Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, England, on December 8, 1941, Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst later became known as Geoff Hurst. He was a professional football player in England once.
When England defeated West Germany 4-2 at Wembley Stadium in 1966, the striker made history by becoming the first and only person to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.
Hurst started his playing career at West Ham United, where he played in 500 first-team games and scored 242 goals. He won the FA Cup in 1964 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965. In 1972, Stoke City paid £80,000 for his sale.
He finished his Football League career with West Bromwich Albion in 1976, having spent three seasons with Stoke, where he won the Watney Cup in 1973. Hurst played football for the Seattle Sounders in the US and Cork Celtic in Ireland before coming back to England to take over the non-league Telford United team.
Before taking over as Chelsea manager for two years, from 1979 to 1981, he was a coach for the England national team. Before giving up the game to focus on his business commitments, he became the coach of Kuwait SC. Hurst scored 24 goals in 49 games to wrap up his England career.
In addition to winning the 1966 World Cup, Hurst participated in the 1970 FIFA World Cup and the 1968 UEFA Euro. He also had a brief career in cricket, making one first-class appearance for Essex in 1962 before settling on football.
Did Geoff Hurst score a perfect hat trick?
Geoff Hurst scored his hat-trick against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.
