankly replaced Taylor, Shankly and his fellow 'Boot Room' coaching staff embarked upon a clear out of 24 players. Hunt however was retained and was a major factor in the Reds' success in the 1960s. Liverpool gained promotion to the First Division in 1962, after the club had finished 3rd or 4th, and thus just outside the promotion spots for five consecutive years from 1956 to 1961. Hunt appeared in 41 of the 42 league games and scored 41 goals in season 1961–1962. His goals helped propel Liverpool to a comfortable eight point title win over runners-up Leyton Orient and included five hat-tricks, coming against Leeds United, Walsall, Swansea Town, former club Bury and Middlesbrough. It was a similar story in 1963–64 and 1965–66 as Liverpool were English League champions. Hunt again the top scorer (as he was for eight straight seasons) scoring 31 goals from 41 games and 29…

Hunt was capped 34 times for his country, with his debut given to him by Walter Winterbottom whilst he was still a Second Division player on 4 April 1962, in a friendly against Austria at Wembley. He scored on his international debut as England won 3–1. He was part of the England squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, but was not selected to play. England had been chosen to host the 1966 FIFA World Cup, and Hunt, along with Liverpool club mates Ian Callaghan and Gerry Byrne, were selected by manager Alf Ramsey for the 22-man squad. Hunt was one of three forwards selected for the tournament. He initially partnered Tottenham Hotspur striker Jimmy Greaves up front, but following a leg injury to Greaves he played alongside Geoff Hurst of West Ham United. He played in all six games, scoring three times, twice against France and once against Mexico, as England went on to win the Jules Rimet trophy after a 4–2 extra time win over West Germany in the World Cup Final at Wembley. A section of the England fans (from the south of England) blamed Hunt (a northerner who played for a northern team) for replacing Greaves in the World Cup Final, and would boo him on his subsequent appearances for England (even though it was actually the Londoner Geoff Hurst who replaced Greaves). Following this, Hunt eventually told Alf Ramsey in 1969, following a game against Romania, that he no longer wished to play for England, and retired from international football.

Club

International

International goals

After retiring as a player, he joined his brother Peter, in taking over Hunt Brothers, as the third generation of the family-run haulage business. It was originally established by Richard and Harry Hunt in 1929. In 2000 he was awarded an MBE for his World Cup victory. He continued to be known as "Sir" Roger Hunt by the Liverpool supporters, despite the absence of a formal knighthood. Hunt was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006, recognising his achievements in the English game. He was voted at number 13 by Liverpool fans on the official Liverpool Football Club in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop poll, also in 2006. In 2016 he was made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Warrington. Hunt was married in 1959 to Patricia O'Brien (whom he met when working at her brother-in-law's nightclub) and they had two children. They divorced in 1981 then Hunt met his second wife Rowan (Green). He lived with his wife Rowan (Green), Croft, near Warrington. Hunt died on 27 September 2021 at the age of 83. His funeral was held on 14 October at Liverpool Cathedral.