Geoff Hurst: The Last Boy of '66 - Living with Glory's Shadow

What happens when your greatest moment becomes both a blessing and a burden? This is not just the story of Geoff Hurst's World Cup hat-trick but a deeper exploration of a vanishing era of English football and the often-challenging lives of the heroes of '66 after their moment of glory. In this episode, Simon and Mehreen uncover the complex legacy of England's World Cup-winning team through the eyes of its last surviving member. From modest wages and part-time jobs to the devastating impact of dementia on his teammates, Hurst's story reveals how differently football treated its heroes in the 1960s. They explore how these working-class heroes navigated life after football in an era before mega-contracts and media careers and how many struggled to find their place in the modern world. Time stamps: 0:00: Introduction and the last survivor 04:15: Football in the 1960s—a different world 08:32: Working-class heroes and modest lifestyles 12:45: The road to the World Cup team 17:23: That day at Wembley 23:41: Life immediately after the victory 28:56: The struggle to adjust to normal life 34:18: Financial hardships of the '66 team 39:27: The dementia crisis—losing teammates one by one 45:33: Bobby Moore's difficult later years 51:19: The forgotten stories of the other players 56:44: Part-time jobs and post-football careers 1:02:38: The burden of being forever '66 1:08:15: Modern football vs. the amateur era 1:13:27: Preserving the memory of a vanishing generation 1:18:52: What modern football can learn from '66 Follow @heroesandhumans everywhere. Instagram TikTok Facebook X Visit our website for news & updates heroesandhumans.com Thank you for all your support. We really appreciate your comments and encouragement. - Producer Matt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Listen to the stories behind football's biggest names, hosted by Simon Kuper and Mehreen Khan. "Hosts Simon Kuper and Mehreen Khan know their stuff." – The Guardian "The most interesting football podcast of the moment." – NRC, a leading Dutch daily Heroes & Humans moves beyond the traditional boundaries of sports commentary to explore the lives of football's most interesting figures. Whether episodes are about Messi, Abramovich, Cruyff, Şükür or Haaland, this is the go-to podcast for football audio-biographies. Released once weekly on Thursdays. Simon Kuper, acclaimed by Time Magazine as "one of the world's leading writers on soccer," and an awarded Financial Times columnist, brings a three-decade career of interviewing and understanding the personalities that define the world’s greatest sport. Having attended the last nine World Cups and boasting Europe's largest football library, Simon's insights are rooted in a profound depth of knowledge and passion for football. Mehreen Khan, whose day job is as the Economics Editor at The Times, believes football is a "brilliant shortcut in how to understand societies, economies, and politics". She is a football obsessive and die-hard Chelsea fan. With her ability to intertwine socio-political narratives with pop culture savvy, Mehreen stands out in the football podcasting landscape. Her presence as one of the few female voices adds a valuable dimension, broadening the conversation for listeners. Mehreen was previously the FT’s Brussels correspondent, before moving to The Times in 2022. She started her career in sports journalism at the Daily Telegraph in 2014, and wrote a football blog that touched on themes including Russia’s breakaway Muslim separatism, German multiculturalism, and the earth-shattering magnificence of Andrea Pirlo. Follow @heroesandhumans everywhere. Instagram TikTok Facebook X Visit our website for news and updates: heroesandhumans.com