West Ham United legend Sir Geoff Hurst has paid tribute to fellow 1966 FIFA World Cup winner and England teammate Jimmy Armfield, who has passed away at the age of 82.
Armfield was a member of the 22-man squad which lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy at Wembley 52 years ago, when Hammers trio Sir Geoff, Bobby Moore and Martin Peters played an influential role in the Three Lions’ historic success.
The full-back, who spent his entire professional career with Blackpool, for whom he came up against West Ham many times in both the First Division and FA Cup in the 1950s and 1960s. An outstanding defender and leader, he was capped 43 times and skippered his country on 15 occasions between 1961-66, preceding Moore as England captain.
And Sir Geoff, who led the line in Armfield’s final game for his country, a 3-0 pre-World Cup win in Finland, and retained huge affection for a man with whom he also shared a birthplace, the Greater Manchester town of Ashton-under-Lyne.
“Jimmy was the established full-back prior to the World Cup and then George (Cohen) came in, and Alf wanted to pick George,” Sir Geoff told The Associated Press. “He always dealt with it with great dignity, that’s typical of Jimmy.
“It must have been a huge blow not playing at that time and in the Final. But dealing with it over the years, there was never any bitterness, he was always part of the squad and turned up at most of the golf days.
“That could easily happen to a player who was unhappy with that part of his life, but he continued to be part of that group right up until the last year or two.”
After hanging up his boots in 1971, Armfield managed Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United, leading the latter to the European Cup final in 1975, before working as a consultant to the Football Association and as a popular journalist and expert summariser for the BBC and a number of newspapers.
He was made an OBE in 2000 for his services to football and a CBE for his services to the community in his native Lancashire in 2010.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to pass on their sincere condolences to Jimmy’s loved ones at this sad time.