Sir Geoff Hurst
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Wherever you are in the world, whatever mood you got up in, however you're feeling right now, well, you can take an hour or so off from harsh reality and tune in to somebody else's story. Welcome to another episode of Rosebud.
Hello, I'm Giles Bradworth. Welcome to another episode of Rosebud, the podcast where, well, we ask remarkable people to cast their minds back to their first memory and then to the best and sometimes the worst of their early memories. This weekend, if you're listening to this live, we drop on a Friday with Rosebud. If you're an England supporter and you like football, well, it's a slightly disappointing weekend because things didn't quite work out as we hoped in that semi-final on Wednesday, which means that, well, Saturday night we'll be playing against France. People I know say France is going to win that. We might come fourth. We could have come first. We might have come first. We might have won the World Cup in 2026, but we didn't.
So we can't bring you on Rosebud, a victorious England 2026. But this is Rosebud. We have to bring you something special. And we're going to. We're going to bring you, yes. England, World Cup victors, 1966. I was there. Well, I was watching. But also, I'm pleased, proud, grateful to say that I'm going to be introducing in a moment to you somebody, the last person left alive, actually, who was actually on the field, on the pitch on that day, the 30th of July, 1966, the World Cup final, England 4-1. West Germany, too. The hat-trick hero of the day was Jeff Hurst, now Sir Jeff Hurst. He scored three of those goals. I met up with Jeff Hurst at the beautiful Harbour Hotel in Christchurch, and I think you'll find our conversation fascinating.
and revealing. This may be Jeff Hurst as you haven't heard him before. Hope you enjoy it. Before we begin, just please note that there is a reference to suicide in the course of our conversation. Cue the music.
As the 2026 World Cup moves to its climax, I am in the presence of living history. I'm with somebody who has been a hero since 1966 and who's still with us and still looking pretty good. How, Jeff Hurst, are you feeling?
I'm okay. Still standing, which is what my normally response. Still standing.
And looking good as you stand. Let's make sure I've got the name right. Geoffrey Charles Hurst? Correct. But you'd like to be called Geoff on the whole?
People often, when you're knighted, people who approach you and the people you meet for the first time are always a little uncomfortable. How shall I address you, Jeff or Sir Jeff? My stop line is, you can call me Jeff. Only my children call me Sir Jeff.
I will call you Jeff then, Jeff. Born on the 8th of December. 1941.
That is correct.
Good. What I want to find out from you to begin with is what, Geoff, is your very first memory of your life? First memory in your head?
Interesting question, and I've got a very good answer for that, which I remember as my first memory. um was sitting in my father's parents my grandparents house in denton which is near in lancashire near manchester and sitting in the room with my grandparents who were then obviously getting on a bit and uh grandmother was sitting down and grandfather was trying to cook breakfast and it seemed like he was getting on a bit then it doesn't seem like he'd done an awful lot of cooking a bit like myself really um and sort of making a bit bit of a mess of it that was my clear memory not quite successfully making breakfast correct i think it's a nice way of putting it yeah who was he and who was your grandma what what memories you have of them what were they like as people
A lovely, lovely couple is my fondest memories of them. Nothing, not for one second would I recount the time I spent with them that I would think of anything but what an absolutely lovely, lovely couple they were.
And your father was called Charles.
Yes.
And who was he? What was he like? What was his job?
He also played football. He was brought up in the north. He played for Oldham, Rochdale. And then when we moved south many, many years later, he then played for Bristol Rovers.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–13:28
2
What is Sir Geoff Hurst’s earliest childhood memory and family background?
13:28–17:48
3
How did Geoff’s father and upbringing shape his early interest in football and cricket?
17:48–43:52
4
How did Ron Greenwood and West Ham transform Geoff from a midfielder to a prolific centre‑forward?
43:52–1:05:25