Three reasons to be inspired again by England’s World Cup hero Bobby Moore

As the captain of England’s victorious World Cup team in 1966, Bobby Moore will be remembered forever. But it’s what he did off the pitch, as well as on, that places him high on the list of sporting legends.

He was regarded as the most professional footballers of his generation

Bobby Moore was regarded as the epitmony of fairness and sportmanship — as well as an outstanding player — by all those who knew him. England manager Alf Ramsey paid him this tribute: “He was the spirit and the heartbeat of the team. A cool, calculating footballer I could trust with my life. He was the supreme professional, the best I ever worked with. Without him England would never have won the World Cup.”

Legendary striker George Best said, “If I could wish for my son to turn out like someone, it would be Bobby Moore. He had no flaws. On the pitch he was immaculate.”

And German legend Franz Beckenbauer had simply this to say: “Bobby Moore was the best defender in the history of the game” Moore’s tackle on Jairzinho in the 1970 World Cup is still regarded as one of the best tackles of all time.

He never let celebrity status go to his head

Bobby Moore was born into a working class London family and lived for sport. He joined West Ham when he was just 15 years old, rising to captain the club for over ten years and earn 108 England caps. But away from the pitch he was an intensely private person, shunning the excesses of the Swinging Sixties to maintain his focus on fitness.

At home with his wife Tina, whom he met when he was 17 and she was a year younger, Moore was always organised and tidy. When he went into a bar, he would count out 12 peanuts, and eat no more and no less. It is the kind of discipline that made Moore a world-beater. He was hard, but always kind and generous, especially to children and aspiring young footballers, who idolised him.

He overcame cancer to captain England to victory in the World Cup

Less than two years before England won the World Cup, the 23-year-old Moore was diagnosed with testicular cancer. While enduring months of excruciating pain, Moore was voted the youngest ever Footballer of the Year and, in one of the greatest FA Cup finals of all time, Moore led West Ham to victory over Preston.

West Ham’s physiotherapist put Moore’s agony down to nothing more than a groin strain. When he finally went to a specialist, he underwent emergency surgery within 24 hours and had a testicle removed. Incredibly he was playing again within three months and his cancer — and the constant risk of its return — was kept secret until after his death. Bobby Moore died of cancer of the colon, aged 51, in 1993.