“Sir” Roger Hunt
This is a short and belated tribute to one of the Liverpool greats which cannot begin to do justice to his achievements in the game. Leaving those footballing achievements to one side for a moment though, it is a testament to the man that no one has a bad word to say about him and on the contrary everyone talks about him in glowing terms, emphasising his humility and generosity of spirit. So much so that he received the highest honour that a person can receive in England when, in recognition of his services to the game and the club, the people of Liverpool awarded him a Knighthood and freedom of the City.
I always say that I started supporting Liverpool after the 1965 FA Cup final and it’s true. That was the moment I really discovered football and Liverpool specifically. If I am honest though, back in the day, being young, living so far away from Liverpool and having to rely on MOTD and a quick scan of a borrowed copy of shoot magazine ** meant my understanding of the team was limited (some would say it still is). Nevertheless, I could reel off the names of the team and their achievements and whilst Ian St John was my hero, no one who knew anything at all about Liverpool could overlook the goal scoring achievements of Roger Hunt. He was very much at the peak of his powers then and in the following year, with a bit of help from some other players, he went on to win the World Cup too 😉 The following is a link to the goals he scored in the World Cup of 1966.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/58726321
** For Jay’s benefit this was actually a football magazine
It is really difficult for fans today to look back at earlier eras and compare the players then with the players of today when the game looks very different.. One thing to remember though is that they were playing with inferior boots, heavier footballs and often on ploughed fields with the odd tuft of grass scattered about for decoration. All you can really say is the best players then would still equate to the best players of recent times and on that basis Roger Hunt would be at least the equal to or better than someone like Alan Shearer or Gary Lineker.
His achievements bear comparison with any of the great Liverpool strikers and he was playing at a time when Liverpool, whilst a top club, was not always the best team unlike the teams of Ian Rush and Mo Salah. Nevertheless, 244 league goals for Liverpool which is still a record as is his record of 100 league goals in the least number of games (148). He also scored a total of 286 career goals which has only ever been bettered by Ian Rush.
This is a link to a very nice tribute from Phil Thompson. I hope you can all access it, but if not, you might be able to find it on the BBC radio podcasts.
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