Roger Hunt Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Roger Hunt
MBE

Roger Hunt in 2006

Personal information

Date of birth

20 July 1938

Place of birth

Glazebury, Lancashire, England

Date of death

27 September 2021 (aged 83)

Place of death

England

Height

5 ft 9 in

Playing position

Forward

Youth career

Croft Youth Club

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

Stockton Heath

Devizes Town

Stockton Heath

1958–1969

Liverpool

404

(244)

1969–1972

Bolton Wanderers

(24)

1971

→ Hellenic (loan)

(4)

Total

486

(272)

National team

1962–1969

England

(18)

Honours


Men's football
Representing England
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1966 England

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Roger Hunt MBE (born July 20, 1938 – died September 27, 2021) was an English professional footballer. He played as a forward, scoring many goals for his teams.

Roger Hunt spent eleven years playing for Liverpool. He was the club's top goal scorer with 286 goals for a long time. Later, another player named Ian Rush scored more goals. However, Roger Hunt still holds the record for the most league goals for Liverpool, with 244 goals.

Under the famous manager Bill Shankly, Hunt helped Liverpool win two league titles and an FA Cup. In August 1964, he scored the very first goal shown on the BBC's football show, Match of the Day. Many fans consider him one of Liverpool's greatest players, and they often called him Sir Roger. He was ranked 13th in a poll of Liverpool's best players.

Hunt was also a key member of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He played in all six of England's games and scored three goals during the tournament. In 2006, Roger Hunt was added to the English Football Hall of Fame, which honors great English footballers.

Playing for Clubs
Playing for England
Life After Football
Honours
- Individual Awards
Images for kids
See also

Playing for Clubs

Starting Out

Roger Hunt was born in Glazebury, Lancashire, England. Before joining big clubs, he played for local teams like Croft Youth Club, Stockton Heath, and Devizes Town.

Time at Liverpool

Hunt (right) and Liverpool strike partner Ian St John in 1966

Liverpool's manager, Phil Taylor, signed Roger Hunt in July 1958 from Stockton Heath. Hunt played his first game and scored his first goal for Liverpool on September 9, 1959. This was in a Second Division match against Scunthorpe United at Anfield, Liverpool's home stadium. Hunt scored in the 64th minute, helping Liverpool win 2–0.

That goal was just the beginning! He went on to score 286 goals for the club. Out of these, 244 were in league games, which is still a club record.

When Bill Shankly became manager, he made many changes to the team. But he kept Hunt, who became a very important player for Liverpool in the 1960s. Liverpool won promotion to the top league, the First Division, in 1962. Before that, they had been close to promotion for five years.

In the 1961–1962 season, Hunt played in 41 out of 42 league games and scored an amazing 41 goals. His goals helped Liverpool win the league title easily. He scored five hat-tricks (three goals in one game) that season. Liverpool also won the English League championship in the 1963–64 and 1965–66 seasons. Hunt was the top scorer for Liverpool for eight seasons in a row.

On August 22, 1964, Hunt scored a goal against Arsenal. This goal was special because it was the first ever goal shown on the BBC's main football show, Match of the Day.

In 1965, Hunt played a big part in Liverpool winning the FA Cup for the very first time. He scored four goals during the cup competition. In the final against Leeds United at Wembley, the score was 0-0 after 90 minutes. Hunt then scored the first goal in the 93rd minute, and his teammate Ian St John scored another. Liverpool won the match 2–1. The next year, Liverpool reached the Cup Winners' Cup final, where Hunt scored their only goal, but they lost to Borussia Dortmund.

Roger Hunt became Liverpool's all-time leading goal scorer on November 7, 1967. He scored his 242nd goal for the club in a European match. By the time he left Liverpool in 1969 to join Bolton Wanderers, he had scored 286 goals. This record stood for 23 years until Ian Rush broke it. Hunt also held the record for reaching 100 top-league goals faster than any other Liverpool player, doing it in 152 games.

Later Career

In December 1969, Roger Hunt joined Bolton Wanderers. In 1971, he played for Hellenic F.C. in South Africa for a short time. He stopped playing football in 1972. Liverpool held a special game for him in April 1972, and 56,000 fans came to watch.

Playing for England

Roger Hunt played 34 times for his country, England. He made his first appearance on April 4, 1962, in a friendly game against Austria at Wembley. He scored a goal on his debut, helping England win 3–1. He was part of the England squad for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, but he did not play in any games.

England was chosen to host the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Hunt, along with his Liverpool teammates Ian Callaghan and Gerry Byrne, were chosen by manager Alf Ramsey for the 22-man squad.

Hunt was one of the main forwards for England in the tournament. He first played alongside Tottenham Hotspur striker Jimmy Greaves. But after Greaves got injured, Hunt played with Geoff Hurst from West Ham United.

Roger Hunt played in all six of England's games. He scored three goals: two against France and one against Mexico. England went on to win the Jules Rimet trophy by beating West Germany 4–2 in extra time in the World Cup Final at Wembley.

Life After Football

After he stopped playing football, Roger Hunt joined his brother Peter in their family's haulage business, Hunt Brothers. Their family had started the business in 1929.

In 2000, he received an MBE award for being part of the World Cup-winning team. Liverpool fans continued to call him "Sir" Roger Hunt, even though he was not officially knighted.

In 2006, Hunt was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame for his great achievements in English football. In the same year, Liverpool fans voted him as the 13th greatest player in the club's history in a poll called "100 Players Who Shook The Kop." In 2016, he was given the special title of Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Warrington.

Roger Hunt married Patricia O'Brien in 1959, and they had two children. He later lived near Warrington with his second wife, Rowan.

Roger Hunt passed away on September 27, 2021, at the age of 83. His funeral was held at Liverpool Cathedral on October 14.