Geoff Hurst – Last Boy of ’66
On 19 July 2026, the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will play host to the 23rd FIFA World Cup Final – and while all Three Lions fans will be hoping England will lift the Jules Rimet on that midsummer day, next year will still mark a significant moment in England’s footballing history – sixty years since Bobby Moore et al lifted the trophy in 1966.
Should England ultimately triumph in America, it will be a fitting anniversary. If, however, the Three Lions fall short once more, or, heaven forbid, don’t even qualify, that diamond anniversary will, as it has done in each of the fifty-nine years since, gain even greater significance. Whatever the outcome next summer, the sixtieth anniversary of the Three Lions’ greatest triumph to date is one to be honoured, so to kick off this series, the inaugural book of the week is the poignant Last Boy of ’66 by Sir Geoff Hurst.
The book marks a celebration of, and tribute to, the World-Cup winning team by the last surviving member of the England team from the match against West Germany on 30 July 1966. Chapters beautifully interweave between Sir Geoff’s personal story and his reflections and recollections of his victorious teammates and manager. He speaks from a unique and privileged position as one of only a small band of brothers to have achieved World Cup glory. Yet it is a testimony that signals the ravages of those sixty years, memorialising the incredible lives and haunting losses of Alf Ramsey, Gordon Banks, George Cohen, Jack Charlton, Bobby Moore, Ray Wilson, Nobby Stiles, Alan Ball, Bobby Charlton, Martin Peters and Roger Hunt that bring into sharp focus the sad move towards the end of an era.
In penning this moving tome, Sir Geoff ensures that whatever the future brings these heroes of 1966 are rightly never forgotten.
Reviewed by Jade Craddock.